The Game Changer
by Fenschway
Summary: In all the best laid plans of madmen and aliens, there always seems to be at least one obtuse oddball and screw up that comes out of left field and just doesn't follow the rules of the game at all, and then, naturally, screws up everything...or does he?
1. Chapter 1

"Sekirei" is owned by Sakurako Gokurakuin

**_...dear FanFiction Readers_**

**_... For those of you just browsing around and looking for reading material and having never heard of the Sekirei franchise ... and might be wanting a little background and some pictures of all the characters and original story line before reading this piece ... I invite you to peruse the wiki site for same ... sekirei dot wikia dot com/wiki/Main_Page ... however this story does provide its own historical depth as it progresses ...  
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**_ ... For those of you that just want a light intro before diving in ... here is an old story ... Evil amphibian aliens have secretly fought good guy/gal avian aliens to control Earth for eons ... ages ago an alien ship full of mostly avian evolved female embryos crashed and went into stasis to long await discovery ... now ... the ship is found and its eggs raised by the ususal mad scientist bent on taking over the world ... BUT ... warrior alien gals/guys are hard wired to find, bond with, love, and protect specifically bred life mates native to Earth ... EXCEPT ... one such gifted(?) male ... our hero ... is a total pacifist Earth boy who just wants to play baseball ... and damn well nothing else ... meanwhile evil aliens are once again coming to conquer Earth ... Murphy's First Law then screws with them all ... like I say ... it's an old,old story .. even more succinctly put .. boy meets girl(s) ... boy rejects girl(s) ... girl(s) drive boy nuts _**

**_... For you hardcore fans of Sekirei manga and anime on which this piece is based ... be warned ... This is a different and even a little irreverent take on the Sekirei plot line using two OC protagonists mixed in with most of the original characters … marked as HUMOR and Sci-Fi ... so please curb any outrage over canon deviation and take the first humor marking seriously ... heh ... or ... ummm ... there's not much of an all powerful gary stu Naruto, Shirou, Harry Potter et al type hero here ... but maybe its still best to just think of this piece as a loose crossover between Sekirei and an even more loosely adapted Baseball Superstars 2012 developed and owned by Gamevil where the hero's gary stu game strengths are randomly chosen but in the end none of them really matter anyway ... like ... you know ... where any writer has literary license to put the FICTION into FanFiction? ... so just enjoy the story for its entertainment value ... and hell ... it ain't the first FanFiction Sekirei piece to ever leave the canon reservation ... is it?  
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…_**_ To all ... This hopefully light hearted and maybe slightly naughty little tale explores the ramifications of how Murphy's First Law is tossed into MBI's Sekirei Plan by a thick headed, down on his luck, but unknowingly and highly gifted outsider who stubbornly refuses to participate... even when the obtuse oddball is in the middle of it all and causing total chaos to get to … well … a place and state he had no idea were going to be his fate in several crazed alien females' quests for true fairy tale love...forever and ever..._**_

**… _Ahhh … and yes.. mild spoiler alert... there will be highs and lows along the characters' journey and growth … pathos, sadness, joy, disappointment, rebirth, bitter love lost, and sweet dreams of love realized...but ... man ... it just don't come easy for any of them ... they got such issues, ya know?_**

**_... The story also gives a hefty tip of the hat to one major fact the original canon kind of ignored ... you really can't have a bunch of super powered, alien, bird evolved, and mostly insane females... with old interstellar enemies... going after only a few special and oddball human males ... all at once... in one town ... without some major headaches for the madman who had turned them loose in his egocentric game ... while thinking that they'd actually fight fair ... and no one, human or alien, calculating on …_**

**The Game Changer**

**Prologue**

_The highly evolved amphibian commander watched as his Rigelian Conglomerate's main mother ship broke free of hyperspace just outside the orbit of the oddly ringed planet in this targeted solar system. His amber, slit pupil eyes went immediately to his short range sensors. There were no unexpected surprises in the form of cursed bird clan rock ships. He stood back in satisfaction from his globular sensor readout of a five parsec radius around the nine planet system. He now had time to be refreshed by a watery mist from his personal command deck shower. _

_This time, this time they would win. And why wouldn't they? He was leading 13 other mother ships and an interstellar war fleet of 92,328 highly armed auxiliaries manned by truly massive numbers of salamander evolved Rigelian warriors and their subordinate minions, the skinny, gray clones known as the Zeta Reticuli. It was the largest invasion and battle fleet ever formed in Rigelian history, but it was needed. The cursed, newt eating bird clans of the Kouten Empire had taken control of almost every sufficiently water covered planet in this celestial arm. _

_This solar system had one of the best, if not THE best, temperate, stable, and well placed water covered world for breeding and raising Rigelian warriors. Control of it had been fought over since the dim past, but now, now a small but very exploitable opening had been breached in the bird clan's inner planetary defenses. He and his armada were here to free the water planet from the Kouten Empire by means of that opening. And become wealthy beyond all dreams. All he had to do was get enough of his fleet past the Arcturian Starship Athena and its outer defense ring. Operated by the Arcturian energy beings who were allies of the cursed Kouten Empire, the defense ring was a daunting obstacle in the orbit between the red giant planet and its outer oddly ringed neighbor, daunting but not impassable. Estimates of 48.733% losses of his invasion force were well within his working parameters._

_ Suddenly, a long drawn out hiss of dismay sounded behind him. The commander turned to quickly look at his sensor globe. An eight rock ship formation from the cursed bird clan empire now hung in space between his armada and the giant red planet's orbit. It looked like some strangely glowing flower with eight multicolored and oddly elongated petals meshed together and symetrically attached to a molten golden center. What functioned as a sphincter in the commander's salamander evolved body instantly puckered. Estimates of his invasion force's losses would now have to be revised drastically higher. He recalculated quickly. It would be close, very, very close, but perhaps still possible. Victory was still winnable, albeit with a much more iffy success rate. Still, the prize of conquering the watery third planet was worth it, wasn't it? _

_But where had the cursed bird clan's eight rock ships come from? The third colonizing fleet from Kouten had reportedly met disaster in interstellar space ages ago with only a few eventually crashing on the water planet. Was this a FOURTH fleet? How had they known of his invasion armada's arrival? Or was this just pure, unlucky happenstance? As in the gloomy old Rigelian adage that said if something could break a freshly laid egg sack, it would. And the newt eaters loved fresh egg sacks and had for untold ages. The hisses of dismay around the Rigelian commander were well deserved._

_The highly psychic and super powered cursed bird clans of the Kouten Empire were aggressive, competitive, fearless, and vicious raptor type hunters that always fought in devastating octets of eight around a central core. Along with their Arcturian allies that couldn't be killed, the newt eaters had always stood between the Rigelian Conglomerate and the vast riches of interstellar space. This time they were sufficiently outnumbered to be destroyed. Their outer defenses could be breached, and their inner, bird/simian hybrid defenses around the water planet were inactive. The Rigelian commander slid his long, oddly prehensile, slimy amphibian tongue out to taste the sweet watery mists still hanging in the air about him. To be sure the odds were longer, but the battle parameters were known quantities. There was nothing he hadn't accounted for in his calculations of victory now, and they still favored success. He would attack._

_Naturally, other than fragile egg sack perils, the Rigelian commander had never heard of Murphy's First Law, which anyone who ever loved to play and/or watch baseball knew all about. Especially Chicago Cub fans. Matter of fact, the highly evolved alien amphibian had never heard of baseball or the Cubs either, nor of any scenario where the game might impact his carefully calculated odds of freeing this system's watery third planet from the cursed bird clan's Kouten Empire._

****Chapter 1 - First Pitch, High and Outside  
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He thrashed awake sweating, gasping for breath, trying to free himself from a cloying, sweat soaked sheet, and shaken from yet another of that same recurring nightmare. It had plagued him for the last six weeks since he had arrived in Tokyo to play minor league baseball. In this bad dream, he had finally caught on with a last place team as a relief pitcher, but his pitching skills hadn't improved at all. In fact they had regressed badly to where every outing was a gut wrenching disappointment waiting for the final axe to drop and cut him from the team.

Once again he had pitched his heart out with totally disastrous results during his nightmare. His fast ball hadn't been fast enough. His curve hadn't curved much at all. His slider had hung like a fat, Mexican party favor, a birthday pinata waiting to be crushed for the goodies inside by a blindfolded kid using a huge cricket paddle for a baseball bat. And his forkball, his damnable, unbelievably fickle, yin and yang forkball, just hadn't forked at all, at least not anywhere near the strike zone. Then his nightmare had gotten worse.

Pitch after lousy pitch that he'd thrown had been called a ball or just royally pasted all over the ballpark for extra bases in front of the lustily booing, catcalling, and outright laughing Japanese fans in the Tokyo Dome. Run after heartbreaking run had scored during this epic and brutal pitching fail. Even if he had finished high school and had a diploma to prove it, it certainly hadn't taken any kind of a semi moron to know that his "hanging by the skin of his teeth" pro baseball career in Japan's minor leagues was over. The tight lipped, uptight, disapproving, and angry at having his time and "face" wasted Japanese manager had come to the mound and taken the baseball away with a quick and rude grab. The long, head down, shoulders slumped in total defeat walk back to the dugout while the crowd yelled and clamored their derision of his totally unacceptable performance had been the final blow that had made his bad dream's sweat go cold.

He had then stumbled his lonely way to the showers down in the bowels of the old Tokyo Dome, agonizing over the fact that his life long dreams of making it to the big leagues back in America from here were now really over, once and for all. When the even colder water of what should have been a hot shower had hit his face and then followed him around the shower room like a living, evil, many headed, and poisonous water snake, he had thrashed his way up out of his recurring nightmare as if jumping about like a drugged and now too slow mongoose trying to escape his doomed fate.

Sighing heavily at having his precious sleep ruined again, he sat up and tossed his sweat soaked futon's blanket aside and reached for the half empty bottle of water sitting on his one room apartment's window ledge beside him. Taking a long drink of the now tepid liquid, he went up on his knees to stare in a deep funk out at Tokyo's beautifully lit skyline, his chin supported by his folded arms on the wooden ledge of his partially open window.

The usual street noises coming from below of passing traffic, honking horns, and occasional far off sirens were almost soothing in a way. At least it made him slightly feel as if he wasn't completely alone in this foreign metropolis, even if he totally was. A quarter moon high in the sky that had occasional dark ribbons of little, angry, and fast moving clouds scudding past it in the city's spring breezes also had a very lonely feel. The only saving grace in the depressing night air was that the late blooming cherry trees in a nearby park where he ran every day were sharing their blossom's fragrance with Tokyo's ever present smog.

His stomach rumbled its hungry anger at being on short rations for too long. His baseball workouts and his running regimen's demands on his body were going to be reaching his physical limits soon. He needed to eat more food, but he was almost broke, and he wouldn't get paid a single yen unless he did well on his first pitching tryout with a Tokyo minor league team tomorrow. Then there was the possibility that he might do well enough to merit a second look, but he still wouldn't be paid until it was scheduled.

The only answer to that payday delay was to finish his "Shinto Dawn" painting as quickly as possible and trade it for more peanut butter, Cheez Whiz, and crackers. Then if he did make the team, he would have to pitch well to stay and really improve his playing skills too. Otherwise it was back to the States and hello Springfield, Illinois to live out a crushed and defeated life of broken dreams. Even throwing a one man game of bounce and catch against Old Man Warner's barn wasn't going to make that dull, spirit crushing life any better either.

The only other alternative he had was to try his lousy luck down in the Mexican leagues as a walk on, but he'd spent almost every nickel he had on his round trip flight ticket to Tokyo. He had a return to San Diego, but he'd still be broke and starving if he used it. Then how to go south with no money? Working his way would take too long, and he'd miss tryouts there to maybe waste another year. He just HAD to pitch well tomorrow. That was all there was to it. He just HAD to, and that would be his single minded focus until it was over. Otherwise, hello Guadalajara for twelve more months of agonizing waiting. Dammit.

He flinched as his cell phone started loudly playing the old, old Rolling Stones hit named "Miss You". His ring tone was a nostalgic holdover from his recent really dark days of total gloom that had occurred after being betrayed and laughingly dumped by his ex fiance Agnes Mortensen just before she had gotten her father to cut him from pitching for the Batavia Muckdogs. Then the evil duo had gotten him black balled from playing in every minor league in America.

Now why in the name of Sailor Galaxia would he still miss that total bitch Agnes? And who in the hell was calling him at almost 3 a.m. in the fricken morning? He looked at the number. Oh crap. It was his Mother, again. He should have known.

"Hello Ma, you do realize it's almost 3 a.m. here, right? You've called me every damn day for three weeks, and you still don't know I'm thirteen hours ahead of you? And I've got to pitch in about eight hours. I've got to do my morning chores for rent before I do first too. I need my sleep, Ma, and I'm NOT coming home."

He sighed in exasperation as the heavy weeping started anew and then went immediately into the usual half sobbing harangue. He turned away from the window and sat down with his back against the wall. He settled himself as comfortably as he could and gritted his teeth. This wasn't going to be a short call. He waited for a break in her bawling.

"Ma, we've been over this a hundred times, and I'm NOT coming home! I'm not working in that damned hardware store the rest of my fricken life either! If things don't pan out here in Tokyo, then I've decided to fly back to San Diego and work my way down to the Mexican leagues so I can try my luck there for a year or so."

He held his phone away from his ear at the loud screeching reaction his last announcement had just elicited, grateful it was one of those ultra cheap models that didn't have 3D video display too. Another minute or two passed.

"Get a grip, will ya Ma? I've told you and told you and told you to stop trying to jerk me around and totally run my fricken life! I'm a baseball player, Ma! I'm going to play ball and pitch until I'm too old to throw, and then I'm going to coach. Why in the hell can't you and my aunts understand and accept that after all these years? I'm going to live my own life dammit! My way!"

More hysterical bitching went on for a few minutes on the other end. When his mother finally paused for a deep breath after starting in on his totally failed love life again, he broke his peeved silence to once more draw that line he vowed in his heart his Mother would never be allowed to cross.

"Ma, I'm almost 24 years old! I will date who I damn well want to date. I will like who I damn well want to like, and I will get involved with the one I really damn well want to be involved with. You are NOT going to pick out a woman to be my wife, got it? Never … gonna … happen!"

Even more agonized and louder wailing screeched into his ears, and this time it went on and on. He listened in stony silence. Eventually his mother wound down into hiccuping and sniffing sounds so that he could talk and start the long practiced hanging up process with a few small but reassuring exaggerations about how well he was doing away from her and especially here in springtime Tokyo.

"Ma, I have to get some sleep. Look, Ma, I love you, I really do, and I miss you. I miss my aunts, and I even miss my brain dead sister too, a little, but my life is my own, not yours. I'm going to hang up now Ma. I'll call you when I know more about where I'm going to be, okay? Until then, please chill. I'm fine here. Doing really great. Tokyo is really beautiful in the spring, Ma. Cherry blossoms and flowers and all.

"Yeah, money's a little tight, but I've got plenty of food, plenty of good people helping me, a nice little place to stay, and a great job to pay my rent. I'm even selling some paintings too for a little walk around money. It keeps me occupied in my spare time, and I'm wearing clean underwear every day, okay? There's absolutely nothing for you to worry about. I'm fine here, Ma, really."

He waited while his Mother went through her usual "prelude to hanging up" warnings and further haranguing about not getting involved with any more evil and loose women like his ex. He rolled his eyes. Like he would ever trust another female on this planet anyway.

"Ma, I'm here to play baseball. That's it! I don't have the time, energy, or the money to run around and meet girls. Most of 'em here in Tokyo wouldn't give an overgrown hick gaijin like me a second look anyway, so don't worry about it. I don't speak their language, and I'm not too good with my pocket dictionary yet either. Yesterday my landlord damned near killed himself laughing when I asked him for more toilet cleanser, and he thought I was asking to marry his cab driving grandfather.

"Besides, the Japanese parents aren't all that crazy about their daughters hooking up with Americans to begin with, and you KNOW why I've never been too smooth meeting any new gals. I might be in Guadalajara next week anyway. Don't even try to start yelling at me about the dark eyed senoritas down there either. That's it, Ma. I'm hanging up now, and I'm turning off my phone so don't waste your time redialing. I love you. Bye bye."

He slumped and purposefully let the back of his skull bang hard against the window ledge in further frustration. Jeebus, the woman never gave up! It was freaking incredible! Almost as bad as his thickheaded little sister when she wouldn't listen to a damn thing he'd try to tell her, especially when she wanted something of his that he was unwilling to give.

He tossed his phone to one side of his futon as deep despair, frustration and worry waved over him. Man, he just HAD to pitch well tomorrow, and his fork ball still sucked.

He grimaced as someone from the never ending saki party downstairs opened a window and turned up the loud speakers on their karaoke machine again. This time it sounded like the damned drunks were murdering old cuts from the "Across the Universe" album and other sad tunes done years ago by a Japanese female jazz singer named Akiko.

He shook his head in more despair as he stretched out once again on his rumpled futon. At this rate he'd never get any sleep, and if he didn't, he could kiss goodbye any success in his Tokyo Dome pitching tryout less than twelve hours from now. Damn.

Turning on his stomach and closing his eyes in an attempt to will himself back to sleep, he missed seeing a distant, semi nude, very curvaceous, and fleeing female's silhouette fly across the face of the quarter moon. She was followed shortly by two equally well built and flying female hunters that were chasing her in the night sky over Tokyo and trying to blast their quarry with twin lances of lightning from their pointing right hands.

Later, one drunken and totally off key moron in the karaoke party below ended his criminal botching of Akiko's "Good Morning Heartbreak" and another surprisingly good and almost sultry male tenor began singing. The weary and worried American baseball player above them finally dozed off during the old time karaoke version of Akiko's "Prelude to a Kiss".

***scene break*  
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She was free, free at last! All the years of subterfuge were over now. There would be no more hiding her true abilities, manipulating records, and memorizing the changing lab personnel duties and habits. There would be no need to be constantly stealing and updating all the codes to the laboratory doors and security locks, nor substituting harmless placebos for her medicinal "adjustment" dosages in the dark of night. Her life of living under constant surveillance and suspicion while watching every move and gesture around others of her race and especially the MBI lab doctors and technicians were over too.

She had given everyone only small glimpses of her kinetic and cognitive powers during the continuous testing procedures, never her full range to avoid becoming a "scrapped" number. She had also fine lined her passive/aggressive resistance to being "adjusted" for so long that this first heady sense of freedom was almost overwhelming. Yes, she was now free from the constant lies and deceit, free to be her true self, and most of all, free to finally find, bond with, protect, and love her Ashikabi!

The fact that she had finally sensed his presence in Tokyo after years of waiting and probing the city for that perfect human male mind matching her alien thought wavelengths was also almost overwhelming. First contact in the form of a perfect mental resonance had come a little less than two weeks ago in a dream where she had found herself sitting upon the roof of a place that she had recognized as a baseball stadium filled with booing people.

In her dream a tall and athletic looking young man had been walking head down in dejection and disappointment towards a very wide door that seemed to lead under the stadium. As he had moved, the sense of mental resonance echoing in her mind had moved with him like a finely tuned direction finder. Here was her Ashikabi! She was completely certain of it!

She flitted up away from the roof in her dream, curving to a nearby rooftop to wait for him to emerge from the stadium while homing in on his strong mental emissions, but she suddenly lost contact when he went down into the concrete and steel bowels of the sports arena. She had cast about, moaning and groaning over her loss while she tossed about in her sleep, but he never reappeared before the dream ended.

Upon wakening, she had spent the bulk of her time since that night sitting by her confining cubicle's window high in MBI's tower complex, plotting and perfecting her escape plan from her analytical prison while constantly probing the city for her Ashikabi's mind. Three days later she had finally caught his mind resonating with hers again. He was in the northern part of Tokyo, humming some odd tune of One, Two, Three Strikes You're Out to himself as he performed some kind of routine labor. She could make no sense of his words, because he wasn't singing in her native Japanese. Several days passed as she found it became easier and easier to re-establish contact now that she knew in which direction to concentrate the hardest.

Her excitement at her renewed contacts with him that came and went sporadically was forced beneath the outward stoic expression that she always wore for the lab cameras and personnel. Now was the time to go very carefully and take no unnecessary risks in plotting her long awaited exit from captivity. Besides, escape would have to wait until she would be able to surgically remove the small electronic tracking chip embedded at the base of her skull. The process had been learned after years of clandestine self study, but she needed to review the surgical texts again for safety. It would also give her a little time to learn what kind of gibberish he was using for a language as well as finish collecting everything that she would need to flee MBI's clutches forever.

Surprisingly, the surgical equipment required to let her operate upon herself was easier to obtain than the magnifying mirrors to let her see where she was going to numb, cut, probe, remove, and stitch on the back of her neck. The bright lights needed to illuminate the process were also a little more difficult to get and hide from prying eyes. Finally, the small looping "glitch" that she had made in her room's surveillance camera had to be used often enough in the coming nights to dull the security guards' sense of alarm when the cameras went blank for the time needed for her tracking chip's removal. Her patience and plans had been painstaking before attempting escape. Her self surgery would require even more of the same.

Her fortitude had been sorely tested while mentally manipulating the stolen needles of painkiller, the scalpel, swabs, probe, and forceps. The sight of her own bloody neck in the mirrors had been daunting as well. Her fears of damaging the nerves of her spinal column had made her sweat, but she had persevered, using her mental kinetic powers not only to delicately handle the instruments in opening her skin and underlying muscle, but also work the probe to locate the foreign chip embedded between her neck's vertebrae.

Finally, she had gotten the vile tracking device up and away from its resting place to where she could actually see it, grip it with her mind, and pull it gently out. Stitching the wound closed, cleaning and dressing it, and very carefully removing all the evidence of her severed electronic ties to MBI's computer network had almost been anti-climatic. Her bloody top bed sheet had been the recipient of everything she had used including the lights and mirrors.

The chip's removal had taken a little longer than her meticulous plan had allowed, but the whole procedure had been accomplished soon enough for her plan to still work. She just had a much smaller margin for safety. It would be another full hour before the night shift technicians made their yawning routine rounds and find where she had disabled the tracking system's alarm.

She took one last critical look around her hated cubicle to make sure the only things her handlers were going to find missing was a bed sheet and one Sekirei female. All she had to do before leaving was to find some clothes other than her thin cotton hospital gown. It would do nothing to keep her from freezing high in the night sky over Tokyo.

After raiding a nurse's locker for a blouse, slacks, and a pair of tennis shoes that almost fit, she mentally pushed to silently levitate up the emergency stairwell with her tightly bundled sheet. The only remains of her entire life at MBI until now was slung over her shoulder like a homeless person on the move. Once on the roof after shorting the door alarm, she waved cheerfully to her surgery's remnants and nightgown after she mentally threw the tightly tied sheet with all her power to land high upon distant Mount Fuji's snow covered peak.

Laughter bubbled up inside her as she launched herself upwards to hover just below the sky's first thin, dark ribbons of cloud layer. A light bejeweled Tokyo lay spread before her with traffic lights moving as if they were tiny marquis bulbs advertising the city's life. Street lights, neon advertising, bullet trains, and in the distance, the airport and Tokyo Bay's lights seemed to mark her expanded sense of total freedom.

She could go anywhere, anywhere she wanted on the whole planet. A new life was before her, just as an almost dawning sun was making its morning presence felt upon the clouds to the east. She loved their glowing in a mixture of pink, maroon, and gold colors, and closed her eyes to remember this moment always.

She turned slowly in mid air with her eyes still closed, using her mind to locate her Ashikabi's exact direction. Once again she homed in on the northern side of the city, and pushed obliquely against the Earth below to start flying towards him.

Riko, rumored to have been planned as scrapped Number 67, was now the only free and "unadjusted" Sekirei on the planet other than Number 01 Miya. Before the sun rose completely, her Ashikabi would be able to unlock her full powers as well as her love, completing their life of freedom and ever after happiness together, forever and ever.

***********scene break***

Standing near the low wall surrounding the roof of his apartment building, he stared out at the breaking dawn sky, squinting past his paint brush after closing his left eye to try and cement in his mind's eye only the colors and textures that he was experiencing. Nodding knowingly to himself with pursed lips after stifling another yawn, he daubed a little more paint onto his pallet and used his brush tip to stir it into the mostly maroon colored glob he had made earlier. He seated himself upon his padded painter's stool and began making short brush strokes.

Hmmm, he thought judiciously, perhaps a little more Alizarine crimson. He dipped his brush onto his pallet and brought it back to the canvas.

"What is it?"

The unexpected female voice behind his left ear made the young man jerk spasmodically and lurch sideways in startled response. His paint smeared pallet did a hard flip out of his left hand to do an end over end somersault over his left shoulder. The paintbrush in his right hand drew a long jagged streak of Alizarine crimson across his half finished canvas when his arms began flailing to unsuccessfully save himself from falling off his painter's stool. His strangled yell of surprise morphed into dismay mixed with pain as his rear end, elbow, and right shoulder all thumped simultaneously on the flat graveled roof of the old, six story apartment building.

His fists and jaw clenched in instant anger as his eyes saw the damage to his masterpiece and badly needed potential meal ticket. He turned to glare up at the interloper who had ruined the painting on the only canvas he had left, ruined his precious quiet solitude, and had made such a bad beginning to what was already scheduled to be a very stressful day. Huh. Wouldn't a fella just know it? Another fricken female screwing with his life.

"Damn it! What's the matter with you? Sneaking up on a guy like that!" He pointed his dripping brush at her as if it was a weapon or maybe even a magic wand capable of making her instantly disappear.

"I didn't sneak," she frowned in recoil, taking an uncertain step backwards. She rapidly processed the English words she needed in her mind before continuing. "I mean, I didn't intend to scare you. I'm sorry. I was just curious as I watched you paint because I couldn't tell what it is supposed to be."

"It's my rendition of the sun rising over Tokyo called 'Shinto Dawn', if you MUST know, or WAS until you showed up. Dammit."

The aggrieved tone in his voice made the young woman wince again slightly as he rolled to his feet, brushed small pebbles from the seat of his jeans, and glared at her anew. Her fleeting regret at causing him a little unhappiness was almost instantly replaced by a slight smirk of happy relief. Yes, she could converse with him naturally in speech, because his mind's aura was helping her understand his words through their mental connection. To not be able to do so had been a very nagging worry.

"Well, again, I'm sorry," she tried to smile warmly as she gave a small apologetic shrug, "but whatever you call that on your canvas, I think it just got an improvement, and you looked very cute falling sideways like that. Funny too. You're kinda jumpy for such a big and strong looking man. What are you afraid of up here? The roof is empty except for you and your painting paraphernalia."

"Cute? Jumpy? What do you mean improvement?" he demanded while ignoring her attempt at making amends. "I've worked too hard on this piece! I NEED it to sell for a few yen and eat next week! Hell, even Monet, Debussy, and Ravel would be jealous!"

"Really? I don't know those people, but that just doesn't LOOK like any kind of picture of dawn over Tokyo. Who would buy it? It's just a bunch of smeared colors, and you can't see any buildings, streets, traffic, or anything. You even left out Tokyo Bay. That new streak at least looks like a ray of early sunlight. Nothing else resembles anything I see out there right now." Riko craned her neck to look past him and gaze at the city's skyline while shaking her head in puzzlement.

"That's because it's an impressionistic expression of my inner artiste," he replied angrily as he turned away to study the painting's damage with renewed dismay. This was going to take a LOT of Hansa and Cadmium yellow to cover up and maybe blend the streak back into something usable.

"What do YOU know about art anyway! Can't even recognize impressionism? Or know the greatest impressionist painters in history? Critics! You can't even co-ordinate the colors of your own clothes, for Pete's sakes!"

"Hey, I said I'm sorry, twice, and who's this Pete guy?" the young woman frowned as she picked up his stool, set it upright, and then stood slightly behind him and to his right as she chewed her lip in concern. Shouldn't this first meeting be going better? She didn't know and had no relevant data to correlate or use for corrective options. With only three peers as sort of friends, she had always been greatly lacking in most social graces let alone being almost a total loner her entire life. Worse, she had never intimately interacted with a male before.

Her database of English idioms and slang apparently was not as complete as she had surmised either. What was wrong with the colors of her clothes that this unknown Pete didn't like? They were the best she could steal under the circumstance, and besides, she liked them.

As her Ashikabi studied his damaged canvas, she scrutinized his profile very closely. She was obviously suffering from a lack of more personal data about him and needed more. Quickly. And project warmth while obtaining same, if she could.

"And I wasn't trying to ruin your day or your painting. It's not the end of the world, is it? Lighten up a little! And tell me about yourself! By the way, my name's Riko. What's yours?"

"My Mother named me Cash Joseph Archer because she's nuts, but everybody has always called me CJ. Now go away," he replied huffily as his mind was now fully focused on his damaged artwork and he couldn't afford any more distractions.

Her presence was pointedly ignored by his turning away. His right hand came up to cup his chin. His left hand supported his right elbow as he frowned in concentration upon repairing his painting. A short silence ensued on the apartment roof that was broken only by the sounds of heavy, frustrated, early morning, and loudly beeping vehicle traffic on the streets below and a dawn lit, climbing passenger jet roaring overhead.

"Cash, Cash Joseph Archer," the woman murmured as she leaned closer to take a deep inhale of his natural body odor. This action caused a slow flush to begin at her neck and work it's way upward past half lidded eyes that suddenly began glazing over in pleasure. Ummm. More data could wait. She swayed closer, taking deep breaths until her upper torso brushed against his right upper arm.

Once again he jumped sideways in surprised alarm, but this time Cash kept his feet and backpedaled several steps to put a few feet between them. Unnoticed, his left elbow bumped his easel so that his impressionistic rendition of "Shinto Dawn" toppled almost in slow motion from its resting slot. Naturally, his freshly oil wet painting canvas adhered to Murphy's First Law of falling objects with only one important side. It landed face down like a giant piece of half buttered toast on the pebbled roof beside his forgotten pallet, but Cash was too spooked to notice at the moment.

"What are you doing? Keep away! Hey! What's the matter? Your face is beet red! You got a sudden fever? If you're sick, I can't afford to catch it! Riko? It is Riko, right? Hey! Snap out of it! Do you need a doctor? Sit down, and I'll call for ..."

"No, Cash Joseph," Riko caught herself, blinked rapidly several times, halted her forward advance, and began to take deep breaths with both arms folded below her heaving chest. "I'm not sick in that way. I'm, I'm, uhhh, reacting very strongly to your power. It's just, ummm, a natural phenomenon, nothing to be alarmed about."

"Natural reaction? POWER? What power? ME? I don't have any power!"

Cash backed a few more cautious steps in bafflement and stopped to stare at the strange young woman who had so weirdly invaded his life.

This Riko seemed to be a typical Japanese female model in her late teens or early twenties, slim, athletic build but with enough curves to be considered very attractive and even sexy, perhaps five four in height, 110 lbs or so, possible dimensions of 34-22-34, thick black hair cut in a flattering bob curving a few centimeters below her jawline and straight bangs ending just above her shaped eyebrows. Framing her perfectly proportioned oval face, her hairdo really flattered her almost aquiline features. She looked like she had applied a subdued amount of makeup to highlight her almond shaped dark eyes, straight nose, and full red lips.

In short, she was a real petite beauty, and definitely way out of his league as possible girlfriend material, but he was in no way looking for a girlfriend anyway, no matter how good she looked, typical or otherwise. He couldn't afford one, and he certainly wasn't ready to face another possible bad beat down of failed one sided love like the one he had just suffered from his ex fiance, the over controlling user and cold hearted Agnes Mortensen. That dirty rotten bitch had even gotten him blacklisted in American minor league baseball as well as cruelly breaking his heart.

No more innocent, wide and dewy eyed, possessive, Black Widow type females for him, no sir, not ever again, but dammit, why wouldn't his wayward and subtly stirring dick agree with him just this once? And, he scowled slightly during an accusatory quick look at his crotch, she was dressed weird. That bothered his more rational thoughts.

The really physically jarring note to Riko's appearance was that she was wearing bright yellow tennis shoes that clashed mightily with her dark maroon dress slacks and her silk, lime green, short sleeved blouse. The worst mentally upsetting fact about her was that her unnatural "reaction" to him seemed to mimic her fashion disaster clothing.

Besides, he had never had any kind of power around or over beautiful females, or plain ones either for that matter, certainly no abilities to make them blush furiously and seem to lose all motor control while talking pure gibberish. Her assertion to the contrary spoke volumes to his natural male caution and "emo female" early warning radar. Something was definitely not right with this chick. Another thought struck him.

"Hey," Cash cocked his head sideways after glancing around in puzzlement. "How did you get up here? I got the only key to the roof door, and it was locked behind me."

His head swiveled upwards and side to side as he scratched the back of his neck. Something was REALLY weird here. No helicopters, no para-sails, no buildings close enough or on the same level to enable a jump across to here. Did she sneak up to the roof using the fire escape? Not likely since the fire escape was on the building's east side that was in front of his easel, and he would have seen her approach. His easel! It was face down on the roof's pebble surface! Damn! His painting was really ruined now!

For her part, Riko swallowed several times before attempting to reply. Her Ashikabi was before her, of this there was absolutely no doubt now. The pounding of her heart, the sudden rush of heat throughout her body, and the intensity of emotional and mental resonance to feel complete in his presence left no room for any second guessing. All she had to do was exchange DNA and his crest would mark her as his just as all the lab technicians in MBI had foretold would happen to the other Sekirei that had been "adjusted" in her section.

One kiss and her powers would be completely unlocked, then she would be ready for battle in the Sekirei Plan. MBI wasn't going to like what she intended to do to end that either.

"I pushed myself up here, Cash Joseph," Riko replied truthfully with her eyes locked intently upon his. She had never seen deep blue eyes in a live person before. It was fascinating. "I was searching for you below by mistake until I could sense you were up here. I'm a Sekirei and used my power to rise up and meet you."

"You're not Japanese? You look like a native. You're a sucky ray? What's that? I mean," Cash scratched his head again in bewilderment. Reaching into the left back pocket of his blue jeans, he retrieved his Japanese pocket dictionary and began thumbing through it. "Let's see, sucky, sucki, sukki, hmmm, maybe sekki. Reference to yucky? I've heard of yucky soba, some kind of noodle dish, right? You're definitely not a noodle. Never heard of a sucky ray though, and you're not in my dictionary. Wait. Sensed me? Rising Power? You used some power to what, fly up here like some kinda of supernatural ninja or something? To meet me? Why? What for? How did you even know I was anywhere near here to be sensed?"

"Ummm, I know this is gonna sound a little weird but, ummm, please keep an open and calm mind, Cash Joseph, and bear with me. I mean you no harm at all, ever. You see, I'm basically an alien that was raised in an MBI laboratory. Sekirei have been recently released to seek their Ashikabi and prepare for the right to ascend by winning the battle sponsored and overseen by MBI's director. That's the Sekirei Plan to usher in a new age of the gods.

"We Sekirei are mentally attuned to seek the one who is the most compatible to us and can increase our natural powers. I found you in my dreams weeks ago, and then I felt your mind as soon as I left the MBI building about an hour ago. I naturally started in the direction that seemed the strongest. Like I said, I wound up on the sidewalk below and felt you above me, so I pushed myself up here."

Riko started to add more to answer his questions, but she had to pause to lick her dry lips while her eyes drank him in. The psychic power emanating from him was almost overwhelming her senses as much as his physical attraction was affecting her body. No one had told her that her Ashikabi could be a foreigner, a tall, good looking, athletic American with deep blue eyes, muscular arms, wide shoulders, narrow hips, a strong square jaw, wavy brown hair that curled just above his ears, and large hands with long fingers. He even had clean, white, even teeth.

He also looked very, very sexually appealing in his tight blue jeans and short sleeved t-shirt, even if he was wearing a paint smeared apron over them. There was strength here, great strength and intelligence, and yet he was obviously some kind of a sensitive soul despite having little natural artistic talent. He hadn't exactly overwhelmed her with his enthusiasm in meeting her, but so what? If he had a good sense of humor, tasted and felt as good as he smelled, and liked females, then her joy and desire to do battle for him would be complete.

"An alien? Is that why you can speak perfect English without a Japanese accent?" Cash gulped as he broke eye contact with her and furiously thumbed his dictionary in increasing panic.

"A mind reading alien looking for an Ashikabi? What's that? Hey! Sekirei, here it is. It says here that a Sekirei is some kind of bird called a wagtail. You're an avian alien that can fly, right? Wait. What was that about being in a battle? What do you mean ascend? Why would I want to? For what reason? To a higher plane of existence? To the moon or another planet maybe? Using a spaceship? No thanks! I'm keeping my feet firmly planted on good ol' Mother Earth.

"Hey look, Riko, I'm in Japan to play ball, baseball. Got it? I've got a really important tryout this afternoon, and I also work as the janitor for this building. I paint in my spare time to try to make a few extra yen on the side. I ain't got time for any battling and ascending stuff, see? Nor some new age of any cockamamie gods and whatnot. I gotta clean my apartment building's shared toilets and baths before I can go try out.

"Every night there's a saki and karaoke party in the rec room downstairs. Some of the tenants keep getting drunk on sake and missing the bomb sights in the toilets and then making another puking mess in the communal bath. It's gonna take a lot of time to clean 'em all. There's no way I'm getting involved in any battle with alien birds masquerading as Japanese women anyway. No Sireee! I haven't got the time or inclination! I'm incompatible with any part of that! I'm a ballplayer, not a fighter, nor an Ashikabi," Cash paused to take several deep calming breaths as he checked his book again, "whatever that is. That isn't in my dictionary either!"

"An Ashikabi is the one whose soul and DNA unlocks his Sekirei's full potential forever and ever. I have been told that it's a relationship that can only be broken by termination once formed." Riko lifted her hands towards him in a small pleading gesture.

This was not going nearly as well as she had been told and imagined. She edged forwards. She wished she could explain herself better by using her native Japanese language, but it seemed the vastly more complicated English was going to be her only way to talk to him.

"Relationship?" Cash blinked in wide eyed chagrin. Only broken by termination like, like suicide or getting killed in some dumb battle? "Relationship as in total commitment? Like permanent residency together, common law lovers, or even a formal marriage?"

"Yes," Riko responded warmly. Finally. He understood! An adoring tone crept into her voice. "I think in your language you would call me a combination of your life mate, your girlfriend, special other, wife, and willingly submissive sex slave. We are to be bonded, mind, soul, and body Cash Joseph. All we have to do is kiss and exchange DNA for our implanting with each other to begin."

"Kiss you? Just like that? And WHABBO! I got an instant alien wife and sex slave? Are ... You... NUTS?" Cash began edging carefully backwards.

"We just met! I don't know you from Helen of Troy! You don't know me! You don't know anything about me! Total commitment? Hey, I told you I'm a ball player! That's gotta tell you the whole story about me right there! I'm a jerk! A clod! A foul ball! I move around! A lot! Besides, my current room is a top floor single, all I can afford, and no females allowed!"

"You don't want a completely loving life mate and willing sex slave?" Riko frowned in surprised disbelief while pouting. What was this? Their inevitable bonding was DEFINITELY not going the way it was supposed to go.

Nobody had warned her that her Ashikabi might not want her and would actively reject her. She hadn't even thought about it, let alone planned for the possibility. None of the other Sekirei at MBI had talked about it either. Bonding was reported to be quite easy, mutually enthusiastic, and not difficult at all. What was she supposed to do? Searching her prodigious perfect memory, she had nothing in her prior research data nor experience to help. Maybe her offhand comments on his lousy artwork hadn't been such a great first move.

"No I don't want a sex slave, life mate, wife, girlfriend or any other kind of committed type relationship! Been there and failed that way too often! I can't even make a one night stand go right!" Cash waved his hands in front of him as if to ward off some kind of approaching evil.

"No strange alien or even human females for me, now and for a long time in the foreseeable future, no matter how beautiful, smart, and sexy they might be. Hey, I'm working on a getting my forkball over the plate more often. That's all that matters right now! This isn't the time for my future pro baseball career to get distracted with some alien bird woman, especially one that can't recognize great impressionistic art when she sees it and dresses like some color challenged clown!

'You just wag your little tail right off this roof the same way you came! I'm not swapping spit with you, now or ever! Stay away from me and find somebody else to fight and ascend with, somebody who likes fighting and ascending and, and, and whatever other alien weirdo stuff that comes with it! Leave me alone! You're killing me here! Go away! Shoo! Shoo!"

"You REALLY don't want to become my Ashikabi? You can't feel the strong psychic connection that's pulsing between us right now? You don't desire to complete me physically the way that I desire you?" Riko pointed frankly at the growing bulge in the front of his jeans in disbelieving confusion.

Why would her Ashikabi so blatantly deny himself and her like this? Was there something wrong with her? Or did he think she wasn't able to satisfy his desires in a female? True, even though she had secretly studied the Kama Sutra with her friend Kazehana, she was an inexperienced virgin when it came to lovemaking, but hey, every couple had the same basic equipment to work with, right?

She could learn. After all, even hiding her brain's natural mathematical, scientific, and engineering skills as well as her eidetic memory from MBI testing, her IQ had still rated beyond their scale to measure. Learning quickly was one of her Sekirei powers that he could further unlock if he would just kiss her. Why wouldn't he want to? She was by all measures visually comely enough and hygienically clean.

It didn't take brains on her part to have sex according to all texts she had read on the subject either. Pictures in Kazehana's book had indicated that all she needed to do was simply be nude and her loins openly exposed for male penetration. Besides, he had just admitted to being experienced enough to accomplish their mating. What was he worried about? Perhaps a little more boldness on her part was needed to show her earnestness in becoming mates as well as obtaining more informative and relevant data on her Ashikabi and what appealed to him.

"Okay, so we don't know each other too well yet, Cash Joseph. Let's just go exchange personal data down in your room, and talk this over a little where we can both be privately comfortable."

"Oh no you don't! Fat chance we'll be talking much down there! I, I, I admit there's something physical going on here," Cash stuttered in embarrassment while waving his arms in negation even harder, "but little CJ down there in my jeans doesn't have a brain and has been a total fool too many times before. We ain't helping no alien Billie Jean lay any fertilized eggs some time in the near future either! And I REALLY don't want to become anything permanent with you. No Way! No FREAKING way! Not going to happen! I'm talking absolutely, take it to the bank, one hundred percent UH-UH! I'm just gonna play ball and paint, and that's IT! Now, make like old timey Michael Jackson, and just beat it!"

"But Cash Joseph Archer!" Shaking her head to indicate that she wasn't an egg laying Billie Jean type, whatever that was, Riko began pleading as she stepped towards him. "We are irrevocably destined to be..."

Her plea was halted, and she stared in frozen shocked horror as Cash's back pedaling left heel bumped against the knee high wall that edged the roof's perimeter. With arms still flailing about wildly, but this time to unsuccessfully regain his balance, Cash fell backwards over the edge. Another startled, long drawn out yell came from his throat as he plummeted head first towards the street below. About two stories before impact, something gripped his ankles and abruptly halted his terrifying plunge. Unfortunately, his momentum made him swing like a small pendulum. This resulted in the back of his skull soundly thumping like a ripe watermelon against the concrete wall of the building and knocking him unconscious.

Riko, still standing on the roof and anxiously looking down at him, mentally willed his limp body upwards and let him gently come to rest lying face up beside her on the roof's rough surface. She was also mentally kicking herself. How stupid could she be? She had almost stood by like a total lump and let her future Ashikabi die? After making him scared of her? What kind of bonding was that?

She knelt down beside him, gazing intently at his suddenly boyish looking face, and wondering what she should do next. He really was very, very handsome and appealing even if he was kind of an initially negative blockhead as well as a lousy artist. It might help if she set his painting back up and remove any debris out of the wet paint before he woke up. Maybe she should have told him she was the only true kinetic Sekirei in MBI's coming battle royale, and since she had never been "adjusted", she would also be the strongest if she was winged by him as well as one of the smartest.

Maybe she should have demonstrated her current powers to manipulate objects, people, and even herself in three dimensions. Flying about, hovering, and in general curving the laws of kinetic physics might have impressed him enough to overcome his initial shock and negativity. He HAD reacted to her physically, so she knew the mental and soul connection was there to be unleashed too.

What if she just kissed him now and then let him get used to her and their new lives together gradually? After winging, their psychic connection was supposed to be a lot stronger. That should easily translate into a more comfortable, compatible, and satisfying relationship, in and out of the bedroom. It would be even better for them especially after she won MBI's last battle, freed her fellow Sekirei from MBI's tyranny, and made everything perfect for everyone, human and Sekirei alike.

That's it, she thought to herself. There was more and bigger things going on here than just Cash Joseph and herself getting lucky on a long term basis. She had a duty to her sister and brother Sekirei as well as to the human race. Cash Joseph would just have to understand.

With this decision made, she leaned forward to complete their bonding, but a sudden thought caught her and made her pause. Building healthy and lasting relationships had always been her weakest trait in the labs. Only Number 3 Kazehana of the Wind and Number 10 Uzume of the Veils, both with closely related mental wavelengths, had really seemed to like her even a little bit. Number 07 Akitsu had seemed to tolerate her presence too, but she had almost went mentally silent after being "scrapped" by being given too powerful drugs during MBI's experimentation. The other Sekirei, especially the lower numbers, had mostly displayed everything from indifference to outright hostility. She had purposefully never made friends with any of the humans in the MBI labs at all.

What if Cash Joseph resented their mating after he woke up? Would he accept her decision, or would he resent it? What if he continued to reject her and eventually grew to hate her? Forever and ever of mutual misery could be a very long time. Cash Joseph was definitely a strong minded male, stronger than any she had met in the MBI labs, and a better physical specimen too. An unrequited life longing for his loving with no hope of being together naturally was unthinkable.

Worse, what if he turned to other females while leaving her untouched and unloved, and yet eternally bound to him? There had been rumors before her escape from MBI of Ashikabi having winged more than one Sekirei. If this was true, then an Ashikabi as strong as Cash Joseph would more than likely attract more females of her race and very soon too. How would she be able to handle that kind of competition?

Riko sat back upon her heels. She couldn't fight her best for an Ashikabi that didn't really want her, or at least accept her for what she was and his part in their bonding. Maybe she had been too forward, too quick, and too blunt in meeting and introducing herself to him. She grimaced to herself. Criticizing his hobby hadn't helped either.

Riko heaved a huge sigh of regret that her winging hadn't went as quick and smooth as she had thought it would. She had to respect her Ashikabi's free will if they were to be happy. As painful as it might become, she would have to wait, show Cash Joseph all the advantages of having her as his Sekirei, woo him and win his love, but make her Ashikabi think that he was really the one making the first move. Only then could they both really be free at last to bond with forever and ever love. The question was, could she do it?


	2. Chapter 2

**The Game Changer**

**Chapter 2 – Second Pitch, Low and Inside**

Riko bit her lower lip apprehensively at the size of the lump forming on the back of Cash Joseph's head. She checked the pupils of his eyes. They were the same size so it was unlikely that he had a concussion. There was no blood in his hair so the skin on his scalp hadn't been broken, but he was definitely going to have a headache when he regained consciousness. Maybe he had some ice in his apartment, but which one was it?

She glanced towards the rooftop door and over at his ruined painting and scattered equipment. It was safe to say there was no use lingering up here now that the sun was peeping over Tokyo's horizon. He probably wasn't going to feel much like painting any more this morning anyway.

Mentally lifting everything including the supine Cash Joseph, she levitated towards the door with every object trailing behind her like little ducklings following their momma. The tumblers on the door lock were easily picked. He had said his room was a top floor single, right? All she had to do was look for an empty male's room that was probably a little messy with baseball equipment. It wouldn't take an alien female genius to find it either. The door at the end of the hallway nearest the foul smelling sixth floor toilets proved to be his, and sure enough, the small single room behind the door was in shambles.

She let out a groan of disappointment at the cramped room that was little more than a repository for a soiled looking futon with unwashed bedclothes and a small table with a toaster, a two burner electric hot plate, and dirty dishes caked with dried crud. There was a small sink with an even smaller attached cabinet also filled with dirty dishes, a corner dresser with every drawer open, and dirty, wrinkled clothes that were literally strewn everywhere. Several incomprehensible looking pieces of dried artwork had been propped up against walls that were badly peeling beige paint. The small window on the side of the room opposite the door had a soiled and paint streaked sheet tacked up as a curtain. The only light was a bare overhead bulb hanging from a wire in the ceiling's center. Cash Joseph lived in a place smaller and much tackier than her former MBI cubicle.

There were no decorations other than a pink plastic wall clock above the rust stained sink, no pictures, no rugs on the dusty and bare plywood floor, no TV, no game center, and no furniture other than one ratty looking aluminum lawn chair beside the table. The room stank of stale sweat, mildew, musty laundry, and what, stale coffee? The only redeeming and interesting features were a large corner bookcase filled with hardcover books, a shiny acoustic guitar beside it, a very clean and pressed baseball uniform hanging from the opposite corner's hat tree, and a big cardboard box with a few small packages of instant beef and chicken flavored Ramen noodles that had tiny plastic packages of soy sauce inside them.

The sight of this last reminded her that she was hungry, very hungry. How could any person live in Japan without at least having a stash of rice, dried fish, and soy sauce? Below the box she discovered a miniature refrigerator that had one half empty bottle of catchup, two cans of unsweetened lemon tea, one half wrapped and half eaten pita bread sandwich made with some indeterminable type of meat, a can of Cheese Whiz with no cap, a half empty jar of Jif peanut butter, and an open can of partially eaten Spam. Not only was her Ashikabi a lousy artist, he was an almost total slob in danger of starving to death. Obviously selling his artwork, doing janitor work, and playing professional baseball had not been paying too well. There was, however, a small freezer drawer in the fridge that contained a tray of ice cubes.

Riko sighed, shrugged, and got to work. Twenty minutes later, the still unconscious Cash Joseph was laying face down on his bare futon. She had made an impromptu cloth bag of ice out of a tied long shirt sleeve to cover the swelling on his head. Riko had also scrubbed out one small pot, boiled water, and filled it to the brim with as many packs of noodles as it would hold. She began eating with an uncivilized but cleaned fork since she couldn't find any chopsticks. Americans must be culinary duds, she thought to herself while keeping one eye on her eating and the other on her telekinetic attempts to organize the messy room. And the brown peanut cream stuff tasted really nasty. Especially on ramen noodles. Ewwww.

Riko decided as she chewed the insipid breakfast that a trip to the nearest laundry was in their immediate future as well as a visit to a local grocery for some decent food. She wondered just how much cash Cash Joseph had available in his wallet. She mentally fished it out of his jeans and only found a little less than three thousand yen, not even enough for cab fare to go very far, let alone buy much to eat. No matter, with her abilities there was nothing that couldn't be obtained on the sneak if necessary, including more money. What she had to really concentrate on was wooing her Ashikabi. There had to be some very powerful reason or reasons for why he was responding so negatively towards her. She wondered if any other Sekirei was finding this kind of severe reluctance to being winged by their mates.

Well, she grimaced at a new thought, she had nothing for her personal use either. She would have to get some more clothes, underwear, shoes, basic toiletries, a toothbrush, a hairbrush, handbag, and extra bedclothes. How in the world had she just naively assumed that all she had to do was escape MBI and that her Ashikabi would be able to supply everything she would need including money and a place to live, eat, and sleep? Her man didn't even have painkiller pills for the lump on his head.

***scene break***

Cash groaned and then started in reflexive fear while calling out, "Mother!" The last sight he had seen was the broken concrete surface of a trash strewn alley rushing towards his face as he was helplessly falling, and then he had felt a sudden jerk on his legs. How had he not been smashed into a bloody pulp? What had happened after his head had hit something very hard and things had went black? Note to self, he winced as he touched the lump on the back of his head, suicide by throwing himself off any tall building was definitely NOT an option. Nothing, not even his ex, Agnes Mortenson, could ever make him even consider it.

Something or somebody had saved his life, and the most probable suspect was that weird, self proclaimed alien bird woman named Riko who also claimed to have some kind of super powers. On the other hand, that same Riko was the reason why he had been backing away into unheeded danger too close to the roof's edge. Talk about the always present yin and yang of unwanted female stupidity and interference in his life, in general the world over, and now outer space as well, he moaned internally.

He blinked in realization. He wasn't lying on the alley or the roof, he was in his apartment on his futon. At least, he thought it was his apartment. If it was, everything had been moved except for his baseball uniform and bookcase. How long had he been out? How had he gotten here? How come everything smelled like lemony disinfectant? Wait. Something also smelled like food. Was it fried spam and beef flavored instant noodles with coffee on the side? Was that weird Riko responsible for all this too?

Cash rolled to his hands and knees, shying sideways as a wet shirt sleeve flopped across his forehead. What the hell? He gulped as he tried to catch his breath and calm his suddenly beating heart. Man, that fall had really spooked him. Well, why shouldn't it give him the yips? He'd almost died up there! His throbbing head came up to look at his wall clock. Damn! It was almost 9:00! He was going to be late at the ballpark, but if he didn't do his morning chores, the landlord would throw him out before nightfall! Damn! He hated these kinds of decisions! And he was hungry!

Well, throbbing headache or not, he had to have energy for whatever he decided to do, save his crappy apartment or fading baseball career. Hah! There was no decision. He'd eat and quickly get dressed for his tryout. He could always sleep on a park bench tonight if he had to. It wouldn't be the first time. On the other hand it was still early spring. Park benches could get mighty cool at night, especially in Tokyo, but he had no life without baseball.

A few minutes later he had a moderately full stomach although the slightly gamy mix of cubed Spam soaked in soy sauce amidst beef flavored noodles had been a little strange. His uniform fit a little too loose thanks to several weeks of short rations and meager funds left over after buying paints and new canvas, but at least it was clean and pressed.

One couldn't skimp on personal appearance when it came to impressing Japanese baseball scouts. They were almost as anal as all the employees that he had seen in the international airport on the day that he'd arrived in Tokyo. There the females had all dressed exactly the same with the identical bun hairdo, the identical uniform, and even the exact same makeup. The males all walked around in sky blue police uniforms with white spats covering their shoes, white gloves, white Sam Browne cross belts, and armed with large looking handguns. They also carried a small brush broom with long handled dust pans to sweep up after incoming international travelers walking into the terminal from the planes. The whole place looked like it was infested with clones silently demonstrating that Japan had a superior rich country while all foreigners were basically unclean. Baseball scouts all looked and acted the same as the airport employees. What kind of people armed their airport janitors?

Hey, Cash old pal, now was not the time to analyze Japanese cultural norms. He had to get his mind focused on pitching. Wait. Who had made the pot of food left on the table's hotplate and the small pot of coffee warming in the midget coffeemaker? He couldn't just run off without finding out and thanking them even if did turn out to be that goofy Riko chick. Damn, his head hurt. And he had to drain his kidneys, now. Then he had to find a taxi cab to get him at least within running distance of the stadium.

His last few thousand yen were going to be spent for cab fare on a very slim chance that he might find a part time bullpen position on a last place minor league pro team in Tokyo. There would be nothing to eat tonight either unless he did well enough in the tryout to secure a small advance signing check, but it was either that or go back to Springfield, Illinois and work as a stock boy and gopher in his uncle's hardware store. He'd rather work as an airport janitor in Japan than do that. Maybe it was a good thing he'd flown here with a round trip ticket if his forkball sucked again today. At least he could eat the incredibly inedible airline food on his way back to the States. Oh well, he shrugged, time to go in more ways than one.

He found that the communal sixth floor toilets and bath were spotless and even sort of smelled piney woods fresh. The white tile floor, formerly a sour smelling dingy gray, gleamed. The walls' cheap plastic wallboard had a faint rose pattern after scrubbing. Who knew? He gaped at the ceiling. It was clean looking too. He rubbed his chin in speculation. Assuming the crazy wagtail alien woman had some special superpower, what kind would it be to keep him from smashing his falling body onto concrete, putting him back up six floors and into his room, and yet clean bathrooms spotless to boot? True, she had scared the shit out of him with that creepy commitment talk, she wasn't a snappy dresser, she was a lousy art critic, and not much of a cook, but to be fair, food had been prepared and the toilets were clean.

Cash finished his call of nature, went back to his room to grab his mitt and favorite bat, and began pelting down the apartment stairway. He met Riko floating up the stairwell between the third and fourth floor. Trailing below her was a mop, a bucket full of scouring pads and brushes, some bottles of cleaning fluid, and a stack of his folded laundry in a big wicker basket. He gaped at the spooky sight that looked like something out of the Walt Disney Mickey Mouse cartoon about the sorcerer's apprentice. His mind could only focus on the most mundane detail. Where had she gotten the wicker basket?

"My Ashikabi, are you feeling better?" Riko smiled brightly in greeting. "Did you eat your breakfast? We'll have to go to the store and stock up on better food stuffs. I'm going to have to shop for a few personal items too. Your janitor chores are all done, and I see you're dressed to go to your athletic appointment. What time do we have to be there, and where is it?"

Cash simply stared back in blinking silence as she and her cleaning menagerie hovered in space in front of him. Stock up? At a store? She had money? Or was she some kind of witchy alien thief? After taking a few deep breaths and swallowing hard, he frowned in puzzlement and gestured hesitantly at the undeniably beautiful and petite floating female and her stuff hovering before him.

"I've, uhhh, damn! I've got to be at the Tokyo Dome at 11:00. How do you DO that?"

"I'm a Sekirei with advanced mental powers of which telekinesis is one. I'm able to move things by focusing my mind upon them without physically touching them. As far as I know I'm the only one. Other Sekirei can manipulate elements such as water, fire, wind, and even light, electricity, and sound. Some have abnormal abilities with various weapons, and others are close contact fighters with incredible strength and speed. All are above normal human abilities, but to reach our true potential, our DNA has been made to be permanently bonded with a human with whom we have a strong psychic resonance. This makes us even more powerful. I very strongly resonate with you and no other human man. You are my Ashikabi, Cash Joseph."

"WHOA! Wait just one damn minute here! I'm not! There's around six billion people on this planet, and about half are males," Cash shook his head in instant negative frustration. "There's almost 37 million folks here in Tokyo alone. Statistically speaking there has GOT to be a lot of human guys around here for you to resonate with as you claim. You just need to look a little harder. I'm a baseball player, see? Nothing else! And not whatever you claim!"

"I've been searching for my Ashikabi for years," Riko explained patiently with her palms up and reaching towards him. "You are the only one I've found that matched me, Cash Joseph. Even though there are natural differences between our species, can't you feel within your mind and body the way we seem to just fit together, the total rightness of our being paired?"

"Uhhh, no, and you got to understand something, Miss Riko Sekirei person thingy from another planet you," Cash began before pausing and swallowing hard at the sight of her so nonchalantly suspended before him in empty air. He then continued with a small hint of earnest desperation creeping into his vocal tones.

"I'm very grateful for you saving me somehow from that fall from the roof, which you actually caused in the first place. I'm grateful for you cleaning my room and doing my chores to save my job and apartment. I'm glad you fixed what food and coffee I had left for breakfast too, although I never asked for any of it, but let's get this one thing straight. I'm NOT your so called Ashikabi. I'm just good ol' Cash Joseph Archer, a hick clod from Springfield, Illinois, the asshole of the Midwest, who wants to play pro baseball and live a nice, quiet, single life. Note that stress on single, to wit, meaning ALONE. You are a very beautiful, obviously intelligent, and, ummm, enhanced type of female bird thing, uhhh, person. I'll give you that. I appreciate everything you've done for me, totally forgive you for intruding into my life while almost getting me killed, and now I want you to just go bye bye."

"Cash Joseph, I have nowhere to go," Riko returned calmly but firmly. "When I escaped from MBI, it was with the sole purpose of coming to you, because you ARE my Ashikabi. Without you, I will not have life. Where you go, I will go. What needs you have, I will supply. I will protect you, care for you, and love you like no human female can. Why can't you just accept this and stop trying to give me the big brush off?"

"Baseball is MY life, my single life," Cash retorted in rising anger. "Maybe you got some kind of kook fixation on me, but that doesn't mean I'm duty bound to return it, and no, I don't feel any so called mental resonance. What I feel is growing irritation at being dogged around by some screwy female that does freaky stuff that is not humanly possible. Why would I want to mess my life up with that? There's also reasons why I'm a confirmed bachelor, and they aren't pretty.

"Besides, you positively REEK of female trouble to me, the worst possible, possessive, nagging, and henpecking kind, and you've already admitted you're a fugitive from some place called MBI. Don't you suppose the authorities will come looking for you real soon? I'm pretty sure alien escapes and escapees aren't an everyday occurrence in this screwy town either, so we could be looking at police and military types from all over the world sniffing and crawling around this dump before sundown. Again, why should I get involved with that? With my luck they'd be hauling ME back to their labs for dissection and stuff. Just go away! Shoo! Take a hint and a fast powder, will ya? I gotta go pitch my tryout! Not get messed up with some crazy female acting like an escapee from To Love Ru manga!"

Riko simply sighed at her Ashikabi's lack of understanding, negative attitude, and woeful enthusiasm to possess her. Wooing and winning him now seemed a little harder too. Nevertheless, she would just have to stick to her plan of proving herself and persevere. There were no other options.

"I'll just put these things away, Cash Joseph, and then we'll go. You're not going to get rid of me that easily, and I wish you would clear all those negative thoughts about us out of your mind and give us a fair chance to see if what I say is true or not, okay? Don't worry about anyone coming here for me either. Nothing in this world is going to stop me from being with you, especially MBI goons or any silly armies from all the combined nations on Earth."

Cash didn't respond because he suddenly found himself helplessly and breathlessly floating up the stairwell behind Riko in train with the other odds and ends of Mickey's cartoon menagerie. A small niggling worry inanely surfaced in the back of his thoughts that made him groan in anticipation. How was he going to someday explain all this to his mother?

***scene break***

Riko smiled in anticipation as Cash Joseph began running up the stadium stairs towards her seat about twenty rows up behind the third base dugout. There was no doubt he was coming to thank her for helping his workout session for the baseball scouts go so well. The huge stadium had been a chorus of excitement from the players on the field as her Ashikabi had thrown his baseballs very fast, snapped off big sweeping curves, threw his forkball for strikes at will, and used his bat to smack ball after ball out over the outfield walls. She was very pleased with how good of an impression he had made with the dapper older men who were testing his abilities. With smug satisfaction, she had watched them write a check and hand it to him. Her smile faded somewhat as her human sweetheart came closer wearing a facial expression of thorough disgust mixed with anger. What in the world could be wrong?

"You were using your powers!" Cash began in an accusing half shout. "You were using your powers, weren't you! I have never hit a home run in my life, in practice or any game ever, let alone six in a row! And there's no way I can throw a 97 mile an hour fast ball either! The best I've ever managed on the radar gun was 86! And I threw everything for strikes! My forkball crosses the strike zone about one pitch in five! You were cheating! Your were cheating by using your powers to help me!"

"These are the kinds of things in which I can aid you in fulfilling your dreams, Cash Joseph," Riko nodded in affirmation. What was he so worked up about? He had gotten paid for today's efforts, hadn't he? He was sure to get the position he desired now. What was with all the negative waves? "Soon you will be recognized as the greatest baseball player that has ever put on a uniform."

"But that's cheating! There's no cheating in baseball!" Cash began, his arms waving about in agitation while holding his mitt in one hand and his bat in the other. He ignored the sweat running down his forehead and cheeks as his self righteous wrath began to take full bloom. "You CAN'T do that! I'd be nothing but the biggest phony that ever played! There's NO cheating in baseball!"

Of all the ungrateful and low down, Riko frowned in thought before she checked herself. Of course he would look at things less pragmatically than her. He was an overly sensitive, struggling artiste as well as some kind of purist for his sport. This was actually a good thing now that she thought about it. It meant he had a finely developed sense of morality, misplaced in this case perhaps, but encouraging for when they began raising their children.

"No cheating in baseball?" Riko folded her arms across her chest and gazed up at him with raised eyebrows of disbelief at his naivete. "Nonsense. I have studied this game ever since my first dream contact with you. How about corked bats, stealing opposing teams signs, foreign substances on balls pitched, and countless athletes using steroid enhancements? Gambling on and deliberately altering the scores or even throwing games? Can we say, Pete Rose and the Chicago Nine? How can you say there's no cheating in baseball? Besides, you were throwing and hitting the ball with the best of your abilities. How is it cheating if I take your natural efforts and make them just a teeny bit better for you? Now you can play ball just like you've always wanted and make some more money for doing it. Isn't that what you wanted? It would be better than starving in some slovenly kept apartment wouldn't it?"

"Okay, okay, so there is some cheating, but NOT from me! I want to make it on my own, dammit! Maybe I'm good enough to make it on my own!" Cash went up two steps to the runway between sections and began pacing back and forth in agitation. "And DON'T you even start nagging me about the way I live. I got enough of that from my ex Agnes as well as constant criticism about everything else in my life. No one invited you to open my door, let alone screw up my life. You got a cleaning fetish? Then fine! Start a cleaning service! Make a few yen and buy your own place and food! I'll just take care of myself, thank you."

"Why, that's a wonderful idea!" Riko exclaimed in blinking surprise as she bounced to her feet and clasped her hands together in sheer delight. "We can start our own business! Not only will we make money without cheating or stealing, but we'll be able to afford a bigger, cleaner, and better equipped apartment as well as more food! I'm sure your landlord would recommend us around after he sees what we've done already! Referrals are the best way to grow a service business you know."

"Geeeeeez!" Cash gaped at her in dismay and sudden understanding. "You're just like my kid sister! She only hears what she wants! The rest seems to hit an invisible barrier about six inches in front of her nose and just disappears like it was never said! I'm NOT going to live with you, dammit!" This last came out midway between a roar and a yell between clenched teeth.

"But we're going to HAVE to get some more clothes, shoes, and underwear for me today, food too," Riko mused while chewing her lower lip in thought. "I have to pay back the person living on the first floor for borrowing laundry detergent to do your clothes. I know! After we cash your check and do our shopping, we'll use the remainder to buy supplies for our new cleaning business! Then after we grow a little, we'll get a small business loan! Maybe even sell shares of our future endeavors to our landlord! Maybe he would loan us some money now in advance! When things start going really good, we can branch out and franchise! That's where the big money swims! I read all about this kind of stuff in the Wall Street Journal. You Americans at least have that paper going for you."

"I just don't fricken believe this!" Cash shook his head in total despair as he began talking to the empty stadium seats in front of him. "I've been attacked by a giant, bigoted, alien leech masquerading as a Japanese Reality TV hustler. I was better off pitching for the Batavia Muckdogs for Pete's sakes, even if they did cut me last season when my ERA went to 3.96. Man, nobody I know is gonna believe ..."

"Come Cash Joseph," Riko announced excitedly. "I noted a department store with an ATM when we flew over here. After your check is cashed, I'll deposit you on the roof while I make my selections, and then we'll go take a bath before obtaining more food. I'll wash your back and model my new underwear for you before we go out tonight!"

Cash only managed a strangled yelp and somehow gripped his mitt and baseball bat as he was suddenly yanked sideways and quickly half drug and half floated towards the nearest stadium exit, his feet comically and unsuccessfully trying to run the other way. He didn't even notice that his head still hurt.

***scene break***

"Riko, will you PLEASE put on a shirt or something, and stop hovering above me?" Cash pleaded while clutching his covers tightly up to his throat. The sight of her lithe body clad only in black lace panties and matching bra while suspended face down above him was making something else ache, but he wasn't about to admit it to this crazed alien female. "I gave you the futon and pillow and best sheets and heaviest blanket. You're making me uncomfortable, my head still hurts, and I'm very sleepy."

"Was Ex Agnes the human woman who broke your heart, Cash Joseph?" Riko said softly as she reached down to tenderly caress his cheek and then run her fingers through his wavy hair. "Is she the reason you're so scared of me?"

"I'm not scared," Cash began heatedly but paused to gulp. Riko had very soft hands, and it was also very hard to keep his eyes from wandering down to ogle what was using the force of gravity to escape her sexy pushup bra. "Much, and stop doing that. Agnes is none of your business either. You just concentrate on getting some sleep over there and then finding your own place tomorrow morning. We made a deal earlier, remember? You could stay here tonight, but no touching, kissing or anything else without my permission. You gonna welsh on that?"

"But it's too cold to sleep alone," Riko pouted prettily with her lips just inches above his.

"None of that now! No 'winging' without my say so! That was our agreement for me signing my check!" Squinting his eyes shut, Cash scooted sideways in self defense from under her. "And you're leaving in the morning!"

"Yes, I will leave in the morning," she answered firmly with a nod and then muttered under her breath, "to get better foodstuffs than peanut butter and Cheese Whiz for breakfast."

Riko sighed in exasperation. Any human man worthy of the designation should not be acting like this. From what she had read in Vanity Fair and Men's Health about the human male libido, especially a young male, Cash Joseph should have snatched her, disrobed her, and rogered her roundly hours ago, or at least ravished. She wasn't exactly sure what the difference was between ravishing and rogering, but neither came close to the terrified and determined avoidance she was getting from her Ashikabi. Small steps, she counseled herself. There was something very wrong in Cash Joseph's emotional past to make him act so strongly against his human nature. There was a giant mistrust of females thanks to his mind numbing hatred for his Ex Agnes. She was just going to have to win his confidence as well as his heart despite whatever that silly American slut had done to him.

"If I wear one of your t-shirts and sleep on top of your blanket, can we share the futon? There will be two layers of thick cloth between us for your protection, but I will still feel warm and contented sleeping close to you. I'll even turn my back so we can just spoon together, okay?" Riko's eyes took on a woebegone puppy dog expression as she floated one of his undershirts out of the top dresser drawer and brought it towards her.

"You'll keep that shirt on and a blanket between us the whole night?" Cash responded with narrow eyed suspicion. "No funny stuff and hanky panky, right?"

"Hanky panky?" Riko frowned slightly at the term. Was that some kind of sadomasochistic practice that she was unfamiliar with? Could that be rope bound spanking as foreplay described by his use of those strange English idioms, or were they metaphors? She wasn't exactly clear on the difference between idioms and metaphors either. Was Cash Joseph into some kind of control kink and resented her natural assertiveness? Was that his problem in accepting her as his Sekirei?

"Well, if you want to tie me up and spank me, Cash Joseph, I'm sure I won't laugh or even think it would be funny. Hey, I might even enjoy it. I've never actually had sex before, so I don't know these things, but I'm certainly willing to do and be whatever my Ashikabi wants, and especially what pleases him the most. My friend Kazehana of the Wind secretly had a pocket sized copy of the Kama Sutra in her room in the MBI towers, and we used to read it together after hours, so I am kind of familiar with the many different positions and combinations for sex. Are you what they call a kinky guy?"

"What? NO! I mean, ummm no, not at all, usually, not that I mind trying different... Hold it! That's not the point! I just meant that you will keep your hands, and, and the rest of you on the opposite side of the blanket the whole night. No flesh to soft, warm, exciting flesh contact, that's all," Cash swallowed hard as he watched her sit upright, raise her arms, and let his shirt slide down upon her. Then she floated them both over to the futon while allowing his blanket to stay upon him and up around his throat. She settled down beside him with her back towards him and brought her own blanket over her. Invisible forces fluffed her pillow and put it under her head.

"Will this be okay for tonight, Cash Joseph?" She asked sweetly, her voice muffled by the pillow.

"Fine, I guess," he frowned as he turned on his left side with his back to the wall and tried to find some way to rest his right arm without letting it naturally go over her torso. He managed to fitfully go to sleep a little while later. He never felt her snuggle her rear end back up against him while clasping his right arm over her breasts. She gave a long sigh of satisfaction before she too fell asleep. The hard lump on her Ashikabi that she felt on her derriere wasn't on the back of his head.


	3. Chapter 3

**The Game Changer**

**Chapter 3 – Third Pitch, Foul Strike**

Luckily, Tokyo's early spring weather had remained almost constant overnight so that this morning's dawn very closely resembled yesterday's colorful beginnings. The fact that the rest of yesterday had been an unqualified disaster thanks to a certain kook alien female was not infringing on Cash's more upbeat mood as he once again eyed his "Shinto Dawn" with a critical eye and began daubing and mixing fresh paints on his pallet with a clean brush.

Unfortunately, before his first stroke could be applied to his now pockmarked canvas, another alien bird woman landed lightly on the roof in front of him, blocking his view of the city's eastern horizon.

The newcomer was another slim beauty, a little taller and perhaps a bit older than Riko, wearing a rather fetching long gray cape, thigh high, black, high heeled boots, and a short black dress that ended far enough above her footwear to reveal a pair of smooth, muscular thighs. Her gray hair was cut in a rather unkempt shag around her face, but the back was tied into a very long pony tail that ended just below her nicely curved backside. Her somewhat angular face and almond shaped obsidian eyes held absolutely no expression, rather like a bird of prey contemplating if something strange before it was edible or not. The overall effect would have been incredibly intimidating without the long curved sword belted about the left side of her waist.

Cash blinked in slightly frowning surprise as he observed her predatory stare for a few seconds before shrugging and shaking his head in dawning understanding. The MBI or police or alien super ninja assassins society HAD sent an enforcer "goon" to capture and/or kill Riko just like he had predicted.

Good luck with that, he mentally snorted at the thought. Just sending out only one meant that those MBI idiots had absolutely NO IDEA who they were messing with. He didn't exactly understand why he knew, but he was absolutely sure that Riko could hand this drab garbed, super hottie her weekday lunch without even breaking a sweat. There was an unexplainable power difference in their body's aura or something.

Show no fear, Cash admonished himself. It had always been his standing policy in the past, especially on the school playgrounds when growing up and being teased about his name. Besides, somehow he could tell this strange woman wasn't interested in him at all.

"Nice entrance. Let me guess," Cash sighed theatrically as he dipped his brush into a mixed glob of flake white, cadmium yellow, and burnt sienna and began to cautiously work on the tail end of the jagged Alizarin crimson streak that marked the end of yesterday morning's fall from his stool. "You're some kind of security, detective, enforcer type, probably from that place called MBI, and you're looking for a crazy, escaped young female named Riko who claims she is some type of alien bird super ninja. You want to possibly interrogate, torture, maim, and/or murder that nut for daring to want her freedom, right?"

The eyes of the sword bearing female hotty crinkled almost shut into a small amused smile as she casually strode forward to stand beside his easel.

"That last has a nice ring to it, I must say." Sword Hotty's low husky voice was quite musical, and her English was flawless except for a trace of the usual Asian accent.

"Nothing like a little spurting fresh blood in the early morning to start the day off right I always say, but no. Riko was scheduled to be released with her batch tomorrow. But apparently," Hotty grimaced in mild irritation, "our little Reeker got a little eager and jumped the gun, so to speak. If she had been a little calmer, she would have been given a wardrobe of new clothes, all her basic needs, and an MBI card with unlimited credit to rent or buy a place to live, purchase her food, and finance her entertainment."

"That figures," Cash gave a snort of disgust and heaved another deep sigh upon learning his first decent paycheck in months had been almost entirely blown by Riko the first day that he had received it, mostly for her wardrobe and stupid new cleaning business, and all for no purpose. She could have went to live in a nice apartment suite in Tokyo's high rent district instead of lousing up his life. Besides, she ate grub like she had a super human stomach too, and had went through enough food in one night which would have lasted him for two weeks. Man, why did he always seem to attract such ditzy female screwballs, even the ones from another planet?

"She's been here then?" The gray haired female asked in a very bored tone.

"Oh yeah, she's been here all right, like a giant locust from hell. How come this MBI only sent out one of you to get her?" His question elicited a snicker of disbelief from the sword woman.

"Riko is, ummm, how you say, small potatoes? Your language has such interesting idioms and metaphors, doesn't it? Hard to follow sometimes though. MBI just sent me to ask how your Sekirei managed to leave the building complex so easily and without alerting the security monitors. Somehow her tracking chip has malfunctioned too, but she's such a weak weenie no one really cares. They want her statement on whatever glitches she found to use in leaving so that they could be fixed before something more serious went wrong. When she comes in to answer security's questions, then she can have her clothes and MBI card."

"Well, I suppose that's good news for her then," Cash frowned as he dipped his brush to the darker side of the colors he was working with and resumed painting. "Even if it leaves me almost broke again. You don't look like this is the kind of small potato errand that you usually do. You get paid by the mile as well as this message service gig?"

"I work for free, big boy, and basically call it entertainment. I've had my MBI card for years. If you are really interested," she snickered again even harder, "this is just a little side errand for me today. I'm actually on my way to terminate a couple of members of the Yakuza who have been using their Sekirei to assassinate and blackmail rival gang lords. MBI management is trying to maintain a little lower profile for the moment. You'd do well to remember that with your Riko."

"Oh, so you're just your average, everyday MBI messenger, small chore gopher, and part time bloodthirsty agent of urban renewal?" Cash winced slightly at the minor threat in her voice as he watched her left hand move to casually rest upon the hilt of her katana. He tried to ignore the hair rising on the back of his neck and continue to calmly paint. Riko was a small fry Sekirei? What were the big fries capable of doing? Well, at least she didn't seem to be in any immediate danger, or trouble, which meant neither was he by association. That was good.

"I'm not sure you could accurately describe me as everyday average, but yes," the newcomer nodded with another half smile, "you seem to have my job description fairly well delineated."

"How did you know to come here looking for her if her tracking chip is on the fritz?" Cash squinted up at her with growing alarm. Riko had been way too overconfident that she couldn't be traced, and yet her MBI "goon" was here less than 24 hours later. Had he been under some kind of double super secret surveillance too? Better get his side of the situation out there right now. "I just met her for the first time yesterday morning, and I can't get rid of her. She's like the most desperate and hungriest online dating stalker ever and can't take polite rejection at all. You have no idea."

"Oh really?" The armed Sekirei gave a throaty laugh. "Well as to how I got here, there's only a few Sekirei on this planet that operate close to my psychic wavelengths, most are single numbers, and we have developed a keen sense of keeping track of each other over the years. Riko happens to be one of the few higher number anomalies that have cropped up, but her mind has always been a little more cloaked than say Haihane and Benitsubasa. Luckily, Riko isn't as tightly closed off as Miya either. Suffice it to say that I just scanned the city for her mind, and thought I'd sensed her here, but she seems to be mentally hidden from me right at this moment. Where is she?"

"Gone," Cash shrugged as he shook his head. "She left this morning before I woke up. I just now came up here to paint. She showed up yesterday, made an absolute pest of herself, ruined my entire day, and spent my first paycheck in months. I told her to leave this morning. I guess she finally took the hint and left. I only let her stay the night out of my good natured pity since she didn't have anywhere to sleep, but thankfully she has flown the coop today already. Good luck and good riddance."

"Flown the coop? Another idiom for taking a powder?" The sword hotty blinked in half surprised amusement. "Interesting. You didn't wing her?"

"By wing you mean let her sample the DNA in my spit by kissing? Absolutely not!" Cash glared back with self congratulating firmness.

"First, understand that I'm a 100 percent, totally free and uncommitted and staying that way, bachelor. I don't need or want any female, human or alien, mooching and mooning around me and interfering with my life. Second, I'm a baseball player, and I've found from bitter experience that my ERA and women don't jive at all. Third, as you can see, I'm an artiste whose passion for my art transcends the tawdry and mundane existence of everyday mating rituals. Hell no I didn't wing her! And she's NOT my Sekirei or MY Riko in any shape, form, or fashion. I'm NOT her Ashikabi either, whatever in the hell that means to begin and end with."

"You know," the female alien newcomer seem to be reflecting on something with some inner amusement. "For a flake, you sound like a perfect Ashikabi, a one time smooch and stay the hell out of a gal's way. Just come around once in a while when it's time to play. That kind of rhymes in English, doesn't it?"

"I'm not the perfect anything. Who ARE you anyway?" Cash scowled at his badly poetic visitor again while trying to keep his eyes from ogling her very interesting thighs. Dressed as some kind of cloaked assassin/pole dancer with a long sword, making poor verse, and she called him a flake? "And nip that last thought in the bud, will ya? Even one time shots with gals in the past has brought me way more heartache than a guy should have to endure. I want absolutely no part of any alien bird woman grief, now or any time in the foreseeable future, say like a thousand years when I'm good and dead."

"My name is Karasuba, Number 04, head of MBI's Disciplinary Squad," the Sekirei female chuckled lightly, "and I must say little Riko has found an amusing guy, but don't worry your precious little paint brush Sweetums, I'm already winged. But I am curious. I know you only speak English, but just what is your name and subhuman nationality, and what is this screwy looking painting supposed to be?"

"I'm Cash Joseph Archer, a temporary visitor from subhuman America, to wit, Springfield, Illinois, known internationally now as the asshole of the Midwest. This future masterpiece is called 'Shinto Dawn' for your superior Asian edification," Cash gritted out between his teeth. Critics and bigoted alien racists! Gads! They were everywhere!

"Really? What's with all the pockmarks? Are you trying to envision Tokyo after a meteor storm or something? Where's the building skyline?" Karasuba stepped back a few paces and stood behind him to get a better angle to gaze at his work, cocking her head to squint at the garish painting in continued amusement. "I think I like that long and jagged bright red streak even though you seem to be adding a rather peculiar color to the end of it."

"The pockmarks are for texture that substitutes for the tops of Tokyo's buildings to the east of here. Every great impressionistic piece has a flair, an outstanding feature, and even a tactile quality that communicates something beyond the ordinary," Cash retorted with superior annoyance. "And the red streak is a flash of the early morning sun, a representation of its life giving qualities that stirs one's blood to begin a new day with renewed hope, jaunty vivaciousness, pristine thoughts, and heady aspirations."

"For a ball player, you strike me as a pretty good verbal bullshitter," Karasuba chuckled once more. "Tell me, can you play better than you paint?"

"What is it with you Sekirei avian females? Are you all hatched as critics? I happen to be a very good pitcher, when I'm on, and an even better painter as if you really cared about my opinion. But you, as a first impression, you strike me as a man hating, homicidal megalomaniac. What in the hell do you know about art anyway? You came to talk to Riko? Fine, go talk to her. Go search for her in my room on the sixth floor down at the end of the hall. Search the whole building and the whole damn block for all I care. I've got to get serious here with my paintbrush before I lose the inspirational moment."

Cash gave a huge sigh of agitation and turned away from giving the interesting juncture of Karasuba's smooth and muscular thighs any further attention. Daubing his brush on his easel once more, this time in a darker and more subdued hue of maroon with overtones of dark green, he began applying a few odd looking strokes over the pebble pockmarks on the bottom of his canvas.

"My, my, a little touchy this morning, aren't we?" Karasuba's still amused observation was with raised eyebrows at the boldness of his dismissal of her. She had killed many for a lot less, and yet, there was something about this brash, too blunt, boneheaded, American loudmouth. What was it? Something had pulsed into her mind as he was taking quick peeks at her legs. This was something totally new and very interesting. No human, male or female, should be able to ping on her highest mental wavelengths. "And I'm not necessarily a man hater, although the rest might be true. Other than maybe one, I've just never found any human male, or female either for that matter, who actually deserved to infest this planet."

"So, you'd like to eliminate all six plus billion of us with that long curved pig sticker of yours, is that it?" Cash stopped and turned to look up at her suddenly still expression with amused disbelief. "Good luck with that. Do you realize how many babies are born on this planet every minute of every day? The greatest mass murderers in history, Uncle Joe Stalin, Adolf Hitler, Chairman Mao, Pol Pot, Genghis Khan, and others too numerous to remember, they all came and went after killing multiplied tens of millions in their short life spans. What did it accomplish for them? They're all dead too, but the total population just keeps on increasing. Even if you started right now, you're going to need an awful lot of help, say some massive world wide epidemic, epic weapons of mass destruction, or some kind of funky death ray from orbit. If you really want to make a big impression on this Earth with your life, you should start painting. Any paintbrush is more powerful than your silly looking sword anyway."

"Is that so? Can your brush behead people with a single stroke like my silly looking sword?" Karasuba laughed softly again. This nervy guy was the most amusing male specimen she had met in a long time. There was actually something about him that kind of appealed to her along with the fact that she had always liked big men with long fingers when she had gotten an itch.

"Okay, case in point," Cash resumed his smearing over the bottom pockmarks. "Can I assume you've at least heard of Rembrandt, Da Vinci, Monet, and Pablo Picasso?"

"Certainly," Karasuba cocked her head sideways again to stare down at him while smirking anew.

"And Miyamoto Musashi?"

"What did he paint?"

"There ya go. Miyamoto was perhaps the greatest samurai swordsman of all time, and yet every stroke of his sword has almost disappeared into the mists of history to where you didn't even recognize his name. You have, however, heard of the great masters of art whose every brush stroke has been preserved, reproduced physically and digitally, and admired for all time. Case closed. You ought to paint if you want to become famous and really feed that dark side of your huge ego. Besides, painting might work off and relieve a little of that homicidal stress and unhappiness you seem to be operating with at the moment."

Cash turned to smile up at her over his left shoulder, noting that her very interesting thighs were very close to him. Maybe that last had been a little too blunt for comfort. "On the other hand, if you still think you need to snuff a few big time Tokyo gangsters and their small fry minions now and then, hey, who am I to stop you? I'm a firm conservative at heart anyway. You're absolutely right about one thing. Nothing like a few less Yakuza bad guys for the world to deal with to start the day off right. Hmmm, maybe that's what the red streak could project in my piece here."

Karasuba swallowed suddenly as his smiling deep blue eyes briefly locked onto hers once again. Something hot seemed to strike out from them as it happened. She stopped smiling. A psychic wave of his apologetic amusement, friendly warmth, comfortable acceptance, and very strong physical desires began to pulse into her thoughts. This translated into a swift wash of incredible heat throughout her body like nothing she had ever experienced before. As he turned his head away to gaze at his painting once again, she involuntarily leaned forward to take a deep inhale of his male body odor. Her heat intensified. She jerked back in alarm and bewilderment. This couldn't be happening! She was already winged!

True, her Ashikabi was a confirmed homosexual nerd and management butt kisser, but there had never been a case of any Sekirei's bonding being overridden and/or replaced by another more powerful Ashikabi. Or could it be that she was just a little horny this morning in anticipation of letting her sword drink of some inconsequential life form's warm spurting blood? There was no hard and fast rule that said a Sekirei had to stay celibate except for her own Ashikabi and self abuse in a warm bath, was there?

Karasuba let out a deep breath as she once again locked her attention on Cash Joseph Archer's body. Even sitting down she could see that he seemed to be in very good athletic shape physically, and he did have a very sexually stimulating smell about him. Those long fingers were very intriguing too. MBI hadn't given her any specific time frame to complete her assigned tasks today, so why not? The mental power Cash Joseph projected was much more powerful than any she had ever felt from any human. No wonder little Riko had zeroed in on this big guy to be her Ashikabi since her mind and his operated on wavelengths very near to all the single number Sekirei.

What if it were possible Riko had found a human male that could rewrite a Sekirei's bonding? This could be a very, very interesting twitch to MBI's upcoming plans for re-establishing a new age of the gods, one that Karasuba might be able to exploit very nicely. Either way, there was an opportunity for a little experiment here, or at least some much needed relief from some very disturbing yet totally interesting physical desires.

Cash found himself once again going suddenly sideways off his painter's stool in total surprise as Karasuba yanked him over and up to her by gripping him powerfully under his armpits. She spun him half around, released her grip to grab his face with both hands, and mashed her open lips to his as he tried to let out a strangled yelp of consternation. A rather long and strong tongue snaked around his to silence him as an incredible carnal heat engulfed them both, and their bodies came together in a perfect stimulating fit, appropriate part to matching part. Her right leg came up, using her muscular thigh to hook them closer together.

His bulging, wide open eyes saw a fiercely glowing, dark red sign that almost resembled a bird form above the back of her head. It then sank down to the center of her shoulder blades and caused her to moan sensually as she continued to devour his mouth with hers. Her right leg tightened for leverage to grind up against him in wanton abandonment even though their clothes were layered between their sensitive parts. Large twin wings of some black material with a shimmering iridescent glow emerged from behind her back to flutter slowly in time with the pulsing waves of pure pleasure that started to make a closed circuit between their entwined tongues above and stimulated reproductive organs below. The winging ended suddenly in a powerful and prolonged mutual mental blast that left them both weak kneed and gasping as they sank slowly to the pebble roof together.

Karasuba recovered first after several long, heavily panting, and sweaty moments. She clung weakly to him while sitting astride his lap. The hilt of her sword uncomfortably poked his sternum. Cash had come down to rest on his buttocks, legs splayed out before him and arms behind to prop up his torso. He could only pant in gulping breaths as he eyed the gray haired alien female in dismayed wonder while shifting to get her weapon off the center of his chest.

"Wow," Karasuba panted in pleased amazement. "For a boneheaded American bullshitter, you sure do know how to show a gal a good time on their first meeting. I'm not even going to ask if it was as good for you either. I'm very sure that real physical sex added to this has got to be an even better total hoot too. Wait until the girls back at MBI hear about this! Hell, even my Norito feels ten times stronger!"

"Uhhh, what's a Norito? You're hungry for fast food snacks now?" Cash gulped while frowning. There did seem to be a very marked increase in her aura. Why? "And that was a winging? I thought you said I didn't have to worry because you'd already been winged. And if this is as weird and abnormal as I seem to feel it is, are you sure telling anyone else is such a good idea? They might want to start testing and dissecting and other fancy surgical stuff that neither of us are gonna like much, right? What do you mean calling me boneheaded? You're a self admitted serial murderer with delusions of specie superiority, and a lousy judge of art."

"Norito, not Dorito, is the power boost a Sekirei gets from kissing her Ashikabi, and you may well be very right about keeping this hush hush," Karasuba mused thoughtfully and completely ignoring his complaint. "Me working as normal and as if nothing ever happened won't be a problem. You can keep doing your thing too, and I'm sure we can manage to meet occasionally with no one the wiser. How come I seem to be feeling some strong apprehension from you? You scared I'm going to slice and dice you after mating or something? Don't worry. You and I have a long future together no matter what the rest of the world does from now on, got it? And who is Agnes? Am I gonna have to kill her for you? That shouldn't be a problem either."

"What the hell? Your birdbrains can read minds too?" Cash jerked back to glare with dismay into her now glowing black eyes. "And if you must know, Agnes was, is the daughter of a minor league baseball team owner in America that got knocked up and deceitfully named me as the father. I was engaged and in love with her, or thought so at the time anyway, even though she was banging the entire team behind my back. Hell, DNA test results nailed the backup catcher as the kid's real dad after it was born, but she tried to make me pay hospital bills, support, and breach of marriage contract when I stopped the wedding. The legal fees killed me even though I was found innocent, and meanwhile her father got me blacklisted in the entire minor league system. I couldn't even catch onto a semi pro squad in Ploughkeepsie, New York.

"Nobody wanted to sign a trouble making relief pitcher who couldn't control his junk, so I packed everything I owned and headed across the pond for a new start. Yesterday was probably a disaster career wise since what the scouts saw wasn't the real me. I've got no idea how this is gonna turn out either. I'm not really all that worried about you turning me into human sushi though. You won't, right? But I'm pretty sure Riko's not gonna like this if she comes back again, and my mother isn't going to approve at all."

"Your mother is thousands of miles away, right?" Karasuba chuckled lightly while caressing him below the belt. "And Riko is only number 67. No match for me, especially with my new Norito."

"Sister," Cash shook his head slowly in pity, "are you in for a surprise."

"Forget her. Let's do us! Head for your bed with me, big boy, ummm, and you ARE a big boy. Let's just GET IT ON! We can worry about everything and everyone else later. We just made history, but I want the whole banana, NOW! Don't make me get tough about it either. I can be a very determined monster in the sack even with my sword off."

"Oh, that's reassuring, but I don't have any, uhhh, you know, protection, like you know, to keep you from getting, ummm," Cash began but the rest was stifled into silence as Karasuba once again captured his face and mashed their lips together. The heat immediately began to rise anew along with her shimmering wings when once again Cash was yanked very powerfully sideways to mutual yelps of surprise and disappointment from him and Karasuba.

"YOU WINGED THAT MURDEROUS BLACK BITCH THE MOMENT MY BACK IS TURNED TO GO GET OUR BREAKFAST?" Riko shouted down at them while holding a bag of groceries and hovering about twenty feet above the roof top. She began shaking Cash in mid air like a puppet without strings and making his arms, head, and legs all wave loosely in different directions. "HOW COULD YOU? YOU LYING SACK OF..."

"Put him down, Riko," Karasuba commanded loudly while drawing her sword with a rasping sound of steel on steel. "He's mine now."

"YOU!" Riko shouted back in total rage. She let her bag of foodstuffs float away from her. "YOU THIEVING BITCH! YOU'LL NOT HAVE HIM! I FOUND HIM FIRST!"

With this announcement, Karasuba's sword was quickly ripped from her surprised grasp and sent with extreme force into the roof's metal door. It went in halfway to its hilt and quivered in musical resonance from the sudden abuse it had received. Karasuba was suddenly whipped skyward and disappeared up into the clouds that started about five thousand feet above Tokyo's morning sky.

"Hey! You got no right to do that! Or yank my ass around like this either! Who in the hell do you think you are?" Cash struggled against the unseen force keeping him suspended a little too high for comfort above the rooftop.

"I'm your Sekirei! That's who and, and, and not HER!"

"Riko, she grew wings! You saw them!" Cash called with much more calmness than he felt. "If you kill her, I'm going to be very disappointed in you, and I won't ever think of winging you, ever. I'll go back to America, never to see you again, and you can just go screw. Do you understand that term? Now put me down, don't you ever shake me like that again, and you'd better catch her. Besides, we had an agreement you was leaving this morning, remember?"

"Yes! But I never said for how long! You, you, you," Riko stuttered in disappointed rage as she let him down none too gently to stagger upon the roof, "You PHONY! What was all that confirmed bachelor stuff from yesterday? And I'm gone less than an hour to find you rutting on the roof with the most vile, despicable, piece of blackhearted trash that our race has spawned? How could you? And she was already winged! How could you become her Ashikabi?"

"Ummm, it seems unbeknownst to me that Karasuba and I also mentally resonate rather strongly?" Cash shrugged with his hands out and upraised in a totally baffled gesture mixed with anger at being shaken about like a rag doll against his will.

"And she grabbed me when I was painting and kissed me against my will. So for your information, not that it's any of your damn business, it wasn't my fault, nor my intention. As for the rest, I got no idea, and she seemed to be as surprised as you about the winging stuff. She was just here to ask you how you managed to bypass MBI's security. It seems they were going to turn you loose, and you didn't have to escape, but they want to fix whatever loopholes you found. No one cares that you're out and on your own. They are a little curious about your failed tracking chip too, but it doesn't sound like that's a big deal either because they believe you to be one of the weaker weenies in their upcoming plans. Hell, they're even going to give you a new wardrobe and an unlimited credit MBI card for you to live on. You spent all my baseball money for nothing!"

"I'm not taking one yen from MBI ever, and I've got news for their stupid plans, Cash Joseph," Riko narrowed her eyes and put her hands on her hips as she continued to hover above him. "AND for that female, sword carrying turd named Karasuba! And you too for your information! You ARE my Ashikabi, and you'd better get used to the idea pretty darn quick!"

Cash blinked up at her in silent consternation while noting that Riko looked amazingly good in her new, form fitting blue jeans, white tennis shoes, and wine red cotton blouse that displayed a very demure but attention drawing cleavage. He shook himself mentally. Oh no you don't, he glared up at her silently. You're not going to threaten, blackmail, intimidate, shake, or even manipulate my desires for personal freedom. You can take your precious wings and your shitty arrogant attitude, Miss High and Mighty Riko, and stuff them, he raged internally while clenching his fists beside him.

Riko glanced down at him sharply and then stared at him intently as if she had just read his mind. With thinned lips she turned away and looked up to catch the free falling Karasuba so that the Black Sekirei stopped head down in mid air and stationary before Riko's face.

"Do I have your attention?" Riko said tightly with more than a little bitterness in her voice to convey her displeasure.

"You have my attention," Karasuba returned coldly even though it was hard to remain stoic while upside down. Her hair and eyebrows as well as other body parts were still frosted too.

"Can you survive an even higher toss if I intentionally fail to catch you next time?" The tone of Riko's voice took on an exaggerated catty sweetness.

"Chances are probably much better than fifty-fifty, I'd say, although I am curious. How did you develop this kind of power without anyone knowing? You aren't even winged yet." Karasuba's totally unafraid, bleak black eyes peered at Riko in puzzlement. The Black Sekirei coolly ignored her frosted gray ponytail along with her uniform cloak that were gently swaying below her head in the slight morning breeze that had suddenly sprang up over Tokyo.

"I just refused to let MBI adjust me from the time I was very little or let them in on my little secret as time passed. Neither will you if you want to live," Riko snorted as her eyes traveled upwards. "You wear black lace panties? The Black, Murdering, Insane, Notoriously Man Hating Sekirei wears black lace panties?"

"Interesting. You're saying that you and Number 01 Miya are the only unadjusted Sekirei on the planet? That's gonna be a headache for a few folks, but that's their problem, not mine. As for my cute and sexy underwear, could we call them a strange little quirk of possible sanity, as if you don't wear any?" Karasuba shrugged as her eyes crinkled half shut again with her predatory grin. "Us gals can secretly dream, can't we? So, you going to put me down so we can talk with a little peaceful dignity, or you gonna let OUR Cash Joseph continue to stand down there and ogle my lace covered crotch? We both KNOW what he's thinking, right? Wanna work out a share as we go plan?"

Riko shuddered in closefisted and clenched teeth frustration while emitting a very decidedly feline growl of warning. Nevertheless, she unceremoniously spun Karasuba upright and ungraciously let her drop to the roof below. Riko landed much more lightly while keeping her sack of groceries hovering behind her.

"It seems we're going to have to work out some kind of agreement, Cash Joseph," Riko began while sighing, but Cash cut her off.

"No way!" Cash chopped his right hand angrily sideways with all the firmness he could muster. "I've been caught between two catty females way too many times before. It never works out, and I always wind up as the hated asshole to both. I've made up my mind. You two, as beautiful and sexy as you both are, are just gonna have to carry on your mutually insane alien lives without me. And get this. Nobody picks me up and shakes me around or sucks my face without my permission, and yet still think they're gonna stay in my good graces. No Siree! I don't care how hard brainless Little CJ gets. You two alien weirdos can just get lost and leave me alone."

"By damn," Karasuba mused softly and half to herself as she adjusted her long uniform cape back into its more comfortable position. "The boneheaded goof thinks he really means it. You're probably gonna have to snatch him like I did if you want him for an Ashikabi, Riko old kid."

"I want his heart too," Riko returned under her breath. "Something a shallow skank like you would never understand, let alone want. The most you'll ever get from him is a quick roll in the hay with an even faster sayonara when it ends. I'm going for love's forever and ever fairy tale. He's very capable of giving it to me too."

"Yeah? What if it doesn't exist?" Karasuba turned to give Riko a sardonic grin. "Forever and ever with a thickheaded American bullshitter could last a very long and heartbroken time. Better to take what you can get now and keep your self respect. "

"Is that what you call the deepest relationship you're capable of making? How sad. Haven't you got something to do or someplace to go?"

"It seems that I have experienced a sudden chill, but you know that I'll be back, soon. I'm going to spend a little one on one time with my new Ashikabi, so just get used to the idea. Who knows? We might even do a little painting together again while I let him ogle my panties. The quicker you pull my sword out of the door, the sooner I'll leave. By the way, he told me all about Agnes. His mother sounds like real treat too. Maybe we need to think about working on them together?" Karasuba turned to smile wickedly at Cash Joseph as her sword quickly floated into its scabbard.

She announced louder. "Ummm, maybe now is not the best time to continue our history making introduction to each other, Sweetums. I'll stop by again soon so we can have a nice little chat together over lunch. Maybe we can take in a ball game or do a little painting together afterward." With that she purposefully walked towards him, took his hands, and stood tiptoe to give him a little chaste kiss on his cheek away from Riko while growling under her breath.

"I'm not interested," Cash ground out with determination.

"Oh yes you are," Karasuba chuckled confidently as she took another deep inhale and a quick lick of Cash's sweat covered cheek. "And I'll prove it sooner than you think, and I'm nothing like good old Agnes. I'm not your mother either. Bye bye for now, big boy."

"Sweetums," Riko muttered darkly as Karasuba launched herself in a leap towards another building roof several city blocks away. She turned to look at Cash Joseph and gave a huge sigh of annoyance. At least her Ashikabi wasn't a homosexual, she reflected with a small bit of optimism peeking through her overall sudden gloom. His low moral judgment when it came to females was certainly another matter. His psychic powers must be off the scale too, and there was a definite boost in their resonance now that he'd winged a single number Sekirei, even if it was that black bitch that led the Disciplinary Squad for MBI. Now how was that going to work? More to the point, how could he just blurt out his past heartaches to low life scum like Karasuba and refuse to tell her?

There was something wrong here, Riko thought ruefully, and as hard as it was to face honestly, maybe that something wrong was her and her wooing methods. Cash was now openly angry and even antagonistic towards her. On the other hand, even Karasuba had pulled no punches in her judgment of Cash Joseph when she had called him a boneheaded American prevaricator. Oh well, there was finally food to eat thanks to Cash's depleted bank account and yesterday's cash advance from their landlord. She even had referrals to two of his apartment owner friends for cleaning their toilets and baths. Might as well start the work day with a full stomach.

"I've got eggs and bacon and wheat toast for an American style breakfast, Cash Joseph, and some rice too. Are you hungry?"

"You're still staying? Why?" He demanded in disbelief. How could one female, crazed alien bird or not, just simply ignore total rejection with such aplomb and ease?

"It's just your lucky day I guess, Cash Joseph," Riko shrugged while sighing sadly.


	4. Chapter 4

**The Game Changer**

**Chapter 4 – Fourth Pitch, Called Strike, High Curve**

A high curve? The coach had ordered the catcher to signal for a high curve? Cash used the sleeve of his left forearm to wipe the sweat from his brow before putting his plain blue baseball cap on his head with his right hand and tugging it firmly into place. Toeing the pitching mound's rubber near the third base side, he got his grip on the baseball in his mitt, and peered in to get the catcher's sign again.

The fool was calling for a slow curve up and in to a left handed batter? What kind of stupid decision was that? Even Cash's dear departed grandmother could drill a cream puff pitch like that out of the park. Nevertheless, all baseball managers and their favorite son catchers, especially the strict Japanese, expected their pitchers to throw exactly what was called for, or else. The coach wanted a slow, high curve ball, he damn well better get a slow high curve.

Mentally shrugging, Cash nodded and sent a quick glance over at Riko sitting behind the third base dugout about twenty rows up. At least he didn't have to take the full blame internally when this pitch got creamed. The kooky alien female was once again firmly on station to augment his stuff, and even a major earthquake, tsunami, and nuclear meltdown fiasco was never going to budge the stubbornly clinging Sekirei from it. How long could she keep ignoring his request to just get a life somewhere away from his?

Taking a deep breath, he stepped back away from the mound's rubber to go through the usual pitcher's motions when trying to refocus on the game, wiping his forehead, adjusting his cap, playing with the resin bag, and smoothing the dirt in front of the mound.

He was having a very hard time concentrating on his pitching and painting because Riko kept totally dogging him wherever he went. She was also constantly chattering about her ability to improve his life in every way which HAD to be so much better than what a bloodthirsty killer and skank like Karasuba could do. His nightly two mile run around and through a nearby park always finished off with his calisthenics routine with her floating overhead or following behind and "modeling" her new lace underwear. That wasn't helping his efforts to repair his "Shinto Dawn" either.

Her single minded persistence for him to become her Ashikabi was, quite frankly, getting a little unnerving even for a hick clod from Illinois. He'd even thought again about giving up his still very shaky baseball career in Japan, flying back to the States, and heading south of the border to join a team in the Mexican leagues, but he hated refried beans as much as he detested fish and rice.

On the other hand, three days had passed since he had met Karasuba, and other than a rather heavy and constant carnal pressure from her in the back of his mind, she had stayed completely away. It was a pleasant contrast to Riko's unrelenting physical pressure upon him. Not only adamantly refusing his demands for her to leave, she'd even badgered their landlord into renting them a larger room with a small kitchenette attached at a reduced rate in return for supplying maid duties to the landlord's small house down the block.

The increased square footage of living space had been a small improvement for Cash to get a little more room to breathe, but not for his overall sense of independence. He wondered how other Ashikabi in the city were able to keep their sanity, and there had to be more since there was supposed to be at least 108 Sekirei. If he sought a few of them out and asked them for a few pointers on how to handle his situation, would they be able to help?

The really distressing part of the whole thing was his finances. Since he now got paid base rate cash for each practice game in which he pitched, he was trying to keep a tight fist on his money, but Riko had no qualms about immobilizing his hands and snaking enough yen out of his wallet to buy food. She bought a lot, but insisted on it being the usual staples one could find in any Tokyo home, and then she ate most of it. Therefore, not only was Cash always out of cash, he was constantly hungry.

It was time to put his foot down, he decided. After the game tonight he was going to get a real meal at McDonald's complete with what the Japanese called hamburgers and french fries and give Riko the ever present side bowl of rice, even if it killed him. With this decision made, Cash heaved a huge sigh, touched the small, eight petaled flower tattoo behind his left ear for luck, and once again toed the pitching rubber to throw a slow high curve ball.

Cash went into motion with his arms and torso, turned to the right, planted his right foot firmly against the rubber, raised his left knee above his waist, and pushed off to make his left leg take a long stride towards the plate. His right arm came right over the top of his right shoulder, and he threw the curve ball with a mild grunt as his wrist snapped off the pitch. He brought his right leg forward in rhythm to land square on his follow through and ready to defend himself if, more like when, the ball got blasted back at him. Put the mustard on this one Riko, he projected mentally, or he was likely to loose some teeth before he could chomp his cheeseburger tonight.

The batter's eyes got huge as he raised his right leg to swing, and then he froze and watched as the slow, mesmerizing pitch seemed to be much too far outside. Too late to swing, the ball dropped over and down to land waist high in the catcher's mitt held over the inside corner. The batter snapped his head around in dismay to see the umpire yell and signal an exaggerated called strike three, three outs, and inning over. Huh, Cash snorted to himself. Riko hadn't done a damn thing to help that slow piece of junk. Any ninth grade pansy could have hit that pitch a mile. Still, an out was an out, even if this was a practice game and that batter had stood there like some kind of paid stooge.

At least that effort had added another three innings of no hit ball to his resume, Cash smiled to himself in grim satisfaction as he headed for the third base dugout. After all, he was being paid, minimally to be sure, just to throw the baseball, and he'd eat well tonight. What more could a guy ask for? That ain't working, but that's the way you do it, he grinned to himself, money for nothing, and that Riko chick was free, free to leave any time she finally got the message that he wanted no part of her trouble.

Cash's good humor instantly evaporated as he glanced up to spot another weird looking female suddenly sitting beside an animated Riko. Was this yet another alien kook? Number 67 was talking to her visitor with many hand gestures and pointing in his direction with an air of familiarity and possessiveness. Oh oh. That looked bad, and it was obvious the easily chatting pair knew each other well.

Cash stopped to stare up at them briefly with a weird feeling of some impending disaster, and then took a hasty look around the half empty stadium for any other harbingers of doom. There was nothing out of the ordinary except opposing players running onto the field while a few scattered fans waved banners, balloons, and painted sheets while wearing weird head gear and loudly blaring long plastic horns. What the hell was all the noise for? This was just a routine intrasquad practice game.

He'd never really gotten used to the much more demonstrative and total involvement in the game by the Japanese fans as compared to those back home. Some of them were even waving stuff at him and cheering. Cheering him? Wow. That was REALLY different too, but there didn't seem to be any more alien females around other than the two behind third base.

Cash resumed walking off the field to join his teammates in the dugout, but it was empty. He snapped his attention back towards Riko and took a much closer look at her friend. The newcomer was an outright, impossibly beautiful, and incredibly well endowed stunner that looked and was built like a much more robust European type than Asian with short, slightly streaked, icy blonde hair and blue gray eyes. His entire team along with the managers had paused on the dugout's top steps to stare up at the newcomer's mammoth sized boobs that had very little cloth attempting to cover them as they bulged in all their impressive twin exposure. No wonder all the men were gaping at her like drooling teenagers.

Cash gaped too but for a different reason. Her dress's truly impressive cleavage was held together by chains that also wrapped around her neck? Chains? Chains yet? What was with that? Some more of Riko's s&m nonsense from the other night? The face above the chains was gorgeous except for some silly looking pink bird tattoo on her forehead. Her waistline looked too small to be real as if she was some real life Barbie Doll whose measurements ratio had been proven to be inhumanly possible. On the other hand, this new gal with the short and shag cut light grey hair most probably wasn't human if she was any friend of kook Riko's.

Cash heaved a huge sigh of total annoyance mixed with worry as he turned away to get his shower and change. Damn. No doubt about it. Another Sekirei, one sporting real visible chains as well as being one those wierdly alien bonding types. Chains were a bad omen, and they certainly didn't bode well for his freedom nor his future baseball career if being worn by too beautiful as well as too clingy alien females, even if those chains did have a killer chest underneath them.

***scene break***

Standing as far away from the fresh fish counter in the small grocery store as he could get, Cash suppressed his usual gag reflex to scowl down at Riko.

"Look, I'm only going to say this one more time, Riko. I don't give a hoot about MBI shoving needles filled with bad chemicals into alien females because, A, by your own admission, you Sekirei chose to let them hatch and raise all 108 of you, right? B, you said MBI encountered a few problems for Sekirei to live normally and had to do whatever to correct it.

"You can't make omelets without breaking eggs, so somebody had to be the guinea bird to make things go better for the rest of your crowd. It's too bad your busty friend Akitsu over there was a test subject, and I do feel sorry her, but not sorry enough to try and wing her for a cure.

"Karasuba got her one time smooch for a big psychic power boost, and that was all she really wanted. Fine. I'm not kissing any more of you weirdo Sekirei, and that's final, because C, good old Cash Joseph Archer is not running a charity home for alien leeches that just refuse to believe otherwise, no matter how stacked and beautiful they are.

"Maybe I don't have the power to make you leave, Riko, but I have absolutely no obligations to you, Karasuba, or your fugitive friend from a s&m porn movie over there named Akitsu. That goes for any other Sekirei basket case you dig up, see? Hell, I can't even feed myself and you because my new name, thanks to you and your giant tapeworm, is ALWAYS BROKE CASH! ABC, it's easy, got it?"

"Not so loud please, Cash Joseph," Riko patted his arm reassuringly.

"You'll disturb the other shoppers, and don't point. Akitsu has extremely sensitive feelings, and she's such a quiet sweetie, really. She's been rejected twice now, and had to hurt a few MBI lab workers pretty badly to escape before that. She'll freeze and starve to death if we don't help her because those chemicals hurt her mind.

"Don't you understand? She's not like Karasuba or me even though her ice wielding and psychic powers are extremely strong, even for a single number. That's why those rotten MBI turds worried about their precious Sekirei Plan scrapped her. She can't think, especially for herself, and she's been such a good friend of mine. I only had a very few of those too. Please, Cash Joseph, try to help her."

"We can't feed her! And I don't need another pushy, domineering, nagging, stubborn, henpecking, and nutcase female trying to smother..." Cash began anew but was interrupted when Riko made his right hand mash tightly against his mouth to cut himself off.

"Akitsu is none of those. She's very submissive, quiet, and totally co-operative. She'll do anything you ask and defend you with her life if need be," Riko pleaded desperately as he glared daggers at her for moving his body again without his permission.

"She'd even try to keep me and Karasuba away from you if you ordered her to. Okay, okay, I know! She can have my place on your futon, and I'll sleep separately way across the room. I'll, I'll, ummm, even do my best not to nag you or henpeck, wait, what does henpeck mean?"

Cash squeezed his eyes shut, ripped his face sideways and clenched his fists in frustration. What in the name of Harry was it going to take to get it through Riko's thick skull that he didn't want any of them in his life and further endangering his already too shaky baseball career?

"Henpeck MEANS that I want you to pay for and eat and sleep in your own room, in your own apartment, preferably in another building, and take your chain fetish pal Akitsu with you! Leave me the hell alone! Go fix your own fish and spinach wrapped rice cake stuff too, and let me buy a couple of cheeseburgers and fries and eat in peace!

"I've told you and told you that I could never stand to eat or even smell fish, even as a little kid, and yet HERE WE ARE! Because you keep jerking me around and taking my money out of my wallet to feed your damn bottomless stomach and keeping me broke all the time! It's a perfect example of why I want you OUT of my life for good! What's so DAMN hard for you.."

Cash's second frustrated tirade at Riko was interrupted when a short, laughing Japanese man dressed as a clown and jabbering away in an excited tone shoved a microphone in front of Cash's lips. The clown's tone was asking questions of some sort. A cameraman, several aides holding incredibly bright and hot spotlights, and a small group of onlookers were standing and clapping behind him.

What in the hell was this? What should he do? How should he respond? Damn! He hated being put on the spot like this without knowing the proper protocols, and his Japanese manager and coaches were VERY big sticklers for observing them all. In desperation, Cash finally turned helplessly to Riko for translation while blinking at the eye numbing glare.

"He's with some Reality TV game show," Riko said with her own controlled frustration at the interruption, "a live interview/harassment on the street type of thing. He's telling his audience that you are CJ Archer, an American pitcher that came to Tokyo to play baseball. You must have a few fans that recognized you here. He wants you to throw some balls at some kind of target and then answer some questions after each toss to win a prize."

"What kind of questions," Cash asked suspiciously as he looked with growing dismay at the even larger grinning crowd forming around them, "and what kind of prize?"

He had a fan following already? Who knew? He wondered how soon that could be translated into more pay and a promotion off the practice squad. Then maybe he could afford to eat once in awhile.

"Ummm, questions about where to find various tourist spots in Japan," Riko replied calmly. "Don't worry. I have a perfect memory and have read extensively on many subjects, especially Japan. You throw the baseballs and fake understanding what he's saying, and I'll translate the right answers for you. The store helps sponsor their show and gives products for prizes if you win. We can use them to defray food expenditures, right?"

"All right, all right, dammit, anything to save me a few yen then," Cash sighed in aggrieved acceptance while doing his best to affix a phony smile on his face.

It just wouldn't be cool to look uncooperative, ill-mannered, and frustrated while out and about to his team's management. They watched his public relations around Tokyo like vultures ready to pounce if he made them lose face and/or look like fools for hiring him to pitch for them.

"Tell him to give me the balls and show me the target. Just don't make me sound like a giant schmutz on national TV, okay?"

"Sure," Riko smiled prettily and turned to gaily wave at the camera and crowd. "But first, will you at least let Akitsu stay the night with us, or should I explain to your audience that you hate this store, Tokyo, all of Japan, and especially Japanese style of baseball?"

"That's blackmail!" Cash said between clenched teeth as he tried to keep grinning pleasantly at the crowd. "My manager and coaches will hound me out of the country, and I'll be finished as a pro here!"

"Yes, and we're waiting. By the way, the clown just asked about our relationship, and I told him you were my betrothed," Riko wrinkled her nose up at him. "Also, those balls are probably lopsided if I know these guys. They're not simply going to let you go without trying to get a lot of laughs at your expense. Japanese game shows can be rather brutal."

"Okay, okay," Cash quickly capitulated as the smell of the fish counter was really making him nauseous. He had to get out of here, fast. "Let's get this over with. I'll curve 'em on target, and you feed me the answers to their damn questions. Tell Akitsu she can stay one night, and then let's get the hell out of here so I can breathe and then find a decent cheeseburger. And just for the record, we are NOT betrothed."

"Sure we are, Cash Joseph," Riko crooned softly in victory, "and we're a happy couple of shoppers here, so quit scowling."

***scene break***

"There is something really wrong with me," Cash observed miserably as Riko gently let the three of them land on the roof of his apartment building.

"Barfing all over the clown on a live national TV broadcast like a giant schmutz. As if I didn't have any other excuse for the guys on the team to make fun of me, and management to give me the fish eye. It's sure to cut the number of fans rooting for me now too. Damn! Why'd they have to shove that big pack of smelly fish that we won right under my nose? It would have been better if I had deliberately lost the contest instead of throwing those curve balls into the target."

"Well," Riko chuckled, "at least Akitsu and I will have a month's supply of..."

She didn't finish as she spun around to see that seven Sekirei females in assorted strange attire and weapons and one tall male had landed with audible thumps behind them. The obvious leader, the male carrying a long straight sword and wearing dark clothes with a long scarf around his neck, stepped forward while shading his eyes from the evening sun shining directly into them. His gray hair and facial features had a very eerie resemblance to Karasuba's.

"That's Number 05, Mutsu, he's very, very dangerous," Riko muttered a warning to the astonished Cash. "Stay back and let me handle this. Akitsu, protect Cash Joseph."

"Riko, my Ashikabi, Mikogami of the south, has sent us to bring you and Akitsu to him," Mutsu began calmly while holding his sword with both hands at an angle before him.

"Mikogami is truly sorry for losing his temper with Akitsu. He said rash words and wishes to very deeply apologize to her. She is to come back with us. He also wants you to be his Sekirei and help him win the Sekirei Plan with us. He was absolutely captivated by your looks on TV and wants to wing you tonight. Please don't make any trouble and come along quietly."

"Please relay my regrets to your Mikogami, and tell him I politely decline," Riko said with a slight bow of her head for respect but kept her eyes locked on his. "Akitsu, do you wish to return?"

"No," Akitsu replied softly and succinctly after pausing.

Cash turned his head to stare at her in surprise because this was the first word Akitsu had uttered all day. That at least was one very redeeming quality that he could appreciate besides her truly mind boggling mammary endowment. Akitsu's next few words, however, caused him to scowl in utter consternation that transformed into an aggrieved expression of "I KNEW it!" glowering from his face.

"I have found a much better Ashikabi in Cash Joseph-sama" Akitsu added more firmly. She turned and grabbed Cash's left fore arm. She mashed it into the center of her massive cleavage hard enough to make him wince as the attached chains to the gaping bodice of her dress dug painfully into his flesh.

"I'm sorry, but that's not acceptable," Mutsu began but stopped as all the female Sekirei behind him gave varying pitched screams of terror fading upwards into the evening sky over Tokyo.

Mutsu's sword was then snatched from his hands and began rapidly pummeling him about the backsides and buttocks, making him jump about like a little kid being punished by a Catholic nun's willow switch. His long scarf snaked quickly around him to pin his arms before he too was hoisted skyward, but only about ten meters or so above the roof. His sword hovered a little above him. Somewhat as an afterthought, his body was suddenly encased in a thick block of ice up to his neck before he was lowered back to rest upright. Each now falling and still screaming Sekirei female was caught and similarly handled and chilled.

"You may tell your Mikogami," Riko began sweetly, but her voice took on a hardened edge, "Akitsu does not forgive such insults as he gave her, and neither do I as her friend. He is therefore unfit to be our Ashikabi, and neither of us have any intention of competing in the Sekirei Plan for him or anyone else. Leave us in peace, and don't try this again. I've always kind of liked and respected you Mutsu. Please don't make me hurt you. If you resist any further, your companions behind you will not suffer as I twist their heads to break their necks and terminate them in unison. You are now very aware that is no idle threat."

"I told him this was a bad idea, but my Ashikabi is somewhat spoiled and sometimes can be a little arrogant and unfeeling towards those he loves," Mutsu returned calmly as his forearms casually but powerfully broke through his block of ice to free himself. He glanced up at his hovering sword and sighed.

"May I?" he asked politely and caught it as Riko let it drop into his hands. He turned to look at his female companions shrieking angry demands to be released. Mutsu heaved a big sigh of exasperation and began shaking his head in long suffering.

"Where is your Ashikabi, Mutsu?" Riko pursed her lips in thought.

"You'll not hurt him," Mutsu said more as a very firm statement than as a question.

"No, he will be left completely unharmed, but I wish to convey our answer to his immature arrogance and let him see first hand that we have no interest in joining him."

Mutsu looked intently at Riko for a long moment then bowed his head once. "Perhaps a small lesson would be useful in the long term. He's in the street below in the back of his white limo."

"Go down and get everyone out of the vehicle, if you please," Riko commanded while still using a respectful tone, "and after we're done your frozen cohorts will be lowered to you and released unharmed."

"Understood," Mutsu nodded and turned to jump but stopped and looked over his shoulder at her. "You've never been adjusted and been hiding the true extent of your powers all along, right?" Again, this was a statement and not a question. "Have you contacted Miya yet?"

"No, but it's on my immediate to do list," Riko shrugged slightly in acknowledgment as she gestured towards Cash by pointing her chin, "after I am winged by my true Ashikabi, Cash Joseph Archer."

"Now wait just a damn minute," Cash began peevishly, but Mutsu casually leaped off the roof, and Riko yanked Akitsu and Cash with her to the roof's edge to look down.

As soon as the long white limo was emptied, Mutsu raised his sword while stepping away from it. The vehicle was suddenly torn in half with a violent rending of screeching metal. The two halves were then crumpled flat and folded to make two white metal boxes that neatly held the tires, axles, engine, and all the torn car's debris laying in the street.

Everything was then suddenly packed together and encased in solid ice. Both odd looking cubes were summarily tossed to float serenely as new little icebergs in the middle of Tokyo Bay. The still ice encased female Sekirei were then lowered gently down to Mutsu. Akitsu chopped her right hand at them, and their cold prisons fell away as piles of frost. Mutsu again raised his sword but this time in farewell. The group was last seen leaping up to a roof to the south and progressing across the skyline from there.

"I believe that properly conveyed the seriousness of our intentions," Riko declared pleasantly.

"Yes," Akitsu agreed stoically.

"That was weird!" Cash breathed almost to himself, "and spooky, very, very spooky. A fella could get busted up pretty quick hanging around you guys, and probably get his pitching arm boogered too badly to ever play ball again."

"I will keep you from all harm, Cash Joseph-sama," Akitsu turned to flatly assure him with a dead pan expression in her voice, face, and eyes.

There was something very spooky about that too, like some kind of female Frankenstein from outer space announcing that an epic fail had just occurred in some piece of her spaceship's technology that would cause the entire Milky Way Galaxy to vaporize in 6.2344 minutes.

Cash shook himself and tried to extricate his captured arm as her deadpan words and manner almost mesmerized him. His hand briefly brushed across one large, hardened nipple. Akitsu shuddered in instant pleasure. Whoa! If those two big beauties were that sensitive, no wonder she kept them chained up instead of running free! It might be a lot of fun to ... No! No you don't, bub! Cash admonished his stiffening dick sternly. My earned run average would never survive the constant temptation and neither would his baseball career. He had to stop this. Now.

"Hey, look, Akitsu, uhhh, we gotta talk here. I don't know you, and you don't really know me. I also appreciate the fact that you'd rather be with me than that other Mikogami guy," Cash said firmly and raised his palm at Riko for her silence as she started to stop him from saying what she knew was coming. "but I only agreed for you to stay the night. I can't be your and Riko's Ashikabi."

"Why not?" Akitsu frowned as if thinking this strange concept over slowly.

"Because," Cash sighed while realizing most virile males on the planet would readily agreement with his self assessment since few were as nuts about baseball as he.

"There's something wrong with me."

***scene break***

Cash groaned loudly while he slept, something very hot was making sweat bead all over his body. After a few minutes of thrashing about in agitation, he finally calmed and fell into a deep dream state where he became a large, solitary, blue eyed timber wolf with a white pelt. He was sitting on his haunches near the edge of a rocky mountain ledge overlooking a dark forest below. The full moon above him sent out its ancient primeval urge to make him howl, so he lifted his muzzle and give a series of long, drawn out, mournful calls of the wild. There was such a deep loneliness on this ledge, far away from his usual haunts and the familiar pack that he had led.

The wind came up from the forest below, and its smells were tested by his sensitive nostrils. He caught a faint whiff of another wolf. Going quiet, ears up and forward, he listened intently to hear another series of howls coming from the forest's far edge away from him. The howling wolf's scent came to him stronger. It was a female, a female timber wolf in heat. The long run down the mountain side left him loping along with his tongue lolling out as he panted. The female's scent was getting much stronger and very enticing.

At the edge of a meadow he stopped to see a coal black female wolf running towards him in ground eating strides. There was something wrong with her eyes. They glowed a feral red, and there was froth along her lower muzzle. She was long and lean, somewhat smaller than him overall, but she looked very strong, all her muscles rippling in unison with her running efforts. She closed the gap between them very swiftly to make him pace forward almost defensively. Her sexual smell was intoxicating, but he didn't trust those eyes, and well he shouldn't as she ran past him while snarling and snapping at his left foreleg. He leaped sideways and snarled his anger at her sneak attack. She circled him, snarling and growling while trying to dart in and slash his throat. There was something definitely quite wrong with this female.

Her attacks continued as she made darting runs around him. She was quicker than him, but he was bigger, more heavily muscled, and with a thicker coat of fur that frustrated her attempts to bite and draw blood. Surprisingly, it turned out he had more endurance also. Her runs at him came slower and farther apart while she panted heavily. One last dash and she was too slow to turn away. He leaped upon her back, closing his jaws around the back of her neck to hold her firm and letting his weight bear her to the ground helpless beneath him.

She yowled and tried to turn her head to snap her displeasure at being bested. Her howling quickly became wild and louder moans as he used his position to begin mating. Both of their primal instincts kicked in, and their pleasure intensified higher and higher as if there was a circuit between his teeth upon her neck that ran ran down their spines to their joined loins and back again. Their coupling was long and hard, ending in a final, heavily pulsing burst that went on and on. It left them both lying on their sides panting heavily, still joined and unable to separate until his swelling abated. The eerie glow faded from her eyes and the froth was gone from her muzzle. Finally, they were released to stagger up and sit sated on their haunches side by side, rubbing and licking each other, and playfully nipping at each others ears. Later, they began howling at the full moon again, but this time it was in perfect chorus together.

Cash groaned as he came awake. Damn. A wet dream like he hadn't had since he was thirteen, and he was covered in sweat. Groggily he rolled up on his left forearm and looked to see two extremely red faced female Sekirei kneeling and panting heavily beside the edge of his futon. Riko, clothed only in one of his t-shirts and her panties, turned her head and closed her eyes as she tried to regain control of her enflamed body and crawl weakly away from his sweat dampened bed.

Akitsu on the other hand, wearing nothing at all, simply launched herself at him, knocking him flat and letting her lips pounce on his. Her soft naked body and especially her big sensitive breasts began rubbing against him as she moaned into his mouth and began entwining her tongue with his. He tried to bring his arms up and push against her shoulders for separation, but it was too late.

The pink bird tattoo on her forehead faded away, became a glowing dark red edition that formed over her shoulder blades, and sank slowly onto her skin between them. Twin, frosty looking, white wings shimmering with iridescence pulsed in time with the same waves of carnal pleasure that had engulfed him and Karasuba on the roof with the exact same results. It was several very long moments before he and Akitsu broke slightly apart while gasping for air and holding onto each other weakly. Again, the female Sekirei was the first to recover enough to speak.

"Wings! My Wings and your crest!" Akitsu panted through tears of sheer overwhelmed joy. "You fixed me, my Ashikabi! I can feel my mind is working better! I can see your thoughts too! You fixed me, and there's nothing wrong with you either, my Ashikabi, my Ashikabi forever and ever!"

Speechless with dismay, Cash could only pant up at the ceiling. Dammit! This was not working out in any way that he really wanted! He turned his head to see that Riko had buried her face into her pillow, and her body was shaking as if she was silently weeping or having an orgasm or something. Crap! Another giant soap opera was sure to follow this night's fiasco. Could he help it that he'd had a wild sex dream? These things happened to normal males occasionally. Riko was just going to have to understand, and so was Akitsu too. He was not permanent relationship material.

His cell phone laying beside the head of his futon along side his wallet began it's new musical ring tone of "Another One Bites the Dust." Note to self. Time to get a better and less annoying ring tone. He flipped it open without recognizing the caller. Who could it be? As far as he knew, only his baseball manger and coaches had his number.

"Hello?" he croaked out while still panting.

"Hey big boy, I don't even have to ask if you liked that as much as I did," Karasuba responded with a husky, panting laugh. "There's some neat little side perks for winging a highly psychic single number Sekirei. You just found one, and now you got two of us. I told you I wasn't your mother. Let's get together and howl again soon. Oh, and tell Number 07 Akitsu congratulations for me. You and Big Tits are going to get along real well with me. I can just feel them against us right now, can't you? You got my number now Sweetums. Call me when you get the urge to bite my neck and later lick my face again. Bye bye, big boy."

Cash punched the buttons on his cellphone to save her number before flipping it shut. Karasuba was absolutely right about one thing. He may have to endure Riko's reproachful mooning all day, but Akitsu's highly curvaceous and soft assets simply felt incredible as she cuddled against him. She was probably an even greater threat to his pitching career now.

From across the room, Riko groaned in frustrated agony as she used his t-shirt's left sleeve to wipe the sweat from her brow.

***scene break***

Cash startled awake as the apartment door opened and shut. From his futon below the apartment's window, he got his bearings while staring out at the bright moon still hanging in Tokyo's night sky. After a few seconds, he glanced around the moonlit room to see that Riko's futon was empty, but Akitsu was still plastered against him. Her soft lips were gently nibbling the muscles of his left biceps followed by an occasionally licking tongue. Her action and the feel of her smooth and wondrously curved body was definitely having a big effect on Little CJ. He craned his neck to look down into her blue gray eyes brightly shining in the moon's glow above them.

"Riko left? Why?" Cash whispered as the moon hauntingly highlighted Akitsu's beautiful facial features as well as her now silvery looking hair.

"She knows we are going to complete our bonding now, Cash Joseph-sama," Akitsu shifted to bring her bare left leg over his lower torso. "You have given me your Ashikabi's crest and wings as your Sekirei, but now I will also become your mated female. She is respecting our privacy when we join together."

"Akitsu, wait," Cash swallowed and then continued in a gentle tone. "You have to know I'm just a poorly paid ball player temporarily over here for the spring and summer. Hopefully, I'll be going back to the States in just a few months. You home is here and so is this Sekirei Plan stuff. I'm not going to get involved in any of that. You do understand that, don't you?"

"My home is wherever you are Cash Joseph-sama," she said softly but firmly while tightening her massive chest's pressure against him. Her knee and lower left leg gripped his left thigh.

"I was never a part of the Sekirei Plan because I was scrapped in experiments to make other Sekirei strong enough to participate in it. I am free to go anywhere you want. Your mind says that you want me now as much as I want you. You will never have to be concerned about me taking your freedom either, for your freedom is also now mine."

"You can actually read my thoughts?" Cash frowned down at her.

"Oh yes, very clearly. We are now finely tuned together. It's an intense effect of the winging process and even stronger in the single numbers. Karasuba is here with us and sharing her desires for you too. It will always be thus no matter which of us is actually physically joined to you. Can you feel her in your mind with me?"

"Ummm, yes, I think so. It's like a warm, sweet pressure at the base of my skull, isn't it, kind of a mixture of wild honey on one side and glazed sugar frosting on the other?"

"The way you perceive our minds is very," Akitsu paused to kiss his shoulder and move her warm, soft lips towards his, "satisfying and comforting, my Ashikabi. There are things about my mind that are still not as they should be. Some synapses were drug damaged during testing, but I felt a few were actually repaired when we first bonded. Karasuba and I think that if the process was repeated several times, then more might be repaired. I want you to not only make me your woman now, but make me whole for you. Let me be everything I can be to make you happy."

Karasuba would probably never go stateside, and that was okay, but was it possible he could make this and a ball career work then, just he and Akitsu?

"You won't mind leaving Japan? Moving all around back in the States while I play ball? Maybe being hungry at times? Meeting my mother?"

"I care for nothing except to be yours, Cash Joseph, wherever you want to go. Now it's my turn to howl with you and Karasuba in the moonlight. Come to me."

Cash bit his lower lip hard in an last ditch attempt to roll away because he knew his Ma would never approve, but somehow his limbs and Little CJ failed to follow that thought. He rolled the other way instead to put his sweaty forehead over hers. Mutual fire swept over them both as her lips captured his in another passionate kiss. Akitsu then began a guttural growling deep in her throat as her strong ankles locked behind the small of his back and pulled downward. The mindless Little CJ went happily into bonded capture without a thought or care.

Only a very wee tiny voice of disturbed conscience sounded deep in Cash's brain before all coherent thought fled him.

Sorry Ma.

***scene break***

The female Sekirei on the roof of Izumo Inn rapidly shed her bloody clothes and sat on them, her body and mind shaking uncontrollably from the psychic assault on every nerve in her body. Wave after wave of pleasure washed over her as she fell over while writhing and howling at the bright moon above. She was mindlessly unaware that several Sekirei females below her were doing exactly the same thing in the privacy of their rooms.

***scene break***

Karasuba licked her dry lips as her powerful hands gripped each side of her bed, the black silk sheets beneath her were soaked from the sweat streaming from her body. Sounds of high pitched howls were coming to her ears from down the bedroom corridor of the Disciplinary Squad's penthouse suite in the MBI tower complex. Benitsubasa and Haihane, each in their separate rooms, were both having a strong reaction to Karasuba's powerful reinforcement of Akitsu and Cash Joseph's torrid lovemaking.

Karasuba reached for the pitcher of ice water beside her bed as this latest lashing of orgasmic waves receded for a short lull. She would need more water to keep up this pace. Taking several deep gulps to quench her growing thirst, she lay back and renewed her grip. A decidedly wicked chuckle escaped as it began again. Freeing one hand to quickly wipe her brow with a corner of her black silk sheet, she began humming there was going to be a hot time in old Tokyo tonight!

***scene break***

Riko lifted high into the sky over Tokyo, seeking the atmosphere's coldness to chill the psychic flames being sent into her mind and body from Cash Joseph's primal mating with Akitsu in the apartment below. A part of her felt glad for her friend's healing, but she mostly felt raging jealousy. This was what he should have been doing with her since the first morning they had met! A desperate sob escaped her lips as her mind felt the couple climax with raging intensity below, and then surprisingly begin again. Not only was there animal passion emanating in waves, but a joyous sharing of tenderness and rapidly growing affection that was getting deeper and wider with each passing moment.

How could her Ashikabi bond so easily with a murdering skank like Karasuba and even brain damaged Akitsu? It wasn't fair! She had found him first and was by far the better option! This bonding joy should have been hers! What was wrong with him? With her? Riko turned away weeping in heartbreak and slowly launched herself in a high curve to the south.


	5. Chapter 5

**The Game Changer**

**Chapter 5 – Fifth Pitch, Fast Ball in the Dirt**

Karasuba paused to give her newest painting a critical once over after adding a long, off center slash of crimson for a little bloodier effect. A light rustle of the roof pebbles to her left and behind got her immediate attention, but she didn't turn her head. There was no need. The closeness of the lavender smell emanating from Number 01 Miya's body, long violet tresses, white and purple temple outfit, and her very strong psychic mind identified the newcomer even more surely than any superhuman Sekirei eyesight.

"Well, well, look what the cold north wind just blew in," Karasuba snorted with mocking amusement. "I'm starting to think this rooftop is getting more action than the bullet train terminals going to Kyoto. You make the fifth visitor this morning, Miya, and it isn't even 9:30. You just missed Haihane and Benitsubasa, but I'm sure they really don't mind missing your chilly bullshit. Come to get a little closer to the heat?"

"I'm here to see Riko, Number 67, because I can sense she's really hurting, not to bandy words with animal trash," Miya returned neutrally but her face was a stony mask of ill concealed and intense hatred. This reply caused the highly psychic and sensitive Karasuba to give a short bark of openly jeering laughter.

"Still denying your baser side and lying to yourself about it, I see, and still playing at being a female shaman with your pretty little purple hakama and white haori outfit," Karasuba lowered her red tipped brush and turned to flash her hated rival a predatory grin. "We both KNOW why you're here, and it isn't because of poor little old Riko. You aren't keeping a tight enough lid on your thoughts, old girlfriend. You've been catching the same high vibes as the rest of us from Sweetums' ongoing 'fixing' of Akitsu for the last two days and nights. It's put you into heat too, and you can't deny it, not to me anyway."

"The last forty eight hours have been," Miya paused to calmly search for the right descriptive word, "disturbing, but that doesn't mean I have to be like you and camp out on top of it. There are higher things in life than simple rutting lust, but you wouldn't know anything about that."

"Oh I don't know, maybe I do," Karasuba smirked while waving the smeared pallet in her left hand. "Take a look around. All these drying canvasses are my efforts except for that pockmarked mess called 'Shinto Dawn' over there. Did you know that impressionistic art using a brush is a lot like wielding a sword? You just have to indicate basic shapes and let the colors do the rest. It seems I'm a natural. I call this one 'Wet Work', that one is 'Carnal Heat', the one next to it is 'Murderous Fury', there is 'Howling Bliss', and I'm planning 'Heated Wings' or maybe 'Sated Eyes' next."

"All images of nothing but blood lust and mindless animal sex," Miya made a moue of disgust with her lips, her violet eyes also expressing her contempt for Karasuba's unchanging low nature. "I'd expect nothing more from your crass type of loveless insanity."

"Oh, that's rich, or as my Ashikabi would say, droll, very droll indeed," Karasuba chuckled while giving her original battle leader a knowing sneer. "You having selective memory problems again? We both KNOW the kinds of bondage kink and equipment you used with your so called husband after our early battles defending Kamakura Island. You still remember, don't you? The ones where you killed thousands of humans. You were such a screamer back then, and I'm betting you still are."

"One can learn better behavior, change, and grow," Miya replied flatly without denying the crude jibe. "It's called maturing, one thing you've never done. Enough of this pointless chatter. Where is Riko? I can't sense her at the moment."

"That's because she's got a cleaning, laundry, and maid service going in three apartment buildings right now to keep her mind occupied and block out what Akitsu and Sweetums having been doing this morning. Ooooh, it seems, there's another Akitsu circuit 'fix' starting … just … about … NOW!" Karasuba's knees buckled to sink her suddenly panting and flushed body to a kneeling position before her painting. It was all she could do to keep her wet paint brush and pallet from hitting the roof's surface as her body shook in waves of pure pleasure. Several long moments passed before she was able to recover enough to speak.

"Damn! I can NEVER get enough of that!" The Black Sekirei turned to see a deeply flushed Miya down on all fours on the rooftop's pebbles and still panting heavily. Karasuba jeered in laughter at her former leader again.

"That's going to leave a bad tar stain on the knees of your pretty purple silk hakama, Miya, you sweaty slut dog. I guess the matured and uptight old prude you've become still has a little of the hot juices of youth erupting, huh? You keep hanging around here, and you'll start carrying extra pairs of clean panties like I do."

"How, how ... oh my ... how does he DO that?" Miya panted in sightless, wide eyed wonder as she struggled to regain her composure. It took more effort to calm her still rippling abdominal muscles for a few moments before attempting to stand up.

"My new Ashikabi may be a thickheaded American oaf," Karasuba began as she also struggled weakly upright,"but the MAN has some VERY redeeming qualities. His psychic projections during sex have got to be off any scale our forebears thought we'd ever encounter on this planet, or they'd have probably ditched us all and came themselves."

"How could he become your Ashikabi since you were already winged? Or wing and 'fix' a scrapped number like Akitsu, for that matter," Miya's panting was calming slowly to just a mildly heaving chest as she tried to smooth out her traditional, violet colored, Japanese apparel. She winced at the two stains and small tears around the knees on one of her best miko outfits.

"You're the phony, know-it-all shaman. You tell me. To be perfectly frank, I'm not sure," Karasuba shrugged with a small smile as her long, all consuming animosity towards Miya had seemed to shrink in the afterglow of their recently shared, orgasmic psychic blast from Cash and Akitsu.

"My working theory is that there is more to our winging than a DNA imprinting. There is also a very strong psychic factor. Its resonant attraction should occur at the same time as we kiss for us to experience the complete unlocking of our powers and also permanent bonding with our Ashikabi. This psychic factor was never measured by MBI because humans don't have the awareness or means to do so. All they looked at was the physical DNA transfer side. Have you ever noticed that some of our winged crests are a darker color than others?"

"Well, yes," Miya frowned in thought. This re-winging ability had never been seen in an Ashikabi before as far as she knew, on Earth or her home planet of Kouten. The implications, possibilities, and outright abuse inherent in such power were mind boggling, and re-winged Karasuba was already planning her moves. Those wouldn't be good for anyone on Earth, especially an unwinged, not as pretty, nor as inherently sexy Miya. She had to gain some time, find a way to counter, and also better understand what was happening with Akitsu and why. "Yes. I have noticed darker crests on some Sekirei, but why would that be?"

"I think its because some more psychically powerful Sekirei have been able to bond more deeply with their resonating Ashikabi, while the weaker ones have accepted any that were simply attracting or even a forced kiss. In my case I had a zero psychic and physical attraction to my first Ashikabi and just thought a quick tongue sample would give me all I needed without having his swishy ass getting in my way afterward. Then I met Cash Joesph Archer and got hit hard. Look at the dark color of my crest now, and I've grown exponentially in my physical and psychic powers since too. As for Akitsu, MBI's drugs forced a psychic short circuit to cause her brain to react as if she had been internally winged, but her forehead crest was a very light colored pink. You should see the deep red thing she's got after hooking up with our Cash Joseph."

"And their physical and mental resonating mating since has been repairing the mental circuits that the drugs also damaged?" Miya's eyebrows were raised in speculation. For once, her scum former disciple was making sense.

"Yes, very much so. I'm also beginning to think the MBI suits actually knew what they were doing when they decided Akitsu needed to be scrapped as too powerful. She can really put it out there, can't she? She's also thinking faster, putting whole sentences and paragraphs together, and actually showing some signs of a little independent thought," Karasuba nodded while chuckling.

"If she and Cash Joseph keep going and going like energizer bunnies in heat for another 48 hours, we probably won't be able to shut her up, and she'll become some kind of fricken genius. At the very least we're going to be starting a baby nursery soon. I don't mind it a bit though. I took a few days off, and this has been the best damn rooftop R&R I've ever had. Now that I think about it, maybe my next painting will be 'Down and Dirty' or something that has to do with a hot rooftop orgasm on all fours like 'Slut Dog'. What do you think?"

"I'm sure you'll do your worst," Miya returned with one arched eyebrow. "Why hasn't this Cash Joseph winged Riko? We know they resonate very strongly. What's the delay?"

"She wants the fairy tale dream of forever and ever romance, but she turns him off big time, and he wants absolutely nothing to do with her. He's a ball player, you know, very strong minded and independent."

"But why would he accept such low trash like you and a troubled Akitsu and not her?"

"Let's just say we took, ummm, accepted him for what he is as he does us, no strings attached, and with," Karasuba grinned wickedly, "just the right body parts, troubles and trash included."

"But Riko is so beautiful, smart, and incredibly attractive! Why has he rejected her? Is he some kind of low life scum like you?" Miya shook her head slowly in confusion and total curiosity. "His mental patterns don't project that at all. What are his intentions in the Sekirei Plan? He hasn't shown up on MBI's computers as an Ashikabi, so he has the potential of being a very strong and unknown wild card. Does he want to wing other Sekirei or even re-wing others to stay off MBI's lists? How is that going to work out with you still on the Disciplinary Squad?"

"Changes nothing for me as of right now, but you know," Karasuba crinkled her eyes half shut as she continued to smile evilly at her troubled tormentor, "for the rest of it, I think maybe you're going to have to ask him yourself. Oh, and he'll tell you too, in no uncertain words and as straight thinking as you could want. That's another of my Ashikabi's better qualities. He also reads Riko like an open book. He's got a team meeting that he has to attend at the stadium in about an hour, and then he's got to run with the other pitchers after that. I was going to jump him over there and watch, but why don't you take him. It'll give you a little uninterrupted one on one time afterward so he can answer all your questions about Riko and the Sekirei Plan."

Karasuba turned her head away to once again eye her 'Wet Work' while muttering under her breath through clenched teeth after Miya abruptly left to find and meet Cash, "And yourself by proxy too, Miya, you stuck up, self righteous, domineering, deluded, hypocritical, and prudish old bitch. Put this up your phony shaman outfit."

The Black Sekirei finished her low rant with a particular vicious long slash of crimson red that ran obliquely straight through the heart of her almost finished canvas.

***scene break***

"Maybe I should have thought the consequences through a little better," Riko admitted with a noticeable slurring of her words. "Akitsu didn't have any place else to go and no one else to turn to when she sought me out. Her Ashikabi had gotten mad over some failure and threw her out into the streets. Somehow she sensed where I was and came to me. I just didn't think she'd go crazy with Cash Joseph like this. I should have known better."

Number 03, Kazehana of the Wind, nodding in agreement with one eye closed for better aiming, poured another drink of her finest sake and handed the long stemmed glass back to Riko. They were sitting on top of the steel girder framework marking a tall building under new construction. The location was at the extreme southern edge of Tokyo, as far away from Cash Joseph and Aktisu's almost non-stop orgasmic mental broadcasts as they both could get.

"You were trying to help a frien'," Kazehana hiccuped as she smiled and leaned left to pat Riko's right forearm while framing her speech carefully. The action almost made her too bountiful chest spill out of her low cut and very sleekly fitting, dark purple mini-dress. "You can't, you can't blame your bes' instincts, Riko. Good ol' Reeker, my bes' pal and Kama Su, Su, Sutra buddy."

The older, taller, almond eyed beauty with overall measurements and facial features of a mid-eastern Miss Universe winner, began a drunken but surprisingly girlish giggle that made the huge masses of her long, thick, and wavy dark hair shake as if being in a caressing light breeze.

"I always wondered what those uptight MBI asses would have said if they'd found out about us reading that book after lights out." Kazehana let out a peel of outright laughter and almost went over backwards at the thought, but recovered nicely without spilling a drop from her waving bottle. "My first love would have, sh, sh, shit a brick!"

"But Cash Joseph and Akitsu have been driving me absolutely crazy!" Riko wailed anew. "It's even wor, wor, worse when he's screwing that bitch Karasuba! I can't shut them out of my mind awake or asleep, and, and, I keep wetting myself, even in public!"

"Hah! Don't, don't, don't I know all about THAT!" Kazehana nodded emphatically after taking a big swig of sake straight from the bottle. "Ol' Karasuba and Akitsu have been mentally blasting this town into a Sekirei fuh, fuh, fuh frenzy! Matsu and Musubi are pounding our Ash, Ash, Ashis, ka, ka, Minato with a double team right now! It was me and Tsukuimi yesterday, while Homura is wanking him/herself off nonstop! I found Uzume. She's been assassinating weaker Sekirei at night and sleeping in the day, so watch yourself, but don't tell nobody. I found her naked and howling up on the Izumo Inn's roof the other night! Nobody's getting any, any sle, sle, sleep! If it keeps up, we'll never see phase, phase, phase 3 of that stupid Sekirei Plan! Everybody will be too busy screwing themselves silly! That reminds me! I gotta get Minato some Viagra!"

"I want my Cash Joseph to want me too!" Riko began weeping. "I could handle him making Akitsu happy, and even tolerate Karasuba if I have to, but he's, he's, he's IGNORING me! Wha, wha, what am I gonna do?"

"Love is crazy," Kazehana squinted sagely in commiseration. "I went through the same rejection for years until I got winged by Min, Min," she hiccuped again, "Minato, but he's made up for all that grief, an' then some. Sh, sh, sh, sharing your Ashikabi isn't so tough either. All you gotta do is agree to a fair shed, shed, shed you el and duh, duh, double up occasionally. Ish the only way."

"But who knows how many Sekirei a strong Ashikabi like Cash Joseph is going to wing? An, an, an he hates me! He keeps trying to make me leave him! I'll never get any time with him alone!"

"Thash a tough one all right," Kazehana paused to give the concept some bleary eyed thought before waving her bottle triumphantly. "Just do like I did with Min, Min, Minato! Ambush him! Get on top, hold him down, and suck his tongue as deep into your face as it can go! Then get naked together right away and bang each others brains out! Works like charm!"

"But that's what Akitsu just did!" Riko began wailing anew, pausing only long enough to chug her sake.

"See! There ya go! Look how well it's worked out for, for, for her!"

"But I want Cash Joseph to LOVE me and WANT me forever and ever, not just put up with being around me for a loveless quickie now and then, and then totally ignore me the rest of the time! How can I get him to give me his heart?"

"Here, have another drinkie poo," Kazehana sloppily refilled Riko's glass and then leaned dangerously back to begin rubbing her chin in deep thought. After a few silent minutes of frowning thought with her eyes closed, she straightened.

"I know! We gon, we gon, we gonna need some ex, ex, ex, spear ee enced help! You gotta talk to MIYA! Good ol' Number 01 has been there, and done it all, and in spades sister! I KNOW! I KNOW for a fact! You, you, you should have seen some of the toys she had and used to get her Huh, Huh, Hubby interested in her! Some, some, some of them wasn't even in the Ka, Ka, Kama Sutra! An' then he married her! Just like that!" She snapped her fingers on her free hand so hard that she fell backwards off the steel girder.

"Really?" Riko blinked in sudden hope. "She, she, she was having wild sex with her man before they got married? He still married her after she got winged? He really loved her?"

"Yep," Kazehana floated up on a light breeze to within six inches of Riko's face and peered owlishly at her friend while wagging a finger back and forth for emphasis.

"He married the cat after it had left the bag, but Miya's a special case. She, she, she can't be winged, but her mating goes deeper somehow. She and her new husband had both decided they wanted babies, and he wanted them to have his name, but he died before she got knocked up. It was sad. She's been a gree, gree, grieving widow for too long since. Got a bad case of old prunes now. Doesn't think anyone should have any fun if she can't."

"Then maybe she won't help me with Cash Joseph?" Riko tried to focus her suddenly crossed eyes on Kazehana's face.

"Oh, she'll help you with Cash Joseph, all right," Kazehana settled back to a sitting position on the girder. "OR I'll tell tales to embarrasish the crap outta her! A little blackmail and skull, skull, skullduggery always works wonders, right? Besides, she's still a sucker for fairy tale love just like us. All you gotta do, is ask Miya for a few poin, poin, pointers after I talks to her. That's all. Hey. We gotta find us a wider place sit. And another bottle. This old soldier is empty."

"You got more?" Riko swallowed after turning slightly green.

"Nashurally," Kazehana nodded in happily smiling and drunken affirmation. "Drinking always helps me think things through a little better, ya know? You just relaxsh, Reeker, good ol' Miya is gonna fixes you right up!"

***scene break***

Miya slowly ran her fingers through Cash Joseph's sweaty hair that had picked up several globs of dirt during their torrid lovemaking on the pitching mound of the stadium's covered bullpen.

"I'm not sure if I should apologize or not," Miya confessed softly while swallowing in bewildered consternation and glowing satisfaction. "I've never had such, ummm, uncontrollable desires make me go so wild like that before. It was so sudden, and so strong, and your smell after running, I just couldn't help..."

"Shhhhh," Cash used his lips to lightly kiss her into silence and then continue nibbling gently on her lower lip. "I think I might be getting a little used to the reaction I seem to be generating with you Sekirei gals, but I am getting a little sore. As for this, no regrets at all. It was incredible. A wonderful and totally unexpected surprise. I hope we can keep doing this a lot for a long, long time."

"Really? Ummm. So do I," Miya hummed with pleasure while letting her fingers slide down to twirl the sparse, light brown hair on his chest. She'd never seen chest hair on a man before.

"I tried to keep our minds tightly closed together when we were, ummm, doing it. I didn't want to mentally broadcast everything all over the city like Karasuba and Akitsu do. I was worried that it might take something away, but it was more than incredible for me. It was, it was like a giant warm light was turned on inside of me, and it is still on, hopefully to glow like this forever. After my husband died, I've always been secretly dreaming I would meet another man who would instantly connect with me in every way, you know, like in fairy tales, but you are way more than that. And I can even read your thoughts."

"That's good," Cash pulled her closer and began kissing her eyes and the tip of her nose.

"You are simply amazing. When we first met I felt something special too, a deep attraction I've never felt before. It felt so right, so natural, and then it just kept growing on our way over here. I'm glad you waited for me after everyone else left the place. You know, baseball is my life, and it just seems so perfect that we yanked our clothes apart and got crazy on a pitching mound. It was wild, wasn't it? Hey, what am I thinking right now?"

"Well, I've never had a shower before. We always take baths over here. Are you sure?"

"Yep, there's lots of interesting ways to use soap and hot water while standing up. We can rinse the dirt out of our clothes at the same time too." Cash chuckled. "We can also stop at some place discreet and get your outfit replaced on the way back. And I'm hungry. What do you say?"

"I like that word discreet, Cash Joseph. We must be very discreet about this and us from now on, or I'm afraid it might put you in danger, at least until the Sekirei Plan is finished. After that, well, I would be more than happy to be your mistress or anything else you want, but until then there's certain people that need to think I'm uninvolved in any way. They might try to use you to blackmail me into helping them. Ummm, I don't think rinsing is going to help any since I've already torn and ruined my clothes. And I kind of like it here. It feels, rather quiet and, and..."

"Kinky?"

"Exciting with echoes," Miya gurgled with sultry heat. "Can we do another fast one here before going to the showers for more?"

A few hours later, they were sitting close together on a park bench hidden from surrounding foot and vehicle traffic and quietly eating beef and noodle takeout. Cash kept staring at Miya's intriguing violet eyes and long violet hair once again pulled into a demure ponytail behind and with shorter bangs in front. Hidden was the wild eyed wildcat tossing her thick, loose hair side to side in total abandonment as she screamed out her multiple releases into the echo chambers of an empty stadium and shower room. For Miya's part, she kept inhaling deeply as if memorizing his male scent. She gave him a small frown as her thoughts began to gel again as Number 01, the most powerful Sekirei on Earth.

"Cash, would you let me mentally cap our time together so that Karasuba can't read your mind and see anything about us? It's temporarily shut now, but I can make it more permanent for when I'm not around. She and I aren't, ummm, on good terms. She can't be trusted to keep her mouth shut either. It also might save your life if she finds out we are lovers and goes off into a sudden murderous rage from jealousy. "

"Uhhh, that mental capping sounds like a good plan," Cash coughed in sudden fear. There were obviously some down sides to this Sekirei involvement and instant nookie for Little CJ too, just like all the troubles he had experienced from being caught between multiple dominant girlfriends back in the States, but with much deadlier consequences. Some things when it came to females, even alien ones, were literally universal, or at least galactic. "Hiding it from Akitsu and Riko and everyone else sounds very prudent, very prudent indeed. What are your plans for the future now?"

"That's funny," Miya smiled prettily and then gave a soft chuckle. "The reason I sought you out today was to ask you the very same question. To answer yours first, I'm waiting on the sidelines and watching this MBI madness called the Sekirei Plan unfold. There are several reasons, ones that I must not tell you for your own safety, why I can't just step in and stop it. But for now I can watch for a big enough slip up or mistake that would allow me to do so. Other than that, I had planned on expanding my Inn someday to make a little better living, but I've got a new man in my life I want to very much please now too. Maybe I'll sell it, or not. I'm going to just stay very flexible."

"From what we did in the stadium showers," Cash teased in reply, "that is such an understatement. My plans are simple. I want to play baseball for as long as I can, then maybe coach. That's it, and nothing more."

"What about your two Sekirei?" Miya frowned slightly.

"Totally free to do whatever they want, wherever they want, and whenever they want," Cash shrugged. "Follow me when I eventually go back to the States, stay here, find another Ashikabi, start a business, whatever. A life in baseball means travel, lots of travel, so that's what I'll be doing. For now, I'm stuck here in Tokyo, but when I get my forkball perfected and things die down a little back home, I'll head back there to try to move up. I'm only 23, so I got time to make it to the bigs."

"Bigs?"

"Major leagues," Cash smiled confidently. "The SHOW. You gotta dream big to be a real ball player."

"I see. Ummm, Karasuba and Akitsu won't be finding another Ashikabi, Cash. You'll be their only one for the rest of your and their lives. I'm afraid bonding is very, very permanent." Miya swallowed slightly while reading his thoughts and fearing to say anything further. She couldn't tell him the depth of what had just happened between them just yet. It would spook him to no end.

"Okay, that's cool too," Cash nodded in acceptance and then chuckled. "What I said earlier still applies. Whatever they want, and you too now for that matter. We may have to move to Utah and become Mormons to live together, or even pretend to join some communal cult, but hey, that's no biggie. We would just need to eventually get something worked out between you and Karasuba though, if that's the case. Life's too short for that kind of continual grief, right? I want you both to be happy and Akitsu too."

Miya turned her head aside and went silent for several long moments, before looking back up into his warm blue eyes that were watching her with friendly curiosity and manly interest. Should she tell him that the murderous animosity between her and Karasuba had actually begun when the blackhearted bitch tried to and finally succeeded in seducing Miya's lover and eventual husband, Takehito Asama?

Much of Karasuba's subsequent bitterness had developed when Miya had refused to share Takehito after they had been married. He had spurned Karasuba's later advances at Miya's request, and it had broken something within Karasuba that the hardhearted bitch had been trying to fix in blood with her sword ever since. No, Miya searched the depths of Cash's past in his mind. He would never tolerate being caught between two dominant warring females again. She was just going to have to talk to Karasuba, and she realized that she had fallen very neatly into Karasuba's carefully planned ploy for sweet revenge.

Miya smiled bitterly within her mind. Karasuba had been deliberately using Cash's naturally uncapped and powerful psychic emanations during rabid sex with Akitsu and also deliberately not masking her own with him. Akitsu with her damaged circuits didn't have the ability to dampen her orgasmic emanations either. Karasuba had known full well what sensual havoc was being caused amongst the Sekirei within range, and it had all been done to get Miya on Cash's rooftop to receive the full effect. Then it had only been a matter of putting Miya within sniffing distance of a sweaty Cash's powerful pheromones and let an already attuned Miya helplessly react true to her hard wired Sekirei nature. Now Miya was going to have to ask Karasuba to share her Ashikabi and get soundly rebuffed. Her revenge for Takehito's rejection would be then complete.

No wait, Miya's mind raced on. This deliberate setup using Cash Joseph was actually much deeper and deadlier and far beyond a cold dish of years delayed revenge over a triangle lovers' spat. The conniving Karasuba was already using the situation to start recruiting allies to fight with her in the Sekirei Plan like some kind of deadly chess game. Hadn't she mentioned having Haihane and Benitsubasa and three others on the rooftop this morning too? The two other members of MBI's Disciplinary Squad had been winged by the same wimp Ashikabi as Karasuba and were now ripe and nicely attuned to be re-winged by Cash. Incredibly powerful but weak minded Akitsu, by virtue of their shared Ashikabi and double teaming him with Karasuba, was probably already within Karasuba's fold of influence also. How many more had Karasuba targeted for Cash to re-wing? At least three, Miya blinked, but who were they? Then again, a lot of small pawns wouldn't really matter that much for they would just be sacrificed for the end game.

Karasuba's overall plan was to kill her hated rival Miya and every other Sekirei within MBI's game to reign as the supreme Sekirei on Earth. Cash, bless his total thickheaded stubbornness, was just the perfect most powerful Ashikabi pawn for her cunning scheme because he had no higher ambitions other than to play baseball. The kicker was that Karasuba had already handcuffed Miya in the game by virtue of her hard wired feelings for Cash after mating with him, a mating that Karasuba had known from long ago was even stronger than a normal Sekirei's winging. There was no way Miya could hurt Cash or kill him in order to eliminate Karasuba from MBI's Sekirei Plan now.

There was only one thing to do, Miya realized. She had to work just as cunningly as Karasuba from within Cash's circle of winged Sekirei to thwart the Black Sekirei's evil schemes, and to do that Miya needed allies, the most powerful allies that she could find. The place to start was with the only other "unadjusted" Sekirei in the plan and the one that already disliked Karasuba intensely, Riko. Cash had to be persuaded to wing Riko and soon, very soon.

"What about Number 67 Riko?" Miya asked softly while slightly chewing her lower lip in concern. The negative waves in Cash's mind about Riko were very daunting in their strength. Overcoming them would be no easy task.

"What about her?" Cash snorted in disgust. "She's on her own to fly and be free. Good luck and good riddance! That is one chick that needs to get her beak out of my business and go roost on some poor jerk's bed who is dumb enough to want her crapping up his life."

"What's so wrong with her?" Miya's voice took on a hint of disbelief. This was even worse than she had read in his mind! Think Miya! Think! "From what I know she is absolutely beautiful, incredibly smart, very, very powerful, hard working, and is just aching to have you wing and love her. She would make a wonderful addition to us as a Sekirei family! She is perfect for you!"

"Oh yeah? Not from where I sit! She is also one uptight, pushy, domineering, self righteous, stuck up, hypocritical, sneaky, trouble making, bad tempered, and play by her rules or else female that would drive me and everyone else around her batty before a month passed. I would always be living in her little zoo as the caged trained and constantly henpecked monkey. I got better things to do with my life than to jump and be yanked around when she squawks, and you can't talk to her because she only hears what she wants and tunes out the rest. She's let her big powers go to her birdbrains so much she thinks she's better than everyone else on the planet except for somebody called Number One, whoever that is. Karasuba says Riko and this Number One are birds of the same feather, only Kara Honey actually said beotches of the same feather."

Cash leaned over to drop his empty take out box and plastic chopsticks into a park trash can beside their bench, and then turned to put his left arm around Miya's shoulders to draw her close. He thought that the evening was getting just a little chilly, and it would be nice to share a little warmth before they had to go. A sudden thought struck him.

"Hey, how come you didn't get a dark red bird sign on your back and a pair of wings when we first kissed in the bullpen and then went wild in the dirt? I thought all Sekirei got winged when that sexual stuff happened. Is there something wrong with me being with you? Does that mean I'm not your Ashikabi like I am with Karasuba and Akitsu? Are we gonna be something special and better?"

"Uhhh, no, there is absolutely nothing wrong with you being with me," Miya swallowed in dismay for she had seen the doubts about her in his mind before he had voiced them. Her thoughts raced as she tried to give him some kind of satisfying answer that would be the truth but not reveal herself as Number 01 just yet. She also had to stay away from revealing her own nature that was much too close to Riko's. She wouldn't have much time though. Good old Kara Honey was sure to skewer Miya in the back with Cash as soon as she possibly could and at every opportunity. Poor Riko was going to need some very careful coaching to overcome Cash's blatant disfavor and become Miya's ally against Karasuba too. The tricky part was to go gently now with Cash and seat herself in Cash's favor to help Riko get winged when the time was ripe.

"Yes, we are something special, Cash, very deep and special, and always will be, but not necessarily better. As for the wings and dark red crest not appearing, I'm technically not a Sekirei, but I am an alien, and did come to Earth in the same ship. My powers are greater, but I have certain limitations that would only hurt you to know about them right now. After the Sekirei Plan's madness is finished, you'll know the whole truth about all of us, including me. Can you wait?"

"Oh no problem," Cash smiled in reassurance. "I've got nothing in that insane sounding Plan. I'm just going to play baseball and paint."

"You're not planning on winging other Sekirei or re-winging more to win the Plan's battles?"

"There is no fricken way," Cash snorted in amusement, "and there's another reason that nagging Riko chick has just got to GO. She's hell bent on winning everything and ascending while trying to take me with her. I told her my feet were staying on good old Mother Earth, I wasn't a fighter, I wanted no part of it, but she just wouldn't listen. She's a total bonehead. I think in the back of her mind she's sure she's going to beat all the other Sekirei including this Number 01 chick to win whatever that goofy ascending prize will be. Maybe we'd all get lucky, and the two of them will just peck each other to death since they're both the same types of henpeckers. Then the rest of us can just get on with our lives in peace."

"Oh, oh, my," Miya swallowed hard again and squeezed her eyes shut in dismay. She was a henpecker too? "Cash, tell me, do you think a person can change? I mean, mature and, and get better? Maybe even a girl like Riko or maybe even that Number 01?"

"Well, yeah, I guess," Cash rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "Almost everyone matures somewhat sooner or later, but for Riko to change? It's been my bitter experience that it takes something pretty darn traumatic for a bonehead like her to step in front of a mirror, take a good, hard, long look at themselves inside and out, and then really admit that they are a bonehead and need to change. Most people want to just keep lying to themselves, denying what they are, making excuses, and blaming others for their faults. Know what I mean?"

"Yes, yes I do, very much so," Miya nodded in consternation. Cash Joseph was getting way too uncomfortably blunt and insightful about Miya's own faults, just as Karasuba had also predicted and probably planned for as a little sweet topping on her cold dish of murderous revenge. It was a good thing that Cash couldn't read minds. "If Riko did mature like that, maybe after something very traumatic, would you maybe give her another chance? Would you also be able to tell that this Number 01 might not be as bad as you've heard once you've met her too?"

"Geez, I don't know. Maybe if they both took a lot of lessons from Akitsu and Karasuba in just letting folks be who and what they are without trying to control everything and everybody all the time."

Cash suddenly stood up and offered her his hand.

"I don't want to talk about Riko or her Number 01 clone anymore. Let's go somewhere cozy and warm and maybe even private and talk more about us." Cash grinned suggestively. "Here's an idea."

"You think it might be fun to give me another long look with my clothes off, just to make sure we got all the stadium dirt washed away?" Miya's violet eyes gave him a smoky look of approval as she read his mind. Nothing like the present to help cement herself deeper into his affections, much deeper. She peeked at his thoughts again just to make sure. Yes, Cash had no idea how deep and in over his head he was already.

"You done read my mind, Miss Echo," Cash grinned even wider, "and I'll let you give me the same critical once over too."


	6. Chapter 6

**The Game Changer**

**Chapter 6 - Sixth Pitch, Fouled Back and Out of Play**

"Man, I got no chains to hold me down, to make me sweat, and make me frown," Cash happily sang a parody of the freedom tune from Walt Disney's old cartoon about Pinocchio the Puppet. "I'm gonna leave this screwy town. I got no chains on me!"

He danced a little impromptu jig as he went up the last flight of stairs towards his sixth floor apartment, athletically balancing his boxes of gifts to keep them from dropping. "Oh, hi ho, it's goodbye Cash Joe. I'm heading across the sea. Oh, hey ho, I got some dough. I got no chains on me!"

He began whistling another verse as he clamped his chin on top of his boxes and used his free left hand to open his apartment door. As expected, Karasuba and Akitsu were sitting at the table and beginning to eat their evening meal.

"Well, well, big boy, are we happy or what?" Karasuba leaned back in crinkled eyed amusement that her ploy to get Cash and Miya together had went over in such an obviously big way. She focused in on the new blank spot in Cash's mind that had a faint psychic smell of lavender about it. That was Miya's handiwork all right. There was absolutely no doubt about it. "Why the good mood, dude? You get along that well with Miya? A real nice little visit, right?"

"Oh yeah!" Cash grinned as he pushed a bowl of steaming rice aside and set his gifts down on a free corner of the table. The import of her words didn't make an immediate impact in the light of his desire to share his great news. He then leaned down to plant a happy kiss on Karasuba's forehead, making her start backwards slightly in automatic defense to make him miss short of his target. Cash didn't seem to notice as he smacked his lips on empty air and turned to give Akitsu a quick forehead smooch too.

"We got along great! But have I got news for you two! Kara Honey, Sugar Kitty, you're looking at the reinstated relief pitcher for the Batavia Muckdogs! My lawyer back in the States called me about three hours ago, and told me he's settled my counter suit against my ex Agnes and that prick father of hers! And guess what? My mother used Western Union to wire me an advance check of the settlement that went in my favor! The court has ordered the reimbursement of all my original lawyer fees, made Agnes and her dad pay me for a whole season of lost wages, and also pay hefty damages for defamation of character in America's minor league baseball system. They also had to publish an apology, and sell the team to scrape up the cash to pay me off!

"Now get this! The new team owners have renewed my contract to pitch for the Dogs! I've got my baseball career in America back! I hustled my butt straight to the bank, opened a new debit account, and cashed that initial check. Then I bought a few gifts for my two sweethearts on the way home to celebrate the occasion! Damn! It feels so good to finally catch a big break!"

A small frown began on Karasuba's face, but she quickly turned it into a bland smile as her thoughts raced in chagrin and exasperation. Now who would have seen this coming? What was that old quote about the best laid plans of mice and men? More like Murphy's Law, she mentally sighed in quick acceptance and began sorting her options. Well, she would just have to work around this big glitch while keeping Cash blissfully ignorant of his part in her plans.

First things first, she would have to come up with some very plausible and forceful reason to keep him in Japan just a little while longer, and Akitsu should fit the bill very nicely. It would be very tough for him to obtain a Japanese passport and visa for a woman who didn't legally exist. Only the Yakuza could supply those in Tokyo, and she had a lot of influence in their inner circles nowadays. Delays would be inevitable until Karasuba could be seen by Cash as saving the day. Karasuba would also have to alert his Japanese team lawyers in order to make him honor his current contract and possibly do something underhanded to keep him pitching for them for at least a couple of months or so. What else could she do to delay his returning to the United States?

"I'm so happy for us, Cash Joseph-sama," Akitsu smiled warmly as she reached a soft hand up to caress Cash's cheek. "I can feel how much this means to you. What did you buy? I've never gotten a gift from anyone before."

"Really? Never? Not even one?" Cash blinked in total amazement at his alien ice maiden. If ever a busty blonde female looked like a perfect lingerie model for the latest, hottest, and eye popping underwear fashions for total sexiness and dating appeal, Akitsu was it, in spades. "A totally hot babe like you? Man, where I come from guys would be drooling and falling all over themselves to give you everything they could scrape together just to see you take off your shirt. What kind of total male morons you been hanging around with in this country? Well, don't worry. Good old Cash Joseph Archer is here to make up for their loss and stupidity. Feast your sweet gray eyeballs and hot taste buds on this!"

With an exaggerated flourish, Cash fished out a flat, green and white striped box from his stack and opened the top. He removed a shiny doughnut and handed one to Akitsu with a napkin.

"Take a big bite!" Cash urged his surprised Sekirei as he grinned with anticipatory glee at Akitsu's reaction. "These donuts are the original, fresh, right out of the hot oil and off the slide, Krispy Kreme sugar glazed. I couldn't believe that Tokyo had such an advanced leg up on civilization when I spotted the joint from the taxi cab on my way back here! These are quite simply Mother Nature's second finest food group, right behind a double whopper with extra cheese from the King!"

"Ummm!" Akitsu's normally solemn face gleamed in unaccustomed enjoyment as she took an exploratory bite.

"That's exactly what you feel like in my mind, Sugar Kitty! Ain't they great?" Cash grinned triumphantly at her suddenly misting eyes. He quickly put down his box and grabbed a small jar out of a plain, brown plastic grocery bag. He unscrewed the lid, dipped his right forefinger into it for a clinging sample, and offered the results to Karasuba's lips for a taste.

The half amused, and still calculating serial killer obligingly sucked his sweetened finger into her mouth and added a sensuous movement with her tongue. There were some other ways to give Cash a few desires to remain in Tokyo a little while longer, she thought immediately while savoring the taste of his gift for her own enjoyment, ways that she and her allies against Miya would enjoy immensely too. What was that old Greek myth? Ah yes, Ulysses being delayed for seven years on his Odyssey by the witch Calypso. The naughty old gal had kept him captive by constantly banging the warrior king's brains out for seven long years. Karasuba didn't need seven years, but Cash might appreciate a little gift of extra hot sex to keep him happy for a few more months in Japan. His sweet thoughtfulness towards her and Akitsu tonight deserved something in return for his baseball career's delay anyway. His gift to her really was quite delicious too.

Now that she thought about it, other than her sword and just like Akitsu, no one had ever given her anything before either. His desire to please her and make her happy were actually slightly disconcerting along with the fact that he was thinking of how much he wanted to demonstrate what he felt towards his number one girl. No one had ever called Karasuba that before, not and lived to tell about it anyway.

"That's wild honey," Cash beamed down at her, "and just the way my number one girl feels in my mind. What do you think?"

Karasuba used her right hand to slowly move his wrist in a gentle back and forth motion before taking his finger out of her warm and gently sucking mouth and turning his hand over to lightly lick his palm.

"I like it, big boy, and I think I know other ways to use it besides spreading it on that strange breakfast food you call bagels and creamed cheese." She arched her back like a big predatory cat in heat while giving him a hot look. "What say we try a few of those ways out later tonight? Maybe Akitsu and I could become a couple of hot bagels for you."

"Just as long as you don't plan on using any rope, handcuffs, or chains on me while you do," Cash chuckled jokingly. "We'll let that goofy Riko delve into that kind of s&m realm on her own. Tonight, we're all about celebrating our freedom! Look here! I've got reservations at a big time supper club for us in about two hours, and I want to take my two hotties out and wow this town! Stand up and take a gander at this stuff! I stopped and picked up outfits for you to wear tonight at the big mall by my new bank! I used the store clerks and my trained eyeballs to get me the right sizes. What do you think?"

With a flourish, he tore open the top big box and handed it to a still teary eyed Akitsu, and then opened and offered the next one to Karasuba. The Black Sekirei frowned in semi stunned amazement while staring down at his gifts. No one had ever bought her new clothes and shoes before either, let alone new underwear. There were even black pearl earrings along with a matching necklace to complement the complete outfit. Matter of fact, she had never worn much of anything other than her Disciplinary Squad uniform for years and years. For her part, Akitsu simply gasped in wondrous surprise at his choices for her. Her normally stoic face broke out in even more expressive joy.

"Cash Joseph-sama!" Akitsu breathed as she stared in unbelieving and quivering childlike shock. "These are so beautiful! They must have cost you too much!"

"Hey," Cash said softly with a pleased smile at her reaction. He put his left arm around her shoulders, his right arm around Karasuba's, and drew them both to him for a hug. "Nothing is too good for my two sweeties. Honey can finally put a little more color into her wardrobe, and now you can get those heavy chains off your neck and chest, Sugar. You're both so beautiful I can't wait to show you off the way you should be appreciated. You can both start dressing like my free women for a change too, right? No more military gear and heavy chains for my gals when we're out and about!"

Akitsu began weeping for happiness with her face buried into his armpit as her arms tightly returned his embrace. No one had ever treated her with such tenderness before, let alone want her, and want to publicly display the closeness of their relationship. It was too overwhelming for her still healing mind and new emotional responses to comprehend.

Karasuba allowed herself to be drawn to Cash but cocked her head sideways in thought while doing so. So her Ashikabi wanted to be seen out in some nightspot's public lights with two Sekirei? What an interesting idea. Pictures, maybe even TV coverage if she could arrange it quickly enough, would be very useful in helping her speed things up a little. A little adverse publicity could also very neatly help thwart Cash Joseph's sudden desires to leave Japan before the Sekirei Plan's Phase 3 battles could begin. Tonight's little public lark might even light a few fires of consternation and uncertainty in a couple of places that would also be to her benefit. Those particularly being MBI's insane top management and a certain lavender smelling old bitch that needed to be kept off balance now that she had been so neatly ensnared into Karasuba's web.

Karasuba's obsidian eyes again crinkled half shut in pleased amusement as she leaned in to nibble and lightly lick on Cash's ear next to her. She could be dominating the world with her lovable goof Ashikabi even sooner than she had planned, even if she had to move to Springfield, Illinois while doing it. And wouldn't Cash's overly domineering mother just have a few heart palpitations when that happened? She wondered what the old bat would do the first time she saw Karasuba's sword flashing in the sunlight during a back yard practice session.

"Wait, Kara Honey," Cash started as the realization hit him. "You don't mind about me and Miya hitting it off well? You're not gonna go into a killing jealous rage?" His eyes anxiously searched hers and immediately liked what he saw in them.

"No big boy, you're always going to be safe with me," Karasuba's black eyes had a warm and happy approval in them. "In fact, I'm very happy for you both in ways you can't even imagine. This won't be the first time Miya and I have shared, and I can see she already sits in a darkened place in your mind below myself and Akitsu. It has a lavender feeling that wasn't there before you left earlier. I won't mind you spending some more time with her at all either, but only as long as you keep thinking of me as your number one girl. Besides, she needed you in a big way to get out of that giant rut she was in and to just get on with her life. I've even done a few new paintings to commemorate the occasion for you. You can use them along with your 'Shinto Dawn' in your first art showing. They're over there along the other wall."

"Really? That's great! You're willing to get along with Miya again? That's just the kind of thing I've always wanted to hear in my female relationships," Cash beamed in delight at his blood thirsty assassin and turned to immediately admire and appreciate her artwork. "See? You don't have to kill everybody in this world after all! There's better ways to be happy! And you're paintings look fantastic! Such depth, such instant impressions of feeling with those bold colors and strokes! Such elan! They're killers! Honey, I'm really proud of you!"

"What?" His last words jolted her out of her pleasure at Miya being duped into being further limited to fight in the Sekirei Plan. No one had ever said they were proud of Karasuba before either. It had a very strangely pleasing feel to it. Maybe they would just have to stay home, share that jar of wild honey early, and eat in tonight. Miya's pending death could be more carefully plotted later.

"Hey!" Cash exclaimed suddenly as his eyes slid past the new paintings. His attention was wrenched from Karasuba's renewed sensuous ear tonguing and a still shaking Akitsu's even more disturbing chest still pressing and rubbing against him. He frowned at his sudden notice of the smaller female Sekirei tightly curled up in a fetal position and lying upon his futon under the window. "What in the hell's the matter with Riko? Is the nagging little drama queen and wannabe puppet master sick or something?"

"After she finished her cleaning jobs early this afternoon, she breezed back in to bitch at us for abusing you much too publicly. We didn't pay much attention because she smelled like a stale brewery and looked like she had a nasty hangover. Then while she was still squawking away, she had a very bad reaction when Miya threw a blackout over your mind," Karasuba chuckled lightly while grinning at Riko's ongoing distress. "Since she's now so attuned to you and yet not bonded, she freaked when she couldn't feel your life force as Akitsu and I can. It tossed her into a bad shock thinking you had been suddenly killed. Her eyes rolled up, and she fell over. Akitsu put her on your futon."

"Oh for Pete's sakes," Cash sighed in exasperation. Wasn't this just like the little pest to throw a wet blanket soap opera over his good mood and plans to celebrate? What next? Was she going to be starring as some publicly embarrassing and tragic heroine in some really obnoxious Kabuki theater?

On the other hand, he was actually now free from her ongoing interfering with his pitching career thanks to the good old Batavia Muckdogs and his greedy lawyer who had taken his counter suit case for a twenty percent commission. Cash wouldn't need her pitching help either because he already knew he could successfully compete in a Muckdog uniform. If Riko chose to follow him back to America, he certainly wouldn't be able to stop her, but she would sure as hell have to pay her own way and buy her own damn food and lodging. He had a new debit card with a very fat balance now. She couldn't steal that from his wallet and use it to feed herself or buy travel fare either. It would be a cold day in her probably kinky s&m version of hell before she would ever get his pin number. Still, she did look rather pitiful.

"Is she suffering?"

"Oh I hope so, greatly," Karasuba chuckled even harder with a sneer of vengeance in her facial expression. "I'm thinking that she's getting a little deserved taste of what it feels like not to be in control of everything while jerking others around for her pleasure." And nobody tosses me a mile high and ruins the edge on my sword without expecting a big dose of misery coming back at them, she finished silently with an even bigger chuckle to herself. Revenge on Riko was just another nice and delicious little side perk in setting Miya up with Cash. Good old predictable Miya had followed through with her blanketing mind tricks just as Karasuba had foreseen.

"Well, I can't really fault that last sentiment, because I sure hate that crap from her too," Cash admitted while freeing himself to go get a closer look at the comatose Riko. He rubbed the back of his neck as he stared down at her in uncertainty. "Geez, she's got some pretty dark circles under her eyes, and those aren't just bags of lost sleep. They're suitcases. Maybe she's suffered enough. Is there any way to snap her out this?"

"Put your forehead against her temple and call out to her with your voice and mind, Cash Joseph-sama," Akitsu said gently. "She will hear you."

"And then jump back quick out of her sight unless you want her to kiss you, big boy," Karasuba added with a snide snicker. It wouldn't due to have Riko winged by Cash until the time was right. By then it would hopefully be a matter of Riko choosing whether to get her treasured wings from Cash or killing Miya if everything went according to plan. Use a bitch to kill a bitch. That was the best way. Until then, Karasuba would have to quickly move to line up her reinforcements against the hated 01 just in case Plan A failed and Plan B was needed. Plan B involved a little more physical risk to Cash, and wouldn't be quite as easy to put into action. There would be a lot of unknown factors in play around them by then too, and she just had received a keen reminder about Murphy's First Law from Cash's sudden and totally unexpected good fortune.

"No chance of that," Cash snorted in reply. He may have to put up with Riko's constant presence because she was too strong to send packing. Hell, he was even getting used to always seeing her behind third base like an odd good luck charm, but he sure as hell didn't have to wing her. There was still some hope he could find another strong Ashikabi to take her. "Hold her down Sugar, and keep her off me."

With Akitsu firmly holding Riko's head. Cash touched his forehead to Riko's temple and half shouted into her left ear, "Oh Lucy! I'm home!"

Riko's body gave a spasmodic jerk. Cash threw himself backwards to land sitting at Karasuba's feet. She instantly jumped in front of him, dropped to her knees with a half spin, and wrapped her arms around him to forestall Riko from forcefully bring her lips and tongue onto Cash's for Riko's winging. She'd have to go through Karasuba's back to do it.

"Cash Joseph!" Riko screamed as she struggled to see him, twirling and bouncing herself, Akitsu, and the futon for a wild looking ride.

"Stay on her for the full 8 seconds, Sugar Kitty!" Cash laughingly hooted in encouragement over Karasuba's right shoulder as the scene looked like a bull riding contest out of a wild west rodeo. "Otherwise we'll have to use your old chains to hold her down before we're gonna be able to go out for dinner!"

***scene break***

The chains covered in red velvet were pulled aside by the the nightclub's manager to allow the four of them to enter and follow an elegantly dressed hostess to their reserved corner table in the club's high roller area in the rear. As they walked, Cash turned to look at the chains and the people behind him with troubled eyes. He frowned slightly at the small crowd of admirers that had followed them from the TV street interview and into the club's foyer to cheer their progress. He had never had a fan base before, but the Japanese seemed to be a lot more enamored with their favorite players, especially the new, good looking, tall American who was starting to amass some rather impressive pitching statistics. He appreciated their interest, but still, this was the second time he'd been ambushed in public for a live TV show. Could somebody be keeping much closer tabs on him than he really desired? Well, no matter. He was going to be free of Japan's insanity real soon.

Karasuba, looking for all the world like a hot Japanese actress used to playing the totally self confident queen psycho in some horror/slasher flick, had glibly handled most of the short interview that had occurred when their rented limo had arrived, smirking while passing herself and Akitsu off as a new security team for Cash and Riko. Then the reporter in broken English had asked a loaded double question that made Cash freeze for a moment before answering. How could a lightly paid minor league player afford such obvious luxury being displayed so openly, and would the league be investigating his finances? Yes, he had received a substantial settlement from a legal case in America and would be happy to file the details of it with league officials if they asked for them. Tonight was just a celebration of his good fortune with three very good friends. His referral to the three totally hot looking females with him as just very good friends brought a wide range of knowing smiles from the gathering crowd. Karasuba's appearance alone had already belied that small fib when they had finally concluded the interview.

The high necked, short sleeved, blood red mini dress she wore fit Karasuba's sleek form like a molded sheath, displaying her muscular lines and eye catching curves to perfection. Her high heeled, shiny black shoes made the muscles in her calves, thighs, and rounded buttocks ripple in athletic grace, power, and coordination as she walked. Her black pearl earrings and short matching necklace very nicely highlighted the loose and shiny black belt slung across her hips. Although her breasts measurements were only a 34 B cup at best, her aura of fearless arrogance and unashamed sexuality radiated a large sphere of excitement and danger in equal proportions of blood red and black mystery. Even if he hadn't known that she was a sword carrying enforcer for MBI, Cash would have been looking for some kind of sharp weapon hanging from her hip. In fact, unbeknownst to him, she was carrying a long, thin dagger in an inner sheath between her shoulder blades and hidden well beneath her long gray hair as she nonchalantly strolled with long slow strides into the nightclub beside him.

Akitsu was on his left in a body hugging, one piece Chinese dress called a cheongsam that was accentuated with white pearls on her ear lobes and a double strand white pearl necklace below the cheongsam's high choker style collar. It was a simply made design of pure white silk and had a long slit up her right leg that ended high on her flashing white thigh. Onlookers instantly noticed that she displayed no panty or support lines underneath her garment. She walked rather hesitantly in her white high heeled shoes, but it only made her movements accentuate the roll of her hips and sway of her incredibly voluptuous figure, fore and aft. No one, including the half blind, would ever mistake blonde Akitsu for any kind of Asian security officer, a hot Euro movie star with eye popping breast and booty enhancements promoting a new romance movie maybe, but never a security guard for Cash. Besides, her glowing smile and shining gray/blue eyes rarely left him as she clung to his left arm.

Since she had already appeared with him in public the night he had barfed on the clown, most TV viewers and his baseball fans already knew that Riko was not hired protection for Cash either. They just noticed that poor, supposedly betrothed Riko, obviously now in Cash's doghouse and in danger of being permanently ditched, had bravely followed along behind her man like some guy's underage kid sister trying to sneak into a hotspot with fake identification. Her sheath black dress that ended just about her knees, red high heeled shoes, wide red belt, and matching earrings were very flattering, but maybe not quite as good as she could have done if given a little more time.

After her heaving recovery and subsiding panic, Riko had been turned loose so that Akitsu and Karasuba could begin bathing and making preparations for their dinner date with Cash. Fear had immediately gripped Riko anew that he wouldn't come back along with inner anger that he hadn't even considered inviting her. Initially, he had simply announced they were going out and told her to just help herself to the left over warm rice and egg rolls still on the table. She had then so desperately begged Cash to let her come with them that he had finally taken pity on her forlorn expression and the hollow dark circles under her eyes. He even generously agreed to buy her dinner to protect himself. After all, he did have a manly public image to maintain. He didn't want to look like a penny pinching cad after she had previously and publicly lied about them being betrothed, but he had made it abundantly clear that she would have to provide her own outfit. She was gone and back with an outfit and accessories that had been obtained from somewhere in less than ten minutes. He didn't ask where she'd been, or even seem to notice.

If it hadn't been for Akitsu's absolutely stunning appearance and Karasuba's equally interesting eye and mind catching attitude, Riko would have been the center of attention in her own right. As it was, the grinning crowd hardly noticed her except to count her as the other hot Japanese actress/lingerie model type chick the lucky gaijin from America was able to snare for a night out and hot sex later. There was no doubt in anyone watching the foursome closely that Cash was going to get very lucky with at least the first two females tonight. Those envious eyes had then followed them inside.

As Cash politely waited to seat himself until the three alien females were settled, he glanced at each one of them thoughtfully. Just what was it that was making him such a Sekirei magnet, and not just any weak sister Sekirei, but the most powerful of their race, including Miya. Why? What was so unique about him? He had never been anything special to human American females, not in Springfield, not in Batavia, or Ploughkeepsie, nor any other small town America where he had tried to be contracted on a baseball team. What was he doing or being here in Japan that was so attractive, especially to their alien visitors? Since he was going back home real soon now, could he fix it, and maybe even somehow get rid of it in Riko's case?

Karasuba would never have given a goof like him the time of day in America, and would have sliced him up as soon as look at him before she had been so incredibly winged here. Akitsu had greatly changed from the dull, speechless, and lifeless zombie with a chain fetish into a vibrant and adoring lover after her winging. The incredibly powerful Riko, even if she had been a constant irritating pest from day one, would never display the total desperation to be winged by some plain clod from Springfield unless there was something really outlandishly out of the ordinary about him. How could any rational and sane guy explain her fetal coma when she thought he'd died?

Then there was Miya, sweet, wild, then reserved, and also somehow with glimpses of a dangerous aura that very closely rivaled Karasuba's. Now that Cash thought about it, not only was there something strange about him, there was something strange about the particular type of Sekirei that he was attracting. Except for Akitsu, who had admittedly been temporarily brain damaged and might have been like the others if she hadn't been, he had attracted the most dominating alien females that were even worse than his mother, and ranking right up there with his obnoxious ex, Agnes Mortenson. What was up with that?

"Kara Honey," Cash waited until after they had ordered their food, "tell me something. The day you winged yourself by kissing me, can you say just exactly what made you do it? I'm talking the exact specifics of what led up to it?"

"Why?" Karasuba chuckled softly. "It can't ever be undone. Are you sorry you've got the head of MBI's Disciplinary Squad for your number one girlfriend? You thinking about wanting me to give that up? No, I can't see anything like that in your mind. You're just curious, right?"

"Yes," Cash shrugged, "I am curious, and no, you've never asked me to quit pitching, so I'll never put any strings on what you want to do for MBI. It's your business, Kara Honey. Besides, we put enough limitations upon ourselves, we don't need our mates to jerk us around with more. I just want to know exactly why a slightly above average jock from another country attracted the four of you. Why am I so fricken weirdly special to you? The women I attracted in America all pretty much thought of me as an epic fail as mating material after a very short time together. Hell, a few of them even started calling me Quick Pitch to Ditch in high school. That got shortened to QPDee."

"For some unknown reason your mind operates on a very high psychic wavelength, QP doll," Karasuba smiled teasingly while yet answering honestly, "higher than any other Ashikabi except for just a very few that can come close. Only a select few of us Sekirei match you exactly, and most of us, excluding a few anomalies like Riko the Raccoon here, are the original lower numbers. Along with that, you also have very powerful pheromones that will instantly turn a lower number Sekirei into melted butter ready for hot sex. It's in your sweat, your saliva, the oils of your body, and everything else affecting your natural body odor. One sample, and it's goodbye panties. We are a race of beings that still have some very powerful hard wired instincts for attracting and imprinting on a mate. You ring the big belfrey bells on every one of them."

"Like ducklings imprinting on their momma duck right after they're hatched?" Cash leaned back to cup his chin. He had heard or read somewhere that some types of birds mated for life. Could that also be a hot wired thing going on in the alien Sekirei's brains since they had some kind of avian ancestry in their prehistoric history? Or, more to the point, could another male similar to him be able to supersede Riko's initial reactions to him, attract her to them, and get her the hell out of his life?

"You got something way beyond any duck," Karasuba grinned wickedly. "You somehow have the ability to form and even project some kind of giant emotional loop that greatly prolongs orgasms and even immediately produces more. Any human female wired right would be a sucker for that, not just us Sekirei. Before you came along, I never had any really decent happy shouts with anyone but myself. Now though, you've been ringing my bell here so much and so hard lately that I've lost count."

"Cash Joseph also is able to focus his thoughts and desires much more tightly than most other humans too," Riko added while giving Karasuba a highly irritated glance. There was another bell Riko really wanted to ring in Karasuba, one that would leave the horny old bitch unconscious for days. "I think that comes from his ability to concentrate very hard on every pitch. I have noticed how he has the ability to tune everything out of his senses and mentally repeats every movement he wishes to perform just before he pitches. He also has a very stubborn, single minded adherence to doing well and furthering his baseball career."

"Cash Joseph-sama is also very physically strong and attractive to look at," Akitsu added softly while blushing in remembrance of her winging, "as well as having the deep ability in his mind to love and care for a mate. Each time we make love, I can feel his care and affection growing deeper between us. It makes me feel so warm, and safe, and, and special. I've never had that before, and it excites me greatly."

Riko's eyes flickered to Akitsu's face that was still reflecting the glow started by Cash Joseph giving Akitsu gifts for the first time in her life. A stab of hot jealousy twisted in Riko's emotions. She firmly bit her lower lip and closed her eyes to keep from blurting out her displeasure over the needless inner pain she was experiencing and trying so hard to control. She had found him first! Her Ashikabi should have winged and bonded with her first! She should be Cash Joseph's number one! She should be receiving his gifts of love and affection too! She should be getting rogered as roundly as the other two! Three actually, if that lavender scented blank space in Cash's mind meant what Riko strongly suspected it meant.

"So you're saying that I am some kind of perfect Ashikabi storm to make the more powerful Sekirei react so wildly to me from their hard wired mating instincts?"

"Essentially, yes," Karasuba shrugged in seeming indifference. Actually, she was very pleased with the direction his thoughts were going. He would be more easily steered right into where she wanted him to go without Miya being able to interfere. "You hit my trigger right after you looked at my thighs, shot a hot look into my eyes, and smelled like some kind of very concentrated aphrodisiac that just totally set my insides on fire. The rest is history. I see you're worried about winging a lot more Sekirei, but you shouldn't. Other Ashikabi were able to strongly wing the other single numbers before you arrived. Akitsu, your new gal pal Miya, and I were actually special cases because of very weak initial bonding, and besides ol' Raccoon Eyes Riko here, there's only a couple of Sekirei left that even have a very remote chance of reacting to you. The rest will hardly feel your mind at all and probably wouldn't even recognize you as an Ashikabi."

Riko's dark eyes narrowed. So! Miya HAD bonded with Cash Joseph too! There was no way he had or would have sought Miya out on his own, so the widowed former leader must have turned cougar and jumped him just like the blackhearted Karasuba had done. How could such two older, strong minded, and experienced Sekirei be so careless and uncontrolled?

The uncomfortable answer was that they weren't and hadn't been. Each had known exactly what they doing. Both had been locked in mortal competition for at least twenty years over who was going to be the single most dominant Sekirei on Earth. Their bitter feud had just naturally spilled over to their mating desires as a matter of course because there were actually only a very few human males on this planet that matched their psychic minds. Now the two older dominant females had latched onto her poor Cash Joseph. Both were trying to use him and sweet, brain damaged Akitsu to win the Sekirei Plan for total control.

Watching and listening to the way Cash Joseph was relating, admiring, and sweet talking that no good bitch Karasuba made Riko's eyes narrow even further. She was just going to have a sit down and have a very blunt, girl to girl talk with Miya, Riko decided, and as soon as possible. Something was going to have to be done to save Cash Joseph from his natural generosity, deep affections, and block headed stupidity when it came to choosing the right females with which to be bonded.

"So there ARE a couple of other Ashikabi in town similar to me," Cash leaned forward with even more focused interest. "Do you know them, Honey? Is there some way I can meet them and ask them a few questions kind of man to man?"

"Certainly," Karasuba's eyes went into her Cheshire cat mode as she smiled in inner triumph. "MBI maintains a very big and swanky bath house for Ashikabi's and their Sekirei. It's sort of a safety zone and no fighting is allowed. It's just been rebuilt after a couple of gals got a little carried away and broke that rule, but it's been put back even nicer and has more security now. I can get you in on a guest pass and point out a couple of those Ashikabi for you to chat up. Give me a day or two to set it up. It won't be a problem."

"Thanks, Honey," Cash took her right hand and lifted it to give the back of her fingers a light kiss of appreciation as another question came to him. "What kind of range does your Sekirei mind powers have? I mean, if Akitsu and I go back to pitch for the Batavia Muckdogs in a few days, and you have to finish your MBI duties here, are you gonna turn into a curled up basket case on the floor if I go beyond your ability to feel me? Should we maybe make plans to have you come with me too, just in case, or would you rather try to tough it out here? I could call you every night and day if that would help."

Cash's question made Riko's thoughts immediately spin into mild panic and total disappointment. He was leaving Japan, and he didn't want to take her with him? Only Akitsu and Karasuba, if possible? What about Miya? Well, no matter, she quickly realized. She was free to fly anywhere, and she was never going to be parted from him again. It might take her a lot more time than going on a commercial flight, but she might even be able to keep up if dressed warm enough with eye protection. Her eyes slid sideways in disbelief as Karasuba answered Cash's question a little too sweetly, glibly, and vaguely after a short pause.

"Lover, where you are, that's where I'll be," Karasuba patted his arm, "No matter what happens here or anywhere else. All you have to focus on is your pitching and painting. Akitsu and I will handle all the other little details, okay? That reminds me. I can get us a much better and bigger place to stay nearer to the Tokyo Dome complete with maids and room service on my MBI unlimited credit. Let's move up."

"Ummm," Cash rubbed his chin and shook his head after a short pause to consider the idea. "Nope, not going to be here long enough to bother. Besides, I don't want any hassles from a possible league financial investigation over where I'd get the kind of scratch to afford the place. I just have to finish out my contractual obligations to the team here, which is up next week, and then I'm gone. With any luck, I can get to Batavia for the last three weeks of spring training. All you and Akitsu have to do is pack up and get ready."

"Uhhh, what about passports and visas?" Karasuba quickly pounced. "Akitsu and I won't be able to fly without them, let alone pass customs in America. Can you wait until I can get those for us? It might take a few days since we don't really exist as citizens here thanks to MBI's lock on us. We'll have to deal with some of my new Yakuza friends for them."

"I'll fly you both," Riko volunteered with her eyes slightly narrowed again and watching Karasuba's expression.

"You actually think I'd trust you out over thousands of empty miles of ocean Miss Tossy Pants?" Karasuba snorted in grim amusement. "Get real."

"Good point," Cash instantly agreed. "She can't be trusted, not with my Sugar Kitty and Kara Honey's lives. I'll just have to wait a few extra days and finish my contract here in the meantime. The travel papers shouldn't be any real problem, right?"

"No, no they shouldn't," Karasuba relied truthfully. "It will just take a little time."

I just bet it will, Riko snorted silently at Karasuba's bland and crinkle eyed smile, and time manufactured long enough by you to make everything go your way because you'll make sure of it, you miserable sneaking bitch. She heaved a small sigh of disgust. Cash was obviously totally and blissfully unaware of Karasuba's crafty silken bonds that he had so neatly ensnared himself. She suspected he was even more in the dark about Miya's.

Cash immensely enjoyed the rest of their meal and dancing with his Sugar and Honey afterward. He ignored Riko's dagger like eyes and thinned lips that followed their fun like a jealous prom wallflower that no one wanted to pluck. He felt great. He felt free, and saw only blue skies and warm days for pitching baseball ahead of him. He saw no storms on the horizon either. Neither did he feel any sense of approaching doom later as they were leaving when a spiteful Riko slyly tripped him from behind and made him fall over the red velvet chains at the club's entrance.

***scene break***

Karasuba lay snugly planted along Cash's side, reveling in the warm afterglow and strange lassitude that permeated her entire being. She listened to his slowing heart beat and heavy breathing with smug self satisfaction. Take that Miya, you old shrew, she mentally projected along with her ongoing pleasure, and you too, Miss Riko Tossy Pants.

Riko, with a small whine of impending agony, had quickly fled the apartment upon their return when Akitsu had made a beeline for the jar of honey and glazed donuts. The new clothes had been quickly tossed aside for the ensuing fun on the futon under the window. Akitsu had went off early, often, and with even more psychic power than normal before a fourth of the honey was gone. Then Karasuba had taken over, but this time lovemaking had been markedly different.

Deep within her, the Black Sekirei also started to question the raw psychic power that Cash had just generated. There had almost been a strong and new narcotic effect to Cash's loving after Akitsu had passed out. What was suddenly different? Even more disconcerting was that Karasuba had willingly let him take a dominant missionary position for her to face him like Akitsu loved. Karasuba had found herself completely enthralled by it too and without her usual biting and growling. That had NEVER happened before, and neither had she been the recipient and returner of soft and tender kisses during the heat and aftermath of sex. He had projected his desires to express deep love together, and somehow, with most of her mind still locked in cynical unbelief, she had been able to respond. Was his power projection thanks to his having winged three of the most powerful Sekirei in the plan, Number 01 Miya, her own Number 04 and Akitsu as 07? Was his psychic abilities having an exponential growth spurt? If so, what was the best way to exploit them to kill Miya? She'd have to count the ways in the morning before she returned to work. Her incredible R&R was over. Now it was time to start events moving.

This last thought was so comforting that it combined with her afterglow's unusual lassitude to make her drowsy. Unwittingly, Karasuba fell asleep with a strange little tune pinging into her mind. "Oh, I've got silk chains to hold me down, to make me sweat, and keep me bound. I've got silk chains, but I won't frown. I love silk chains on me."


	7. Chapter 7

**The Game Changer**

**Chapter 7 – Wild Pitch! Ball Four**

Trailing long streamers of shimmering white cloth behind and around her, the lithe, yet shapely Veiled Sekirei arrived in the midst of a swirling breeze that her last long and powerful jump had created. She landed lightly on the roof of the Tokyo Dome and then made a short jump onto a mezzanine roof below. She paused to let her battle outfit reshape and color itself into her normal leisure wear while her large and very expressive dark eyes scanned the nearly empty stadium seats below.

Her white veils began to shift. Within seconds she was wearing a tight yet stretchy pink belly shirt with long purple sleeves, a large gold star on front, and a large golden number 10 on the back that still strained to contain her large firm breasts. She tugged at the top of her Capri blue jeans. Once adjusted for comfort, her jeans still rode low enough to leave an interesting width of bare, very slim, sexy looking, and toned stomach below her shirt. She reached up to quickly comb her fingers through her long dark hair and pull her ponytail holder tighter. This action made the fashionable partial ponytail arc a little higher from the left side of her head. She settled her feet into open toed sandals as she spotted her friend Riko sitting all alone about twenty rows up behind third base. Another quick leap and Uzume, Number 10, was coolly standing beside the empty aisle seat next to her fashion challenged friend.

"Hey, Reek, saw you on TV last night. You looked like shit then, and you still do now. What's with the candy cane blouse, yellow tennis shoes, and neon orange shorts? You kicking for the fashion clown of the year award?" Uzume began with her usual playful and blunt banter while using her mind and eyes to sweep the nearby area for any potential threats.

Why had Kazehana called her and angrily insisted for Uzume to meet Riko here and at this particular time? Was Riko in danger of being attacked? How could Kazehana even desire to speak to Uzume again? It didn't matter. Uzume had to repay Kazehana a giant debt of honor now. If their Nee-san wanted Riko to have some company this long after the game was finished, then Riko had a friend in Uzume.

Satisfied that there were no battle ready Sekirei bent on revenge and/or general mayhem within her psychic range, Uzume thumped her very shapely backside into the seat and nonchalantly propped her strong long legs up on the stadium seat in front and slightly below her. It was good to relax for a few minutes without having to worry about being attacked from behind. Living constantly on the edge while still trying to look fashionably hip and au courant was getting to be a little hard on a female assassin's nerves.

Uzume turned her head and took a closer look at the still strangely silent Riko. It was quickly obvious that her closest and now perhaps only friend in the world had been weeping very hard and very recently too. Riko's reddened, puffy, and still tear filled eyes along with her still heavy breathing matched the pitifully woebegone expression on her face. A clear case of total heartbreak, Uzume realized. What had happened? Had that popular gaijin baseball player of hers suddenly left Japan and gone back to America with Karasuba and Akitsu without winging Riko first?

"You in there, Reek?" Uzume used her left elbow to lightly nudge her friend.

"Oh, hi, Zoomer," Riko sighed heavily with a double hitch in her breathing to keep from crying anew. Cash and Miya were now walking slowly into the bullpen door together while talking and laughing intimately with their heads together. A short silence ensued as Uzume turned her head to follow Riko's center of attention and then to study the scene in the far corner of the stadium for a few seconds before slowly shaking her head in total sympathy.

"So, the silly rumor about Miya that Nee-san told me is really true, eh?" Uzume's low voice had a tinge of disbelief at what she was watching. "Miya has finally bonded with another human male, and he's that Ashikabi ballplayer that's rejecting you? That's tough, girlfriend, real tough. Wow, what a kick in the teeth. I thought Nee-san said Miya was gonna help you with your Ashikabi problem, not make it worse by jumping his bones herself. What you gonna do? You still want talk to her?"

"Maybe, Kazehana still believes that Miya's my only hope for getting Cash Joseph to accept me as his Sekirei in spite of this." Riko's eyes and lips tightened in unamused disgust and misery. "I'm not so sure. I think Miya's just using Cash Joseph as a weapon in her war against Karasuba and doesn't really have his best interests at heart at all. I'm almost half surprised that she hasn't killed him already. That would be her easiest option in shutting Karasuba down. She'd also remove Akitsu and me from the Sekirei Plan at the same time."

"You really think Miya would do that?" Uzume reacted to this by cocking her head and gazing at Riko in amazed shock. "I can't hardly believe that she could."

"Why not?" Riko shrugged while gloomily staring at the closed bullpen door. Cash's mind had just been blanketed so that she could no longer feel his presence. Miya was probably making love to him again. "She's already been widowed once and lived through it quite nicely. What's the big deal with another if it finally kills Karasuba and takes me out too? Miya and Karasuba have hated each others guts for years and years, and there's not any close and happy ties between me and Miya either. Who else is ever going to have enough power to even challenge her besides Karasuba and I? We're really the only two standing in Miya's way of becoming the top dog in the Sekirei Plan, collecting all the control rods together again, and regaining control of our Sekirei spaceship from MBI. "

"Yeah, I see what you mean, still, to kill the man she's bonded with to do it?" Uzume shook her head again slowly. "Miya's just not like that. She bonds for love, very deeply, and she's just not as cold and vicious as Karasuba. I mean, sure, Miya can be tough as nails and a real disciplinarian when she has to be, and pretty darn calculating too, but to kill the man she's obviously going nuts about and win at all costs? I just can't see it. Besides, what would she have afterward even if she did win by sacrificing him? Do you actually think she'd want to live years and years with a whole lot more of the same lonely grief and remorse that Takehito's death caused? I can see her slicing and dicing Karasuba in a heartbeat if they ever crossed swords over the same guy again, but I'm pretty sure Miya would come straight at her, and you too if she had to, but not stabbing your backs by killing your Ashikabi. I've never seen Miya be sneaky like that."

"Then why is she sneaking around like this to see Cash Joseph? She's not fooling any of us, least of all Karasuba. Why is she keeping her presence in his mind covered when she knows that Karasuba can feel her there anyway? And even if Miya does have some kind of scheme to win the Sekirei Plan fair and square, just how is she going to keep Cash Joseph safe from Karasuba and others that would use him against her while doing it? With Miya bonding to him, she has to know she's just put a huge target on his back. What does she hope to gain? What if MBI and other Ashikabis, particularly the more stronger and more ruthless, hold Cash Joseph as a hostage to force Miya to use her powers for them?

"Or better yet, what's she going to do when he flies back to the States in a week or so to play baseball, and all this plotting, planning, and sneaking around goes for nothing when he just ignores the results? He has no interest in the Sekirei Plan, refuses to fight in it, and has absolutely no ambition for power. He just wants to play baseball and paint. It's all so stupid.

"With the way Miya's acting now, and Karasuba too, they both just make me make me feel," Riko paused to spit the right word before bitterly finishing with, "soiled, soiled and depressed. They're both stealing my Ashikabi's love from me! It's killing me inside because they're making Cash Joseph hate me even more! He's never going to want me, and now I've got no hope of him even winging me and then ignoring me forever! He almost totally ignores me now!" Another long and mutually gloomy silence ensued.

"I know how that is, living with no hope," Uzume finally sighed. "I'm sure Nee-san told you what I've been doing. Higa Izumi, the Ashikabi of the East is just the kind of ruthless and ambitious bastard that would kidnap your Cash Joseph to gain a huge advantage. He likes working that way. My Chiho is dying in the intensive care ward of a hospital his family owns. He keeps her hostage there, and he's been blackmailing me to eliminate other potentially dangerous Sekirei for him. If I don't kill for him, he'll withhold the painkillers my Ashikabi needs to bear her pain, and if I refuse, he's already said he'll withhold all treatment and just let her die a lot more quickly and with incredible suffering. That's what's killing me inside.

"I want Chiho to live and love me for as long as she can." Uzume, with her arms tightly clasped under her very full breasts, hugged herself in despair, "even if we're both sure to die soon. That desire has gotten so bad that I almost went for Nee-san's crest and recite my killing Norito when her back was turned. She was simply trusting me and digging through my closet for a sexy outfit to wear for her lover before she sensed me reaching to touch her and spoke without looking. She shamed me, Reek. I stopped and had to run away in dishonor. Higa had ordered me to eliminate her and two other Sekirei living in Izumo Inn with her Ashikabi. He's Sahashi Minato, the Ashikabi of the North and kind of a friend. I had to run away instead. I had to abandon my room that Miya was leasing to me, and now I've been camping out on a park bench and up on Higa's hospital roof for the last few nights, no job, no money, and stealing food to live. I still owe Miya three months back rent too. Now that total louse Higa has withdrawn all of Chiho's medications. She's dying, dying soon."

"Riko," Uzume turned her dark and now bitterly wounded eyes upon her friend before looking away in shame, "I can't believe I'm so damn low as to even think of killing Kazehana. She's been our best friend and older sister since day one. I'm beyond feeling soiled, Reek. I'm garbage, garbage with no hope of ever being anything better. I'm a dead Sekirei walking anyway, because you know I won't survive Chiho's death. I'm also getting pretty damn tired of fighting and killing in MBI's silly Sekirei war all the time too. Maybe I'll get lucky and lose a fight later tonight or just die with Chiho."

Riko turned to study Uzume's downcast facial expression and body slump of total despair. At least Riko would live as long as Karasuba and Miya's mutual insanity didn't kill Cash Joseph. She might never be happy, loved, and fulfilled by him, but Riko would still be alive and maybe clinging to one small glimmer of hope that he'd finally someday become her mate. Uzume had nothing but a miserably fast approaching darkness that she couldn't avoid while stealing tiny bits of desperate and joyless last minute grief with her dying Ashikabi. It's like the old saying, Riko realized, no matter how tough things are for you, there's always someone who's got it tougher. It was time to stop wallowing in her own self pity and do something nice for her friend.

"C'mon, Zoomer," Riko floated up from her seat while mentally lifting Uzume up to her feet too. "Miya and Cash Joseph will just be going to have some takeout food while walking in the park soon, and then they'll go to a love motel for a couple of hours while staying mentally blanked from me. Then he'll come home all happy and smiling to simply dote on just Akitsu now that Karasuba's finally went back to her cave. He'll still totally ignore me and make me feel like worthless crap. It's times like these that girls like us need to go shopping after we eat! I'm going to need help to stop being a fashion clown, and I need a better outfit in case I'm ever going to be seen on public TV with Cash Joseph again. I need help from a friend who really knows her fashion styles and fabrics, and you are the bomb for that, girlfriend. You've got to help me because I'm in a war too, and I HATE looking like an afterthought trailing along behind Karasuba!"

Uzume gave a rueful sad smile, silently nodded her agreement to Riko's sentiments and plans, and used her powerful legs to launch herself over the stadium roof. It would be several hours before she could sneak into the hospital critical care ward to see her Chiho one last time anyway. Besides, a shopping trip with Riko was a lot better option than fighting and killing until then. Dying afterward would just be a relief. Following after a quickly rising Riko, Uzume's suddenly appearing white battle outfit flowed along and around her in the strong wind that the two alien females were generating by their hasty departure.

***scene break***

The hospital's critical care ward was bustling with activity as nurses dressed in white uniforms went about their duties with an air of expert and experienced professionalism. One such nurse was escorting a tall, western looking foreigner to his destination that was an indicated door past two oddly and briefly dressed females. The muscular pair of women looked and acted like they were guarding the room's entrance as well as the room's contents. Cash paused before entering into the last hospice room labeled 2 at the end of a long hallway. He glanced around uncertainly. What in the name of Sam Hill was this all about? Who guarded people who were about to die? And why?

The one female guard, not exactly a classic facial beauty but certainly comely enough to be called attractively intriguing, was truly intimidating with her very curvaceous size, yet she was muscled like a body building champion, had thick and long dark green hair, and weird, piercing, light blue eyes that seem to look right through him before her head turned away for her to eye other potential threats. She also had a long and very sharp look spear strapped to her back. A spear? More like a thick lance. Geez. The other more slender yet trimly fit female guard with short spiky black hair only gave him a brief glance of total dismissal. Man, Cash paused to squint around him in disbelief and slight confusion, there had to be some really dangerous threats around here to have that dangerous and almost Neanderthal looking pair on alert, but what? Wild boor? Sabre Tooth Cats? Dire wolves? This was a terminal care ward for Pete's sakes.

Cash had made several visits to a lot of hospitals in the past, particularly to the wards for very sick children. Signing team paraphernalia and autographing bats and baseballs for sick kids had always been an enjoyable part of his off field duties for the teams that he'd played for, but never after regular visiting hours and never, ever under guards of any kind, let alone those two wild looking gals. He'd never received a dying request letter before either, especially one hand delivered by a totally unknown flying female. How had the strange messenger, obviously another one of the alien bird people, known that he and Miya would be walking hand in hand through the park after the game?

The letter, typed on hospital stationary but unsigned by any official or sender, was almost as mysterious as the delivery.

"Please come to hospice room 2 to meet a terminally ill fan as soon as possible and hear a simple dying request."

Once read and the hospital's address noted in the letter head, Miya had simply rushed him to the nearest street and quickly kissed him goodbye while hailing a cab for him. Cash had barely begun to protest that they hadn't even eaten yet before she had quietly, gently, but firmly pushed him into the cab's rear seat and given the cab driver the hospital's address. As the taxi whisked away from the curb, he had turned to see her rush back into the park out of his sight.

He had blinked in silent surprise and pondered Miya's unusual behavior and the dying person's strange message during the entire ride across the city. That cab ride hadn't been a cheap one either. Half the yen in Cash's wallet had been needed to feed the meter, but thankfully there was no tipping in Japan since it was considered rude and insulting. That meant he'd at least have enough to pay his way home and possibly get a cheeseburger on the way without tapping his debit card's balance.

At the hospital's information desk near the main entrance, a very nice and helpful older lady had found someone to translate for him and relay the note's contents to explain the reason for his after hours visit. Several questions were then asked about who he was and his relationship to the note's author. His lame explanation of him being a pro ballplayer and the author a "dying to meet him" kind of fan was understood and met with instant cooperation. The Japanese really do love their baseball, he thought with surprise.

Nevertheless, several long minutes had then passed as the translator had gone off to consult with hospital management or doctors or both while leaving Cash Joseph to cool his heels by the desk. Finally an older nurse with an air of great and not to be challenged authority had arrived to bring him to hospice room 2. The door's two unusually dressed and belligerent looking female guards had simply eyed him curiously, exchanged glances of bored acceptance, and waved him inside.

Cash entered the room with some hesitancy and more than a little discomfort. The whole ward had that vaguely disturbing antiseptic odor combined with kind of a cloying feeling of anticipatory depression for knowing you were in an area where people had been placed to wait for a rapidly approaching death. There was almost a clinical coldness about the way the staff and two female guards had looked at him too. Even more depressing was to see the once pretty but now extremely gaunt and hollow eyed young female lying quietly on the half raised bed. She was silently watching his approach as if he were the Grim Reaper coming to claim her, and it seemed she was glad to see him. Still mystified, Cash had no clue to her identity or reason to ask him for anything.

He stepped to the right side of her bed to stare down at her for a few uncomfortable seconds before she attempted to smile up at his confusion. She then rolled her light blue eyes towards a chair beside her as an indication for him to sit. Her facial features were more Western or European and not typical Japanese, but they did have an Asian influence. Some kind of small electronic box attached to wires leading under her hospital gown appeared to be sending her vital signs to a beeping monitor attached to the wall over the head of her bed. Other than the oblong tray on wheels to the left of her bed that had a glass of ice water, there was nothing to indicate the dying woman was being medicated or fed.

"Uhhh, ummm," Cash cleared his throat while frowning slightly. What should he do? Should he take the dying young woman's hand as a gesture of his understanding about her condition? Should he say something in sympathy? Did she even speak English? Well, if not, he could at least smile as warmly as possible and try to comfort her. She might not understand his words of sympathy, but she might sense his vocal tones as such

"Uhhh, hello, miss," Cash began softly while smiling and displaying the note he'd been sent. "I'm CJ Archer, the baseball player from America, and I've got a note here saying you'd like to meet me tonight. I'm not sure why, unless you're one heck of a dedicated fan, but I'm here. I'm so sorry we have to meet in this way. Is there anything I can do to help you? I'm not sure what it would be. Are you an American and want me to go visit your relatives when I get back home or maybe take something to them? Can you understand me?"

It appeared that she did for she nodded her head slightly and blinked her eyes twice while attempting another small smile for him. Her eyes narrowed as she looked past his head and shoulders toward the room's entrance. He quickly glanced around to see the retreating shadow of one of the guards against a partially opened door. They were being watched and maybe even monitored by cameras. Why? Weird. Cash turned around as the woman's left hand slid over his right hand resting on her bed. She gripped his fingers slightly while nodding slightly again and smiling with her eyes closed. A few moments passed before she opened them again, but now there was a squint of intense pain being silently endured.

She gripped his fingers again more urgently, and urged him nearer.

"Closer," she managed a very soft and hoarse whisper. Cash obligingly moved to put his head within a hand's breadth of her lips while maintaining eye contact. He could see that even whispering was going to be very difficult for her.

"Archer-sama, I am Chiho, the Ashikabi of a beautiful and sweet Sekirei named Uzume. I am dying very soon, and she will too, but you can save her for me. I've been told about what you've done for the two named Karasuba and Akitsu. I am begging for you to do the same for my Uzume. She deserves so much more happiness and a life of loving care, more than I could ever give her. Please, Archer-sama, save our Uzume. You must do it very soon, very soon, oohhh." The woman's body clenched in renewed pain as her light blue eyes seem to bore into his and her left hand clamped down on his fingers.

Cash flinched backward in consternation. Wow! Talk about a wild pitch! Who could have ducked away from this one? Re-wing another unknown Sekirei? Who had told this woman about Karasuba and Akitsu? Riko? Miya? Who else knew? All the Sekirei with 05 Mutsu maybe, and more. Even if he wanted to re-wing this Uzume, how would he meet her in time? Where would he look? How would he recognize her? What if she didn't want to? What if they agreed to try, and it just didn't happen?

What if their minds had mismatched vibes? After all, hadn't Karasuba said that most Sekirei wouldn't respond to him at all or even recognize that he was an Ashikabi? What if this Uzume looked and acted like his ex, Agnes Mortenson, or even worse, her short, fat, whining, and ugly mother? Damn! He HATED these kinds of social pressures! Besides, how would he explain a four balled Sekirei harem to his own mother if and when they all returned to Springfield?

"Lobby, waiting, girl with gold star, pink and purple shirt, long hair," the dying Chiho gasped out as if reading his mind and confusion. "Tell her I want you to take her to the blue sky for me, tonight. Please, Archer-sama, you're a good and very kind man. I can see it in your eyes and feel it in your voice. Take care of my Uzume. Please, please try, I'm begging you!" Chiho finished with such a pleading earnestness in her eyes and whispering that it made Cash automatically wince and heave a deep sigh in sympathy.

After several long moments of staring at Chiho's eyes and her facial expression, Cash finally nodded in reluctant acceptance and whispered softly in return.

"I'll, Ill try Miss Chiho, but I'm not at all sure it can or will happen. Only a very few Sekirei can respond to me. Something to do with my screwy brain. You understand?"

"Yes, go now, quickly, not much time, I'm afraid. I will know when it happens. I will … be … happy then." Chiho closed her eyes while smiling and her body seemed to relax into shallow breathing.

Cash stared for a few seconds, feeling the mixture of intense regret and imminent joy emanating from the dying young woman. Soon her pain would be over.

Striding quickly and quietly out of the oppressive room and past the cynical eyes of indifference that watched him leave the ward, Cash took the elevator down to the lobby. Pausing at the gift office, he ordered a bouquet of flowers to be delivered to hospice room 2 before walking slowly into the large hospital's very spacious waiting room next to the front information desk. There were perhaps a hundred or so people of all ages quietly sitting, moving, or conversing in little groups. His troubled eyes finally spotted a lone young woman in the far corner with a pink and purple shirt, standing with her back to the room and staring blankly out of the room's large plate glass windows.

Cash paused in his slow progress towards her to look at her profile. Chiho's Uzume looked to be a little older than Riko, and a couple of inches taller, perhaps 5'5", maybe 110 lbs, and with a startling figure whose measurements he estimated to be around 38DD/ 22/ 36. Her ultra slim waist to large chest ratio was almost as inhuman as Akitsu's, but the power displayed in her long legs, rounded buttocks, and wide shouldered torso resembled Karasuba's. Akitsu was an ice element wielder that had to range fight away from her opponent. Karasuba was definitely a close combat type.

With Uzume, it was as if some anatomical genius had taken his two Sekirei beauties and combined their bodies into one powerhouse that could fight either way, close or at range. Even her large, dark brown eyes, when she finally sensed him and turned to study him, had a little of Karasuba's ability to look very deadly, and yet there was a soft expressiveness around the edges that reminded him of Akitsu.

Uzume was a large breasted, more Caucasian looking beauty like Akitsu too, but different. She had high cheek bones accentuating a nice firm jaw line and a slightly wider mouth than normal. Her full red lips to complement her expressive eyes were definitely her body's third most noticeable feature. As her head and chest turned away, her long, dark brown hair swayed across her rounded derriere and seemed to shake with a small expression of irritated negativity.

Cash was certainly familiar with that reaction. It was the same as from other beautiful females back in America that he had met for the first time and tried to chat up after breaking the ice. The only problem was that he had rarely gotten the ice broken, and if he had, he'd then fallen flat in the chat. What if he couldn't even chat at all with this Sekirei because she couldn't speak English?

Well, this was awkward, Cash frowned to himself. Now what in the hell should he do? Damn! He HATED these kinds of impending epic fails. He wanted to turn and just walk away. This Uzume looked like she was ready and even preferred to die rather than meet him. This of course was a damn welcome change from the constant dogging he had been getting from Riko. Since this was the way women had always treated him, he was at least on familiar ground and fairly sure of a classic rejection, so why bother? Running away from females was one of his better social skills anyway.

On the other hand, Chiho's light blue eyes seemed to be staring at him anew from somewhere in his mind and pleading for him to go forward. Okay, okay, Cash groused to himself. You just can't ignore the last request and desires of a dying woman, you dumb shit.

Cash didn't really believe in ghosts, but if anyone would ever have the ability to come back from the grave to haunt him, he suspected the spooky looking Chiho would be one of them. Why risk it? All he had to do was introduce himself, maybe ask Uzume to go have a cup of coffee or tea or something, show her the note, tell her what Chiho had said, accept Uzume's refusal with a little savoir vivre, and then go get a cheeseburger on the way home to Akitsu.

Summoning up the same nervous resolve that he used in preparing to throw a fork ball, his worst pitch that had less than a twenty percent chance of crossing over the plate and a smaller one of actually being in the strike zone, Cash heaved a sigh of "let's get this over with quick" and walked forward to introduce himself.

"Ummm, hi, ummm, Miss Uzume? Sama?" Cash began cautiously. Or was the required honorific San? He could never remember! Damn. Just try to sound polite, you moron, he admonished himself. There was no need to make an obviously grieving, powerful, and possibly suicidal alien female mad at him was there? Nor was he ready to die or have his legs and pitching arm damaged so badly that it would end his baseball career.

"I, uhhh, got a message from your friend Chiho upstairs just now. It involves a little code phrase to express her desire for you to have a different Ashikabi. Would you, ummm, like to go get a cup of coffee or tea or maybe even a cheeseburger some place and listen to it?"

"No," Uzume replied with blunt coolness after a short delay.

All right, Cash congratulated himself. This Uzume had understood English, and he had made the request and been succinctly turned down flat just like he thought would happen. Now he was getting somewhere! Old light blue eyes back in his head would just have to realize that he'd at least tried. Now Chiho, the soon to be spook, would have no reason to haunt him from her grave. He was good to go, and he was hungry.

"Just tell me what she said," Uzume added bitterly. "I'm not allowed to see her. The miserable, arrogant, sadistic asshole that owns this stinking hospital wants us both to die as painful and nasty as possible because I didn't kill my friend like he had ordered. Now I'm being punished for being a bad assassin while he can get his rocks off watching us both croak. Well, screw him! I'm just going to quietly fold over when my Chiho dies and piss on this place publicly when I go."

"Uhhh, wow, I mean, I see," Cash anxiously groped for something pithy to say. Assassin? What was this? She's a real killer? And not just a visual one? Damn! He REALLY hated these kinds of social pressures! And he had ALWAYS been a pacifist!

"So just spit it out, ass clown! What has your pal Higa allowed me to be tortured with?"

"Uhhh, Miss Chiho said, ummm," Damn! Cash panicked anew. Uzume thought he was some minion of this sadistic Higa fella? Man, he was dealing with a really stressed out and mentally unbalanced Sekirei here, and another cold killer like Karasuba if he had heard right! What had that spooky old Blue Eyed Chiho gotten him into?

A quick vision of Uzume materializing some kind of multiple death dealing device like a giant Swiss knife on steroids to skewer him in multiple and very painful ways flashed through his mind. Even the cork screw looked deadly! Think, Cash, Think! What had Chiho said anyway? Something about blue. Water? Music? No, taking her someplace blue? Where in the, oh yeah, blue sky. What did that mean anyway? How could he get this cold looking Uzume anywhere near the stratosphere? Why would anyone want to? What to do now? Deny, back peddle, and then run, Cash decided instantly. It had always been his best defense.

"Uhhh, geez, I don't know any Higa either. Ummm, I think Miss Chiho said something like she wanted me to take you to the blue sky for her," Cash finished lamely while staring at Uzume with a perplexed and slightly anxious frown. After a long and uncomfortable breath holding silence, Cash finally let out a sigh of relief and shrugged at her non reaction. Okay, no problem, apparently he wasn't going to die by Uzume's hand or be haunted by Chiho's ghost. Life was good. It was time to politely say sayonara, edge cautiously backwards, get the hell out of here, and go eat.

"Well, uhhh, I don't know what that was supposed to mean, but uhhh, I want you to know that I'm sorry to meet you and Miss Chiho under such unpleasant circumstances. I, uhhh, know you both don't have much time, and, ummm, I'm really sorry I couldn't do more to help either one of you. All I could think of was to send some flowers up to your friend's room. So, uhhh, I'm going to go now and just leave you with your, ummm, pithy thoughts. Again, I'm sorry. Goodbye."

It had been very awkward and maybe even a near fatal mistake, Cash heaved another huge sigh of relief as he turned and began walking away, but I did try to do what Chiho wanted. The feeling of pressure that had been weighing on his mind from the time he'd entered the hospital lifted as he walked out the entrance. A line of empty taxis was to his left, and several groups and singles were ahead of him waiting their turn to load. He took a few steps to take his place at the end of the line and stopped to stand relaxed when an unexpected female voice in his left ear startled the living hell out of him.

"You should know that I'm a lying, thieving, back stabbing, two faced, dirty piece of garbage. I'm broke, don't have job, got nowhere to live, and only one friend in this whole world who cares anything about me. On top of sometimes being a somewhat lazy and very cranky bitch to live with, I'm so hungry right now I can't hardly stand it, so if we go anywhere, you're gonna have to buy."

Cash turned to gaze at Uzume with gaping amazement as her words replayed in his head. Without realizing it, he looked vacantly down at the curb and said with a tone of wonder in his voice, "Damn, I've finally found an honest woman! Take that, Agnes Mortenson!"

"Well, let's bitch about Agnes later," Uzume rather firmly grabbed his right elbow and began walking down the sidewalk. "I'm starving, and there's a burger joint down the street. It's called White Castles. Let's go."

He silently obeyed in instant shock and let her drag him along until they had almost arrived at the rather gamy smelling fast food store before his stunned brain began to function. What the hell? He obviously wasn't going to be killed or even maimed for life, but he didn't need another female alien arrogantly jerking him around like Riko, even if he did love White Castles. He stopped suddenly and snatched his captive elbow from Uzume's grasp. Grabbing her wrist, he yanked her sideways instead until they were standing together and hidden from view behind White Castles' outer wall and the very tall shrubbery surrounding the rear and sides of the place.

"Now just wait a damn minute here!" Cash threw her arm aside in building self righteous anger. "Are you NUTS? I thought the purpose for US to meet was for YOU to stay alive! Miss Chiho didn't look like she had much time left, and you'd rather chow down first? Shouldn't we, you know, at least kiss before eating a big batch of sliders? Where in the hell are your priorities? I mean, I don't have a toothbrush or even a pack of Tic Tacs for afterward, and sliders are rather, ummm, aftertaste challenged, right? But, c'mon!"

"Hey!" Uzume turned to face him with her fists on her hips and an angry expression on her face also. The rolling, flashing neon lights marking the edge of White Castles roof and giant front advertising sign made her look like an infuriated, wannabe, long haired porn star from ponytail zombie hell. "Don't you even try to be funny about this! I just thought we should kinda break the ice and maybe get to know one another a little before we, ummm, get, ummm, friendly."

"What's to know?" Cash blinked as his eyebrows shot up at his seeing her instant rage. "And I'm not trying to be funny, believe me! I mean one little admittedly awkward French kiss, and then we can both be about our own merry little business, right? I'm a live and let live kind of guy. I won't bother you again. Hell, I'll still buy you some food before you go too! What's the big deal?"

"What?" Uzume looked at him in total disbelief as if he'd just grown a third eye or a unicorn horn in the middle of his forehead. "You really don't get it?"

"Well, I'm actually not all that keen on this whole idea in the first place and probably trying not to GET anything," Cash replied apologetically while trying to placate her anger a little. "I admit I'm a little socially obtuse too. Besides, Mother always said to be careful kissing strange women."

"Hello? My Ashikabi was a female, you TWIT! I've never kissed a man before in my life! I'm physically still a virgin, and Sekirei bond for life! But I'm kind of an, ummm, orally stimulated kind of gal, see? This IS a BIG DEAL! And it isn't all rosebuds and handsprings on my end here either, buster!" Uzume stomped her left foot in frustration. "I just thought we should take a little time to kind of get used to each other! Damn! I HATE these kinds of sudden social pressures! I never know what to do! Why did Chiho have to choose another Ashikabi like you for me anyway?"

"Apparently she loves you and wanted you to live longer. Somebody ratted me out to her, and she chose me on account of my relationship with Karasuba and Akitsu. You see, I have this very strange and rare ability to re-wing a few Sekirei," Cash frowned in irritation. "Maybe I'm the only one who can. That's it in a nutshell. Chiho didn't have any other options. I've already admitted to being a giant social dud, for Pete's sakes! You don't have to rub it in! Besides, oral is bad?"

"Karasuba and," Uzume stopped short and gawked at him in total shock before throwing up her arms in dismay. "You mean you're Riko's American gaijin ballplayer? Cash Joseph Archer, the pitcher? Oh my Aching ASS! Now I've got to back stab my only pal in the whole world to live for Chiho? I knew you looked familiar! Hell, I saw you last night on clown barfing TV! Oh, SHIT! That was you with Miya this afternoon too! Damn! I REALLY hate these kinds of things! Riko will kill me if Miya doesn't nail me first, let alone Karasuba!"

"Hey! Forget Riko!" Cash began angrily and then felt his growing ire take over his mouth, "and I'm not Riko's anything! Miya and Karasuba are my business, not hers, or yours either for that matter! I admit I'm an American, and I play baseball, but that's it! Riko is on her own, and so will you be if that's what you want! I'm just trying not to get haunted here! Did you think I asked to be brought to this hospital? I don't know your Miss Chiho from Joan of Arc, and yet I'm trying to do right by her because she's dying so pitifully and painfully! There's nothing else I can do for her! Cut me a little slack, will ya? Besides, with a little luck, I'll be back in the States and pitching for the Batavia Muckdogs in less than two weeks! You and Riko can stay here together, kiss my gaijin ass goodbye, remain best pals forever and ever, and NEVER have to see me again! Get it, Miss TWITTEE!"

Uzume let her arms droop down to her sides as her shoulders slumped. She raised her head to look upward in agonized silence as she took a couple of disturbing deep breaths to calm herself. Her fists clenched again.

Cash edged warily away, ready to bolt and run. Maybe he'd been a little too blunt there. After all, Uzume's Ashikabi and the love of her life was painfully dying, while a very poor substitute was being offered just to give Chiho's admitted assassin Sekirei an alternative to dying along with her. What had the "going to the blue sky" message meant that had brought Uzume out of the hospital after him? There had to be some deep significance to override Uzume's natural instincts, desires, fears, and obvious distaste to being winged by him.

"You're, you're leaving Japan, for good?" Uzume dropped her head and opened her large dark eyes to gaze at him with a slight hopeful expression. "You aren't going to try and win the Sekirei Plan? You aren't here to get me to fight for you? Really? I, I, won't ever have to sneak around and assassinate any more Sekirei again, ever? Really?"

"Do I look like an army recruiter for some sand box war? Or Tokyo gangster clash? I just pitch baseball and paint a little on the side. That's all I do. Akitsu and I are leaving for the States as soon as we can get her a passport and visa. Karasuba may or may not join us later. You're welcome to go and do and be anything you want. It's the Land of the Free and Home of the Brave, remember? Or you can just stay here. I don't put any chains on anybody, and I don't jerk folks around or play sadistic and pointless games with their lives. So DON'T you even START trying to play Riko's stupid little 'Yank Cash Joseph Around Like a Mindless Puppet' game again either."

Uzume swallowed hard and squeezed her eyes shut for a few seconds while feeling Chiho's pain along with the tenderly urging and reassuring pressure also emanating from Chiho's mind. Putting his negative at being a man aside, CJ Archer was at least a good guy with a good heart, even if he was somewhat too tied to his Mother and a little thickheaded as well. On the other hand, maybe there would be a whole new world to happily explore with a man like she had always deeply desired to do with Chiho. That was a side of herself Uzume had never really considered before. Besides, his thoughts confirmed that he had also sent Chiho flowers after only spending a few minutes with her. The presence of Miya, Karasuba, and Akitsu sitting in the back of his mind was certainly a little intimidating too, but hey, once on the inside, there would be enough room for her. She could feel it within him.

The real problem was Riko. She would be devastated once she learned that Cash had accepted a fourth Sekirei instead of her. Then again, if anyone was going to understand, Riko should. If Uzume ever did have to fight again, and she could somehow convince Cash to wing Riko too while somehow getting herself back into Miya's good graces, then the three of them should be an almost unbeatable trio.

Uzume opened her eyes to give Riko's Cash Joseph a closer look. He was certainly good looking and sexy enough for being a guy, tall, broad shouldered, and carrying himself with an easy athletic grace. His mind was certainly pinging hers as his strange and intriguing deep blue eyes tried not to peek at her bulging chest too often. There was a very fascinating and sexually alluring smell about him too.

She silently stepped closer to him to take a deeper inhale of his male body odor and tentatively let her suddenly prominent and very sensitive twins brush against his chest while he looked down to follow their movement and contact. His head came up to let his blue eyes lock on to hers. Fire suddenly swept through her, fire that buckled her suddenly weak knees and made her throw her arms around his neck for support. Automatically and in almost slow motion, her slightly parted lips raised as she pulled his down upon hers. Their tongues met as her intense psychic flames engulfed him too.

His eyes snapped open to see that, sure enough, another dark red bird sign behind her head was sinking down past her neck to settle between her shoulder blades. She moaned in helpless body grinding wonder as large white shimmering and pulsing wings formed above and behind her. Suddenly, the bonding couple were both enveloped with long, writhing, and quickly contracting swaths of white cloth. The wrappings bound them together like ancient mummies that had been locked and squeezed into an eternal and slightly obscene, mutually dry humping kiss. This lasted several very long, pulsing, circuit looping moments that enchained them in exquisite sensual pleasure before a mind bending and explosive finale hit them at the same time. It made them fall over into White Castle's very prickly shrubbery that had some very sharp branches also. They both spasmodically jerked away to land hard on the ground and lay side by side, still wrapped together in mutual glowing bliss by her now off white and dirt streaked battle garments.

Cash Joseph finally broke their connection while still panting heavily as some rather strange odor irritated his nostrils.

"What's that smell?" He frowned slightly at a still breathless Uzume. "Have you been dumpster diving lately or something? Or is that coming from White Castle's roof exhausts?"

"OH, You REALLY know how to keep a gal turned on, don't you?" Uzume responded in sighing disgust. "What a clod! I TOLD you right off that I don't have a place to stay. I've been on the mooch for several days now, no bath, and I'm still starving!"

"Okay, okay," Cash mentally kicked himself. "There's a motel across the street. We'll get a big bag of sliders and fries, check in, and eat before taking a nice long soak in a hot bath for you to, ummm, freshen up a bit? How about it?"

Uzume, suddenly feeling very sad and cross at the sudden loss of Chiho's warm love in her mind, punched him rather firmly in the left bicep.

"You insensitive jerk! Are you saying I smell like stale and rotten onions from White Castles?"

***scene break***

Uzume's cleaned and once again white battle outfit lay limply around them on the huge, double king sized bed of the motel's Honeymoon Suite. Her sighing breath tickled the hair on his chest as she lay next to his left side in satiated bliss. She watched in fascination as his right hand continued to slowly caress and fondle her sensitive girls. Good old gaijin CJ wasn't an insensitive jerk after all, she smiled to herself, and sister, could he pitch, oral, wild, and otherwise! The depth of his ability to project warmth and security as well as desire were overwhelming, and she had found the reason why she had been so mindlessly howling at the moon the other night.

No wonder Karasuba, Akitsu, and Miya had went stark raving bananas, Uzume thought while starting to pant slightly again, and poor Riko was going out of her ever loving mind in frustration. If I'd have known about THIS, I would have lost my virginity a long time ago!

For his part, Cash was still feeling a little disconcerted as if he'd just thrown a very wild pitch to have ball four thrust upon his pitching stats, especially after not even wanting to pitch in the game in the first place. On the other hand, Uzume's natural skills and fixations were a great change up. He was pretty sure Akitsu and Karasuba would approve too.

Miya, clinging weakly to a huge advertising sign's support pole up on the roof of the love motel, slowly stood up to regain her composure after hours of mentally steering, augmenting, and finally psychically stimulating Uzume's new union to Cash Joseph. Her panties felt strange, and she was smiling slightly to herself in satisfaction at successfully gaining a very strong and experienced fighting ally in her plans. This was mixed with longing regret that she had not physically been the one in Cash's bed below. It was done, and never to be undone by anyone, including Karasuba. Next, she was somehow going to HAVE to fix Riko's relationship with Cash Joseph. Miya launched herself away in a powerful leap that spanned several city blocks while letting her mental blanket that had been cloaking Cash and Uzume's minds naturally fade with distance.

As Miya returned home to change her skivvies, all across Tokyo, small alarm bells and red warning lights of bad social Karma began activating in the moment and in the immediate wake of Chiho's lonely yet strangely peaceful death.

Higa Izumi, Ashikabi of the East, briefly glanced at the head nurse's initial report of Chiho's demise. Before moving on to peruse the family's latest financial report, he idly made a note for his secretary Kakizaki to find a suitable replacement now that Number 10, his best assassin to kill rival Sekirei but a real bitch to control herself, was now permanently removed from his planned empire.

Number 05 Mutsu was rolling his eyes in very tried patience at his young master Hayato Mikogami, Ashikabi of the South, throwing yet another temper tantrum over the thwarting of his desires to regain Akitsu and wing Riko. He had been watching a replay of last night's TV nightclub interview with one Cash Joseph Archer, a hated gaijin dolt and mindless athlete being the one responsible for said thwarting. The tantrum wasn't helped by the arrival of a hefty cleaning bill from the Harbor Authority for the removal of Mikogami's formerly prized white limo that had floated into the harbor's shipping lanes.

Sahashi Minato, Ashikabi of the North, turned his dark and hollow eyes upon the naked and flushed Kazehana as she approached his futon for her turn and burrowed in between Musubi, Matsu, and Tsukuimi as she joined them. He groaned as her psychic desires strongly pinged his other Sekirei and his minds. This made his sorely abused loins respond in spite of his need for some sleep and time off. It was going to be a long night, again. Later, he wondered if there was some way to get a little relief just as total exhaustion overwhelmed him.

Seo Kaoru, an Ashikabi of twin sister lightning masters named Hibiki and Hikari, was having seconds thoughts about the wisdom of his winging them when the older twin shocked him again for trying to cop a feel of her breasts while she cooked their only meager meal for the day. For some reason he recalled watching the picture of a stunningly beautiful and bountifully endowed Akitsu walking into a nightclub with that American ballplayer. There had been a rumor of another very powerful Ashikabi in town whose unchecked psychic power with Akitsu during sex was responsible for the increasingly horny behavior in some of the other Sekirei in the north. Seo wondered if that ballplayer was the culprit, and if so, could the gaijin be interested in a cool two for a hot one trade?

An old master forger, sitting in a little cubicle at the rear of a bonsai tree warehouse, put away the latest counterfeit addition to his rare baseball card collection and resumed working after a short tea break to rest his eyes. He was puzzled over this latest order from his Yakuza boss. He was supposed to immediately begin making fake passports and visas for two women, yet unnamed and without pictures, while taking his time in doing so? All he had ever done were rush jobs. What was his boss thinking?

A lowly computer tech, an apprentice to MBI's head IT guy, stared at the anomaly in the currently and constantly updating digital readout of all the released Sekirei in Tokyo. Something was wrong. His readout indicated an Ashikabi had just died, but the winged Sekirei of the deceased was still active? He rubbed his eyes in disbelief before checking his data once again and notifying his supervisor.

Hiroto Minaka, head of MBI and the super genius orchestrator of the current Sekirei Plan, gritted his teeth in frustration when a report on his computer screen appeared from security. Scrapped Number 07 Akitsu had somehow become un-scrapped, winged, and then seen dancing very close and friendly in a nightclub with his chief enforcer, Number 04 Karasuba and some dumb American ballplayer? How? Why? He would have to tread very lightly while questioning Karasuba over the incident. She was a great killing machine for him, but she was also totally insane and capable of using her big curved sword on his neck in less than a fraction of a heartbeat. He might have to just let Karasuba keep her new toy as long as the overly powerful 07 stayed out of the game.

Why couldn't these silly Sekirei just play by his rules, get winged, fight, and die to pressure Number 01 Miya like they were supposed to? And why was it taking so long to get the remaining birds winged in the first place? Delays, delays delays! Didn't they know how hard it was to keep Tokyo locked down until the last 10% of the Sekirei were winged in Phase 2 and Phase 3 battles for the jinkis could begin? What was wrong with the men in Tokyo? That needed to be investigated too.

Karasuba gave her two latest oil paintings, "Moonlight Rapture" and "Afterglow", a last critical glance before buckling on her sword and leaving her apartment for MBI headquarters to cope with whatever the current minor security crisis contained. Did it seem that there had been more of them lately? It was getting a little irritating, demeaning, and interfering with her painting.

A lowly lawyer's assistant whose boss held the accounts of a minor league baseball owner, puzzled over separate and yet almost simultaneous requests by two anonymous females to investigate the sudden wealth of an American ballplayer named Archer that might have been obtained through possible skullduggery. Apparently they were fans who wanted to maintain the purity of the sport and the league's reputation? Since when did his boss listen to females on matters of business in the first place? Who were these two women, apparently complaining separately, and what powers did they both have to motivate his boss into this strange action? Of course there had been that recent case where his boss had gotten blackmailed to take a similar odd request because of certain peccadilloes in dating kinky women supplied by the Yakuza. This felt like another one of those. Nobody cared about minor league American ballplayers in Tokyo, did they?

Benitsubasa, the flat chested Crimson Sekirei of the Disciplinary Squad, threw her hairbrush into her dressing table mirror and through the bedroom wall behind it in weeping frustration. Natsuo had rejected her advances to make love again! Why wouldn't her Ashikabi open his eyes and see that she had a such a kind and loving heart for him? Was it because he was turned off by her being a trained killer for MBI, his silly rumored preferences for men, or the fact that he didn't want a woman with only a 32 A cup bra? Something had to be done about the disturbing sex dreams she had been having lately, and soon too, or she'd force a Norito out of Natsuo and knock down half of Tokyo with her devastating earthquake punch.

Haihane, a Gothic challenged and un-sexy dresser for MBI's Squad nicknamed the Indigo Sekirei, turned off her TV from sheer boredom. The calls to fight and/or kill anything had been few and far between here lately. She too was disturbed by her recent horny dreams as well as depressed at the total lack of fun while just mooching around the MBI's Tower day and night. Maybe she needed to take another long hot bath with a toy or two and then use plenty of body lotion to keep her albino skin from getting more rashes. Life as a Sekirei assassin just wasn't all that much the exciting peaches and cream she had been promised when first recruited. Something better change, and soon, or she was going to start chopping a few heads until it did.

Heartbroken anew, Riko stood on the roof of the Tokyo Dome while trying not to scream her frustration over her thickheaded and stubborn man, or weep pitifully over the complete betrayal by her back stabbing best friend Zoomer who had just become re-winged by him. Riko finally did both.

Meanwhile, without any psychic assistance from Miya needed at all, Cash once again found himself wrapped tightly by the writhing white battle cloths and powerful legs of the now very finely tuned and highly energetic Veiled Sekirei.


	8. Chapter 8

**The Game Changer**

**Chapter 8 – Time Out, Mound Conference**

In troubled puzzlement mixed with teary eyed wonder, Uzume stared down at a lightly dozing Cash whose head rested in her naked lap. Her left hand gently cradled the back of his head while the spread fingers of the her right hand lightly made slow passes and circuits through his wavy brown hair. How had this happened? How had he been able to do this? She was alive! Gloriously, wonderfully alive again! Just hours before there had only been bitterness, great anger, despair, self pity, and sorrow for herself and Chiho's rapidly approaching deaths. She had also felt deep guilt at having betrayed everyone and everything good that she believed in mixed with the weariness of being on constant battle alert and the repugnance of being forced to become a cold blooded killer. She should have died, but he had saved her when there hadn't been a shred of hope for anything better than death's welcome release from such an unclean life.

Uzume's eyes lifted to stare unfocused across the bed and out of their motel room's window. Tokyo's brightly lit skyline shimmered in the distance. She had read his mind's reluctance to approach her, and his desires to not get involved with any more females of any kind, but he had overridden both and decided to save her anyway. Why? He already had the much more powerful Miya, Karasuba, and Akitsu in his heart and mind. They were keeping him very happy and satisfied, physically and emotionally. He hadn't needed a befouled piece of second rate and unhappy garbage like Uzume at all. If he hadn't wanted her battle skills, experience, and powers for the Sekirei Plan, or as a man shy female to be casually used when some weird comparison whim struck him, then why had he bothered?

The result of his decision was even more baffling. Where Chiho had resided in Uzume's mind with a soft warm glow of approval, interest, and intimately friendly love, Cash now blazed in a focused ball of complete acceptance, hot desires, unbridled optimism for the future, and an intense fondness for her that very strangely resembled Chiho's deep love. How could this be? They hardly knew each other as individuals at all. Uzume knew that Sekirei bonded for life as part of their natural mating instincts, mostly thanks to the DNA inherited from their prehistoric avian forebears. Humans were supposed to be different, but here was Cash reciprocating and reinforcing Uzume's new hard wired feelings for him as if he had the same.

Where had this capacity for such deep feelings come from within this human man? Was this the true essence of what an Ashikabi was supposed to be for a Sekirei, an essence that her race had searched a galaxy for untold millennia? She had been prepared to grow mildly fond of Cash as the obviously too blunt, kindhearted goof, and social clod she had first met, and perhaps even physically desire him upon occasion from emotions left over from winging, but this? How could he so incredibly, wonderfully, and immediately become the very center of her universe?

The psychic power now emanating from Cash was very disconcerting too. Chiho's thoughts had been more like fuzzy impressions to be felt and concentrated on over a period of time for comprehension. Cash's thoughts now rang instantly and crystal clear into her mind even when he was lightly sleeping. He was very happy. He was satiated and totally relaxed. He was joyfully tasting the dark chocolate, candy coated raspberry jelly feel of her in his mind alongside Miya and below Karasuba and Akitsu. He was enjoying the smooth feel of her muscular thighs and stomach, her caressing fingers in his hair, and the memory of her soft, warm lips and large dark eyes looking up at him when she had explored the length, girth, feel, and taste of him earlier. He was also enjoying looking at the most perfect set of large, firm, and incredibly perky female breasts that he'd ever been privileged to see in all their naked glory. Wait. He was awake and staring at her tits? Again? And he felt privileged?

Uzume gave a start as she focused her eyes down through the valley of her twin girls to see his deep blue eyes smiling back up at her.

"You're not sleepy?" Cash murmured up at her with a pleased tone in his low baritone. Even the timber of his voice made her shiver slightly in wonder.

"I'm, I'm used to being awake at night," She smiled back apologetically and with a trace of bitterness before adding, "hunting and fighting."

"Well, that's all over and done with now, okay?" His brow wrinkled in earnest concern before his smile grew bigger. "There's a lot more entertaining and productive things we can do with nights than that kind of fighting bullshit. Nights are for snuggling and struggling to enjoy life together. We're just going to make a little change in your sleeping habits from now on too, if that would be okay with you?"

The last part of his announcement had come out as a question for her approval. What a difference from being ordered about like barely tolerated scum by Izumi Higa and his oily secretary Kakizaki. Uzume could see that Cash really wanted her opinion too and was not just pandering to her because he loved looking at her girls. She nodded her head slightly in agreement and then narrowed her eyes while cocking head slightly sideways to ask him her troubled question.

"Why did you do it, Joe?" Uzume used a nickname in his mind that he had been happily called as a youngster. "You didn't really want to. You didn't need me or my troubles at all, and you've already got Miya, Karasuba, and Akitsu to keep you happy. How you're going to keep doing that without Miya and Karasuba killing each other first is another huge mystery to me, but tell me. I can see you saying anything to poor Chiho just to make her happy up in her room, but you could have walked out the hospital's front door without trying to meet me, and I would have never known the difference. Why did you follow through?"

"Well," Cash furrowed his brow in thought, "I guess where I come from death bed promises are pretty sacred for one, and I could tell Chiho really thought you were worth giving a chance at a new life. I felt you at least deserved to hear her last message too. You were incredibly beautiful and attractive and, and kind of, ummm, of lonely and unhappy looking when I first saw you. That kind of got my manly and protective instincts involved enough to get past my automatic rejection fears that I'm pretty much used to getting from beauties like you. The fact that Little CJ turned bone hard the instant you put the tips of those twin beauties against my chest helped a lot too. Then there was this strange, ummm, kind of mental pressure urging me forward and speak to you. I kept seeing Chiho's eyes watching me and psychically pushing me towards you."

"Mental pressure? From Chiho?" Uzume snickered in disbelief. "She never had that kind of psychic power, ever, and especially not for any distance. It was all I could do just to tune into her mind sitting next to her."

"Really?" Cash frowned. "Then if she couldn't give me a psychic push, and neither you or I didn't, then who else would? Who has that kind of power? And why would they? Matter of fact, why did you follow me out of the hospital after I said sayonara?"

"Because you sent flowers to Chiho, and were so kind to her after only being with her for a few minutes. I also knew she would never have sent any man to save me except someone she thought was very special and loving. It got me to thinking maybe I should stop being a social clod myself for once and at least try for her sake. As to your first questions, any of the first born Sekirei up to about Number 20, I suppose," Uzume blinked as his questions took shape in her mind to make her respond with a running dialogue and commentary, "Especially the ones with more stronger psychic powers to begin with, and maybe even a few more of the higher numbered special cases. Who would want to help me?

"Miya, of course, because I think she still likes me in spite of everything I've done and become, Kazehana Number 03, not so much even though she was my best friend until I tried to kill her from behind, Karasuba Number 04, could, but why would she even though we've never really crossed each other, Mutsu Number 05, very powerful and totally unpredictable, but again why would he, Homura Number 06, he's a decent friend but not enough. He kinda waffles back and forth, Akitsu Number 07, probably the strongest of all and a nice former friend too, but we've been forced to fight a few times, Number 08 Yume is technically dead but she was even stronger than Akitsu so that her living tama, ummm, her essence is keeping her sister Musubi Number 88 alive now. Yume and I were friends too, but she's out. Tsukuimi Number 09 is very capable, but she's got no interest in anybody but herself and her Ashikabi.

Uzume paused as she continued to think.

"Hibiki Number 11 and her sister Hikari Number 12, are powerful enough, but they got their own problems to worry about and are half starved all the time anyway, Himeko Number 15 is a very compassionate friend, but she winged Mikogami of the South with Mutsu, Toyotama Number 16 and Ichiya Number 18 but they're a couple of sadistic bitches that hate my guts as well as being winged to that bastard Higa, and possibly Ikki Number 19 but we've never been that close. She fights with two small swords, and I whipped her butt several times growing up. She never got over it. As far as psychic powers go though, myself, Hibiki, Hikari, Toyotama, and Ichiya are more physical battle types than mental pushers. Matter of fact, we're probably the best and most experienced combat veterans outside of the old and current versions of the Disciplinary Squad. I'm very good at it too, but I'm also very tired of the killing."

"Hey, wipe that frown away," Cash admonished softly while reaching up and patting her left arm above his face sympathetically. "Who else could mentally shove us together?"

"Well, a few of the higher numbers have some pretty strong psychic abilities too. Mitsuki Number 39 the string fighter and Taki of the Mists Number 65, both winged with Mutsu under Mikogami. Then there's Haihane Number 104 and Benitsubasa Number 105 of the Disciplinary Squad, Karasuba's dirty and crazy little minions. There's no love lost for me between either one of them. Shiina Number 107, a nice enough younger guy for a walking death ray ready to unload, and then little Kusano Number 108 the Green Sekirei of Life. She's a walking global transmitter for sure.

"Now there's real a possibility, Joe. Kusano and I are good costume playing buddies and for a loving little kid, she can really throw her mind around to get what she wants. If she had learned about Chiho and my troubles from someone, then she could have put out the positive vibes for us in a VERY big way and made a few people jump very high to keep her happy, including her Ashikabi, Sahashi Minato of the North. She's another Sekirei that lives in Miya's Izumo Inn with Minato and his other Sekirei, Kazehana, Homura, Matsu Number 02, Tsukuimi, and Musubi. Minato's kind of a softhearted friend of mine too, so he'd be sure to help me if he could. That's about it as far as, oh, I forgot my best friend, Riko Number 67. She's on the same psychic levels as Miya, Karasuba, Akitsu, and Kusano, but uhhh, since it's you, there's no way she would have tried to get you to re-wing me."

"Really? Not even to save your life? What kind of best friend is that? Besides, she's the one who introduced me to Akitsu, asked me to kiss her, and heal her mind if possible." Cash frowned and shook his head slightly to bump his right cheek's daily beginning of a beard against Uzume's smooth stomach. It tickled in a scratchy sort of way and sent another small shiver through her body before she answered him anew.

"I kind of got the feeling that Riko thought you could maybe just break the crest on Akitsu's head and give her another start to find another Ashikabi. I'm pretty sure she had zero intention of Akitsu then winging you afterward. Riko is, ummm, pretty headstrong and pretty jealous too."

"There's a world class understatement," Cash snorted lightly, "So forget Riko. Tell me. Can any of these psychically powerful Sekirei besides Riko fly?"

"Yes, Kazehana of the Wind, Number 03."

"Interesting, another Izumo Inn resident and another strongly psychic Sekirei along with your little friend Kusano winged by the same guy," Cash mused with growing excitement. "Not only would this Minato want to keep his Kusano kid happy, he had the means to get her to the hospital to mentally push me as well as fly a phony note from Chiho to me and Miya in the park. What's even more interesting is that fact that this guy has winged four of the first ten lowest numbers of Sekirei, five if you want to count this kinda strange Musubi/Yume combo, as well as the little powerhouse Kusano. That means his mind has to be operating on similar higher wavelengths as mine, could also be able to wing Riko, and then get her the hell off my ass!"

"Uhhh, yeah, maybe," Uzume winced a little at the thought as she pictured Riko's reaction to Uzume's re-winging by Cash when they next met, "but, uhhh, I'm thinking Riko is already too finely attuned to you. It's possible I guess, especially if Kusano throws her mind around to help Riko re-tune. Minato is as mentally powerful or maybe more so than any Ashikabi besides you and Seo. You three are all on mental wavelengths way above the other Ashikabi I've been around."

"Oh, great! There's another guy like me out there named Seo? Then that doubles my chances to get rid of Riko! She can be re-tuned right? Just like you and the other more stronger psychics? How does this tuning work on you guys anyway?" Cash reached up with his right hand to gently fondle the warm, soft mounds above him. "Is it all about sex and then more sex?"

"Well, no, and yes, kind of," Uzume's breath hitched at his action. Goosebumps formed on her fore arms as her twin peaks instantly hardened in response to his tender touch. "Think of our psychic wavelengths as, ummm, sorta like FM radio. You can receive a station at say 105.1 FM and a little better at 105.2, but the best reception comes in at 105.3, see? Well, when we first kissed I was maybe 104.8, just at the very edge of hearing you at all, and then by the end of our kiss I was at 105.2. Now I'm at 105.333344 and brother, are you coming in strong! I'm so finely attuned to you that it's way beyond how I was with Chiho! I don't understand how you did that, Joe! I'm a little nervous about it too. It means that you can rebroadcast everything I'm thinking and my position to every Sekirei within your range. That's very dangerous for both of us and a little embarrassing for me as well."

"Oh, wow," Cash blinked. He hadn't seen any downsides to winging or being with Uzume at all until her last statement. What could be done? Hey, Miya had blanketed herself within his mind. Maybe Uzume could throw a wider covering? "Uzi, can you feel the blank space that smells like flowers or lavender perfume in my mind? Can you put a blanket over yourself in there like that?"

"Ahhh, no," Uzume replied slowly. "I don't have the ability to be as finely contained as that. Only Miya, Karasuba, Riko, and Akitsu can do that. They are up another dimension in psychic ability from the rest of us. I can see you think Akitsu would be more than willing to do it for you. The best I can do is blanket my own and maybe yours too temporarily, although I've never tried it. When I do cover up though, even Miya can't see or hear me real good. She can sense that I'm alive and possibly how near and in what general direction. I can certainly keep us covered as best as I can until we can get Akitsu to help. You want me to try that?"

"Oh sure, absolutely!" Cash agreed as he smiled again. "We must do everything we can to keep my new woman safe from any more senseless fighting. I'm thinking that if you'd want to, maybe you can come to America with Akitsu and I and watch me pitch. Would you like that?"

"Hey, you'll never go anywhere without me, and I mean ever again, Joe, and besides, I love sports! I grew up as the champ striker in our football league." Uzume beamed down at him between her now quivering breasts as he made his other hand join in with the oh so gentle fondling action.

"Striker? You mean you played soccer," Cash chuckled in amused disgust. The rest of the world always got that wrong about naming their dumb sport. How in the name of Aunt Prunella could anyone watch two teams kick each others shins into a zero zero tie for a couple of hours and then call it fun? "That ain't real football. Besides, baseball is much more exciting and more interesting to watch. Not as interesting as what I'm watching now, but hey. We've got another hour left before they kick us out of here. What say we put it to good use before going home to Akitsu? You game?"

"Well, let me blanket us and, and, and," Uzume shuddered as she fell over sideways and began to grope for him with her warm hands and lips, "My formally virginal insides are sore as hell, but everything on the outside and the other end is certainly very, very a, ah, available to add fifty nine points to my, my, my oh MY Number10! Geez Joe, ummm!"

Uzume's mind quickly threw out a hasty dark blanket over them both as all of her thoughts of wonder and puzzlement melted into simple shared bliss.

***scene break***

Three female minds felt it at once. Miya was sitting in still regretful longing on the the roof of her Inn. Karasuba was waiting patiently in ambush while sitting on a park bench near the bullet train station in order to soon skewer a weak Sekirei trying to flee Tokyo and the Sekirei Plan with her idiot Ashikabi. Riko was still sitting and pouting in red eyed grief on top of the Tokyo Dome. As one, the three alien women felt Cash's mind get thickly covered a few minutes after midnight. All immediately jumped to their feet with their heads snapping towards the east in puzzled disbelief and with an irrational, breath catching sense of loss until they all three focused very hard. Then they began relaxing slightly as they all felt and was reassured that Cash Joseph Archer was still very much alive. Each one then had to deal with their own nonplussed feelings and thoughts at this unexpected turn of events and how his now blanketed mind impacted their separate plans for their Ashikabi and the Sekirei Plan's final outcome.

***scene break***

Cash stared at his phone in puzzlement. Now why would some big time corporate manager type from MBI named Hiroto Minaka want to buy Cash's breakfast in a little nearby side street restaurant just to have a friendly little chat? It was a little strange for an MBI fat cat to hob nob with the peasants of the lower class in the narrow side streets of Tokyo's low rent districts, wasn't it? Weird, Cash mentally shook his head. Matter of fact, things had been going weird from the moment Miya had shoved him into a taxi at the park last night and sent him off to meet the dying Chiho and subsequently re-wing the amazing Uzume. Then, while he was finding out that his new Uzi was one ultra loving and lovable Sekirei female that got her jollies in multiple rapid fire waves from different positions that seemed to last WAY beyond normal, suicidal terrorists had struck Tokyo? What was up with that? Who were these terrorist guys anyway?

Terrorism on any scale and in any fashion had never made much sense to Cash in the first place, but suicide bombings made even less. How could blowing oneself up and killing a few innocent people ultimately get any lunatics where they wanted to go, especially if no group had yet to claim the responsibility and reasons for the attacks? It only served to just piss everyone off and motivate them to kill the suicidal nuts before they pushed their little bomb buttons because group fear never lasts forever. Sooner or later the irritated body of targeted humanity would puke or shit out whatever was irritating it and go back to being sedately uninterested in any lunatic causes to dominate them. Tokyo was no different than say London or any other major world city. Some days, Cash mused in disgust, it was just a screwy world to wake up to.

As if that hadn't been strange enough, the morning news had then announced that this MBI corporation now owned a big majority of Tokyo and had deployed a private army to deal with the future terrorist threats by clamping down a stiff travel ban upon and within the city. What kind of town and country just let a wealthy corporation totally take over everything and everyone's personal freedom without a whimper? Where were the Japanese army as well as Tokyo's regular police? Were they both just a division of MBI now or something?

The sudden fiat had turned personal because it had gotten Cash's scheduled ballgame for this afternoon canceled. That was extremely disappointing as he was going to need his pitching income to now feed Uzume as well as Akitsu. On top of that, his manager had then called to inform him that Cash's finances were going to be investigated for any improprieties by the league so that he couldn't pitch again until cleared anyway. That really hurt. After a fantastic beginning last night with Uzume, he was having a lousy start to the rest of his day upon waking up late, and now some MBI suit just wanted a friendly breakfast chat? Why? Was Cash Joseph Archer on somebody's foreign terrorist watch list now just because he threw a lousy forkball and had won a legal settlement against goofy Agnes Mortenson?

Cash frowned in suspicion. His game today suddenly canceled, his playing career suddenly on hold for some phony league inquest, and now this Minaka calls? Mother had always warned him that trouble came in threes. No better confirmation of that old superstition could be found than what he was seeing in the faces and attitudes of the three Sekirei females now morosely sitting at his apartment's small table with him. A heavy, angry, but silent frost hung in the air as all three pointedly ignored each other. This was just simply not going to be allowed, not now, not ever. He could have stayed in the States and been the whipping boy for his ex Agnes and her ogress of a mother if he had wanted to eat that bowl of slightly fishy smelling grief.

"All right," Cash heaved an aggrieved sigh as he pushed his bowl of miso soup along with his warmed over bowl of rice towards Uzume while looking to his left at Akitsu. "Enough is enough. I could have stayed back in the States and got this type of female soap opera crap. I'm declaring my apartment a no drama zone as of right now. Sugar Kitty, tell me what's wrong. Do you have any big personal reason to dislike Uzume?"

"No, Cash Joseph-sama," Akitsu bit her lower lip while hanging her head and giving him a whipped puppy dog look. "I've always liked her, except now I feel like you might not want to be with me much anymore, or even keep me. She's so much more prettier and smarter than me! I don't want to be thrown away!"

"Never gonna happen, Sugar," Cash narrowed his eyes while clamping his left hand firmly on her right wrist and pulling her towards him. Akitsu obediently stood up to stand beside him as he transferred his hand and arm to her circle her hips. Ummm, even sore from last night, Kitty sure looked and felt good in a white cotton t-shirt and nothing else. "Look at me, and look back in my mind where you are. Nothing has changed between the two of us and never will. Your chains are gone. You don't ever need to feel like you can't share anything with me again, got it?"

Akitsu attempted a small teary eyed smile as she nodded in her confirmation of what he had said. It was true. She still glowed sweetly beside Karasuba and above Miya and now Uzume's new presence. Cash turned to his right and attempted to give Uzume, dressed as briefly as Akitsu, a solemn stare that made her eyes and head shift down and away in sudden embarrassment and guilt.

"Uzi," Cash said softly while trying to keep from caressing her perfect chest with his eyes. "Do you have any real problems sharing equal time with the other three you can feel inside my head? Do you have any regrets over what happened between us last night and becoming my number four?"

"No, no problems sharing, Joe, none," Uzume shook her long hair from side to side without looking up. "And I don't even feel like I'm number four, because I can see that you've now got each of us as being an equal fourth in your emotions. It's just that I miss Chiho, and I will keep on missing her for a long time. I feel so sad for her too, and I kind of just feel guilty for living while she couldn't. I also feel pretty low and ashamed about, about, you know, being given such a great second chance at happiness with you while, ummm, doing it at the expense of her memory and, and cheating on her and, and Riko..." Uzume's voice broke off and went into a strangled sob. Her shoulders shivered as she silently tried to keep from openly crying.

Cash reached his right hand out to capture Uzume's chin and gently turned her watering dark eyes to face him.

"Hey, you've got nothing to cry about. Your happiness and continued life is exactly what Chiho desired for you, right? Now every minute that we share together for the rest of our lives is a gift from her to you and me. Instead of thinking that you're missing her or cheating on her memory, celebrate everything we do from now on as being with her too. Share it with her, and keep her memory alive. Hell, keep a diary to tell her all about the good and bad times to come if you have to." Cash tugged at her chin to give it a couple of firm small shakes for importance to his next words. "You're my woman now, see? Just like the other three. Nothing is ever going to change that, ever. You bring all your troubles to me, and together we'll deal with them. Feel free to scream, yell, bitch, and moan at me or about anything else for that matter, but there will be no more frosty silences around me, ever again, got it?"

Tears leaked from the sides of Uzume's eyes and trailed unchecked down her cheeks, but she gave her head a few quick nods of silent agreement before moving to hug him and bury her face into his right armpit. That felt very nice too. Cash gave a sigh of frustration as he turned to squint at Riko still sitting across the table in wounded and thin lipped jealousy, anger, and growing despair.

"Here is a teachable moment, Riko, if you've got the guts to learn from it," Cash began as calmly as having two endowed females hanging on him could allow. "Two that you called your friends the first day we met have since had something very good to happen to each of them. Otherwise, Uzume would now be dead and Akitsu a bound and mind numbed slave waiting to be eventually terminated along with her. Both with no hope, and yet instead of celebrating with and for them, you sit over there like a little angry shrew, blaming them for taking something from you that you never had in the first place. Kitty and Uzi aren't the problem here this morning, and neither am I."

Riko's eyes went down towards her bowls of rice and soup as she squeezed her eyes shut. She tried to mentally prepare herself for what she knew was coming next.

"I wanted to remain single," Cash continued while now gazing past Riko's head as if seeing something in the distance for the first time that he'd never seen before. "Single and uncommitted, free to go and come as I please while maybe even feeling a little sorry for myself over my ex Agnes. Well, I was a little wrong, no, a LOT wrong. Now I've had not one but four beautiful commitments made to me, not that I went out and wanted them, but I've reciprocated in spite of me being an ass. Now I'm still free to come and go as I please, with them or not as they choose, and I'm a hell of a lot happier than I was with Agnes. The only little dark cloud I got screwing up the good vibes around me is you, Riko. You and you're lousy it's all about poor little Riko all the time, what she wants and what she don't get and yanking people around to make them do until she gets it. Then you throw a mini fit when it still doesn't go your way. Akitsu doesn't need to feel insecure, and Uzume doesn't need to feel ashamed this morning either. You do, but I'm betting you don't. Well, there's the door. You can float your little wagtail ass through it and quit making my two new sweethearts feel bad."

"I'm NOT going anywhere, Cash Joseph. Can't you understand?" Riko ground out in a low shaky voice while clenching her fists in frustration and shame at the the rightness of his words. "I CAN'T! I NEED you to WANT me!"

"Then you better get a huge attitudinal makeover, and quit making my Kitty and Uzi unhappy," Cash hugged his two Sekirei a little closer to him, "Because we don't need your crap. I know we can't make you leave, but we can sure as hell ignore you. And if you ever try kissing me without me asking, you can also be guaranteed that I'll never touch you of my own free will after that, ever. The thing is I DON'T want you, haven't from day one. Now why is that? I don't pretend to understand this psychic resonance thing with you Sekirei at all, but I'm pretty sure it's supposed to be a two way street. Have you ever asked yourself why I haven't responded to you but have to four others? Can't you buy a vowel and get a few clues? You know, you've got your cleaning business now and can support yourself. You don't need me for that anymore. What you need to do is start looking around for another Ashikabi that responds to you better than I can. Meanwhile, Kitty and Uzi and I are going to go get a free breakfast."

Riko sighed and slowly shook her head back and forth. Her plans for wooing Cash Joseph's love had certainly went right down the toilets of her cleaning business. Now she was in some pretty deep shit with little hope of recovery. What could she do? Everything she had tried only made things worse, and she couldn't help the way she felt about his four Sekirei. She had found him first! She was going to need help, and soon, but who? Karasuba was definitely out. Riko's bitter, angry, and accusatory words at Akitsu and Uzume while Cash Joseph was still asleep this morning weren't going to garner any support from those two either. Kazehana had already been tried. That left only Miya, but Miya was going to want something in return, as in Riko's aid in Miya's war with Karasuba. Well, if that's what it took to have Cash Joseph heal the excruciating ache in her heart for him, then so be it.

"I, uhhh, I'm sorry to have disturbed you," Riko murmured while not looking up. "I have to go to work now. I'll clear the table and save the food after you leave. I'll, I'll, ummm, catch you later and try, try to have a more, ummm, positive outlook." With that, Riko launched herself through the apartment door while keeping her head turned away and not letting Cash see her tear streaked face.

Wondering what in the world it was going to take to get her constant unhappiness off his butt for good, Cash just stared after her while shaking his head in puzzlement.

***scene break***

"A forkball? What's that?" Hiroto Minaka blinked in bewilderment while reaching to adjust the wire rim glasses of his nose. He used the action to cover his sideways peeking and leering at the two sets of outlandishly large, sexy, and bra-less mounds of female pulchritude beside him. His glasses fogged a little at what was being displayed by Akitsu and Uzume's thin cotton t-shirts as they ate quietly at the table next to him and Cash. Oooo, Number 07 and Number 10! What a pair of lovely distractions to make up for being forced to spend time with this obtuse American. Nothing like a twin set of huge Sekirei boobies almost as fine as Number 03's to start the day, even if 7 and 10 did belong to the total boob across from him.

"Well, it's a slow junk pitch in baseball," Cash leaned forward across the restaurant table in barely controlled enthusiasm, "to fool the hitters into thinking they're swinging at a fast ball when they're not, see? It makes 'em miss. You jam a baseball in between the first two fingers of your throwing hand, with the ball's seams and not across them. Your thumb rests lightly on the bottom of the ball, and you just throw the hell out of it right over the top with the same motion as a fastball. But, when you release the pitch, the ball slips out with very little rotation, kinda like a knuckle ball, but it goes a little faster, right? So, a good forkball will wobble a little bit side to side as it comes across the front of home plate just above the batter's knees, and then it drops straight down into the dirt behind the plate. It's freaking unhittable when it's thrown right."

"And that's all your doing in Tokyo, is just perfecting this forkball?" Minaka nodded and half shook his head in wonder. What kind of DNA disaster had spawned this empty headed cretin of an American ballplayer? Surely the gene pool of a whole continent couldn't be tainted this badly, could it? He turned to more openly and closely scrutinize Akitsu and Uzume. What had either of those two lower number and decidedly more powerful Sekirei found in this single minded goon to attract them into even trying to be re-winged, let alone accomplish the feat? Indeed, the Chinese hackers constantly trying to breech MBI's computer security on a continuous basis were at least marginally intelligent compared to this total American buffoon. Besides, everyone knew that Japanese males were much sexier and smarter.

"Well, yeah," Cash nodded innocently, "and I like to paint too, but hey, I've just been recalled to the States to go pitch for the Batavia Muckdogs. You ever heard of them? No? Okay, anyway, hopefully you can get this little terrorist trouble in Tokyo settled soon so your boys will let me fly home, but I'd like to get my forkball working a little better before I go. Your curfew has canceled my game today, and I got a small legal hoop I gotta jump through to get cleared to pitch again. I can leave Japan when my contract expires in two weeks, but yeah, I'm just trying to throw a better forkball. I'm having trouble controlling the location and motion of the pitch, and it's driving me nuts."

"Hmmm, interesting to be sure," Minaka tried not to cackle insanely at the inane stupidity before him. This mutton head had no clue that the future of the whole world was to change soon, let alone about Hiroto Minaka's role to bring that change and subsequently rule as a new god. Still, this silly oaf had to dealt with, and very, very carefully. This Cash Joseph Archer was unwittingly holding two of the many means still available to thwart Minaka's plans, one of which was the insane Karasuba and another the unpredictable, slow minded, but too powerful Akitsu now sitting beside him in all her twin mounds of glory. If this fool could be made to return to the United States as quickly as possible, and maybe take two of Minaka's bigger potential headaches with him, then this Archer should be aided at all costs. The mindless gaijin was going to need passports and visas for two, no three Sekirei now that Number 10 Uzume had joined him also. Good riddance to another potential gadfly in the soup there too. He had to get Archer's minor legal problem settled quickly, but that shouldn't take much, and a special clearance to get his team's games reinstated but with very tight security. What else? Oh yes.

"In throwing such a spheroid, ummm, forkball, in a more predictable manner as you describe," Minaka cleared his throat as his eyes glazed over in a super quick analysis of the variables, "One must have the same repeatable delivery motion, same angular momentum, same velocity, and same release point and follow through as the sphere is projected forth. Therefore the pressure applied between the two digits and thumb before release must be crucial for success. Varying how far and tightly one contains the sphere between the digits, probably to just before the knuckles for a little less friction, should give a higher repeatable success rate if all other factors are kept the same."

"Yeah," Cash rubbed his chin in frowning thought as he decoded Minaka's snappy patter of educational elucidation. "I see what you mean. I'm maybe holding the ball too far back and pressing too hard before I release it? Well, thanks, Doc! I'll have to give that a try!"

Minaka smiled blandly at Cash while tugging at the constricting high collar of his long cape. Note to self, Minaka mentally jotted down. Put long flowing cape to one side before sitting down next time, and possibly order a couple of big chested female companions for some after dinner entertainment tonight. He would have to tell his Yakuza connections that he wanted a couple of babes that entered the room way before their feet crossed the threshold.

"Now, if I talk to MBI's security management, arrange travels papers, get legal counsel to clear your league inquiry, and re-instate your team's games, albeit with much higher security until your current contractual time has expired, would you be willing to summarily depart Tokyo with all good speed and with whomever desires to accompany you including Karasuba, Akitsu, and Uzume?"

"Are you NUTS?" Cash beamed rhetorically. Minaka did look nuts. At least the old boy was sane enough to sneak a few peeks at two of the best looking pairs of boobs in Tokyo, or anywhere else for that matter. Either woman could breast stroke across Tokyo Bay without using their arms. "I'd be out of this town quicker than Martin Yan Can Cook! But, uhhh, you might have a teensy little problem with Riko when I go, because I'm pretty sure she will dogging me from here to Batavia."

"Number 67, Riko the minor telekinetic? I see no problem there either. All right, four sets of travel papers and," Minaka paused as his mind focused. Perhaps this idiot might know how he had re-winged Uzume and Akitsu and clear that minor headache as well. It couldn't hurt to ask. His morning had already been ruined anyway. "Archer-sama, would you be willing to answer a couple of questions that are a minor puzzlement to me?"

"Sure, fire away, Gridley," Cash leaned back and clasped his hands behind his head and stretched out his legs in relaxed happiness at the way all his morning problems had been solved in one fell swoop before 10:00 am and with a nice free meal for three to boot. All his problems solved except Riko, he frowned slightly, but even her humor ruining presence couldn't ruin this good deal. "Kinda like the elephant asking the camel why she had her boobs on her back, and the camel asks what kind of a question is that, dick face? But I digress. Whatcha wanna know, Doc?"

"Do you have any clue as to how you are able to override a previously bonded Sekirei's imprinting?" Lame jokes? This was no time for lame jokes and silly prattle! And Doc? Did he, Hiroto Minaka, soon to be the single most powerful man in the solar system, look like something a cartoon rabbit like Bugs Bunny would talk to? This Archer was such a low brow.

"Well, yeah, Doc, sorta, for some reason my brainwaves operate on a higher psychic level, see? It's a level where only the lower numbers and a few other oddball Sekirei like Riko can sense. Then somehow there's this thing called finely tuned psychic resonance most humans haven't got or measure that makes Sekirei go nuts. Kinda like making waves in a bathtub grow when you splash around and combine 'em just right. They jump me when our minds mesh, the mental waves get really big, and then some kind of whoopee loop goes around between us to make us both go even more nuts. Then Katy bar the door, here's comes the bird sign from behind their head and onto their back right between their shoulder blades, we go off like the Fourth of July fireworks finale over Boston Harbor, and then bingo, I got a new resident in the back of my mind just humming happily away at me 24/7. That's just about all there is to it, bub."

"A whoopee loop? Like an intensely shared orgasmic circuit flowing between your brains and nether regions? And it results in a very finely tuned and ongoing psychic resonance on a higher wavelength?" Minaka's eyes glazed over again as he stared through Cash's forehead while muttering softly to himself. "Now why didn't I think of that? It explains everything, even why the ship wouldn't respond when, and how Miya can block all that I, and that's what Takehito was hiding from, yes, yes! A psionic lock that only she can, that sneaky bitch! She lied to me and has been lying all this time to protect her, and keeping me from! By Zeus! You've done it!" Minaka's eyes regained their focus to blaze with wild eyed fervor at Cash. "Who would have thought an archetypical dullard could help me usher in the new age of the gods! To rule forever as I dictate!"

"Dullard? Me? Dictate? Oh man," Cash sat up with a quizzical look before cocking his head sideways to stare at the completely goofy looking and weirdly caped nerd that had suddenly morphed into a wild eyed, wild haired fruitcake that was showing signs of even more advanced megalomania than Karasuba. "Hey, I hate to shoot you the news juice, Bruce, but if the gods really wanted a new age, don't you think they would come back out of retirement and start one without any help from you? And if you got any delusions of another tin pot plot to takeover the world and rule for a while, man, that's been tried and failed since before the time of Gilgamesh. Mother Nature seems to hate crackpots like that. That's why their plans never get past Murphy's First Law of human planning and implementation."

"Eh? What say? Gilgamesh? That small time piker!" Minaka blinked in sudden puzzlement as his mind was still swirling at the new possibilities, permutations, combinations, and long ranging ramifications now opened in the Sekirei Plan. He was going to delay his mounds of entertainment to tonight as his wild eyes leered at Archer's two endowed Sekirei again. He had work to do! "And this Bruce and that Gridley person you mentioned earlier? Who are they? Computer hackers from China, or just more erudite Americans named Murphy that want a better forkball than you?"

***scene break***

Riko watched in bafflement as Miya took a little yellow rubber duck out of her right haori sleeve and placed it between them on the mounded surface of Tokyo Dome's roof. Her bafflement quickly turned to red faced chagrin as she listed to Cash's recorded voice when Duck-san faithfully replayed his opinions of Riko's character flaws and his aversions to them. Riko rubbed the top of her aching head where a few lumps were starting to grow. So Miya had sneakily recorded Cash Joseph when asking his opinion of Riko? That was also educating.

Riko hadn't known that Miya had multiple Sekirei powers above super human agility and strength along with coordination so great that she could generate killing sonic waves with her sword. It was also now a proven fact that Miya was almost as kinetically powerful as Riko, more experienced in battle and overall battle tactics, and could keep her more powerful and better trained psychic mind much more tightly cloaked as well. Snatching her high up into the sky had only given Miya more room and time to demonstrate her abilities to let her sheathed sword collide with the top of Riko's head in a very distressing and frequent manner. Those lumps had also been a great preparation for Riko to be in the mood to listen to what Miya was trying to teach her about repairing Riko's relationship with Cash Joseph as well.

First, Riko was going to humbly apologize for all the unhappiness that he felt she had caused. Then she was not only going to repay every yen that she had taken from him, she was going to split all her future cleaning income with him as a business partner to help feed the four of them. Last but not least, she was going to work on holding her tongue and temper, especially around Akitsu and Uzume from whom she also had to beg forgiveness.

All this must be done while allowing Cash Joseph his total personal freedom and never making him physically go or do anything without his asking first. Miya's lesson in jerking Riko about had driven that particular point home very nicely as well. If she did all these things, then Miya had promised her aid in getting Cash to wing Riko while accepting her as an equal sister Sekirei in his mind. They would just have to wait and see what the details of Karasuba's plans were before combining to thwart the Black Sekirei's attempt to elbow Minaka aside, take over the Sekirei ship, and then gain world control before he could.

Miya sat and watched Cash's words hit Riko like sledgehammers. It was little wonder that poor Riko was so socially challenged. She had grown up manipulating everybody and everything around her in order to stay free and unscrapped. That ingrained behavior had simply and naturally carried over to the worst possible Ashikabi human to resent her for being that way. Enough tears of disappointment and rejection had flowed since to enable Riko to take a long judgmental look into a mirror and start looking for ways to mend and invigorate her stunted character growth. The problem now was how did Miya amend her own?

Miya knew she was headed for trouble with Cash in a big way, especially if/when he learned that Miya had been the one to get his pitching career and departure from Tokyo stalled by calling a complaint into the baseball league's lawyers. He HAD to stay here long enough for her to either abort the Sekirei Plan or set up Musubi to win it! Weakening Karasuba enough to allow Musubi, aided by dear Yume's tama, to defeat Miya's power mad rival was going to be the best option, but she was almost sure something would go wrong to expose her as a manipulating sneak afterward. Cash would then treat her like he was treating poor Riko. She was also going to have to confess her underhanded plot to get him to re-wing Uzume for her too. Miya could only hope as the years went past that Cash would forgive her, but she MUST save her Sekirei flock. She had been hard wired to do that by her long dead ancestors far across the galaxy. That had been done way before they had completed her special bonding circuits to find personal happiness with her chosen human male in the centuries to come.

Another worrisome hitch to her plans had been Akitsu combining with Uzume to lock Cash's mind down tight. He was still there and connected as strong as ever in her subconscious, but she couldn't read his thoughts about her. Now she would have to rely on other methods to read his mind and keep her sweetheart in Tokyo for just a little while longer. She had greatly missed his gentle kisses and caresses that had been given to Uzume's breasts instead. Miya sat and worked on her mental puzzle of how she should go about regaining her man's soon to be lost trust while Riko, wanting desperately to grow enough to get her wings and her man, listened to Duck-san more intently for a second time while mentally taking notes. Riko also clutched the book of 1,000 jokes that Miya had given to her, but she was puzzled as to why she needed to read it.

***scene break***

Karasuba snapped her cell phone shut in frustration and disgust. She had worked so carefully to get Cash Joseph's pitching career anonymously stalled by the Yakuza's lawyers and keep him in Tokyo until after she could win the Sekirei Plan. Now, that bumbling moron Minaka had just ordered her to get him out of town and back to the United States as quickly as possible! Minaka had eaten breakfast with her ballplayer and been impressed by her Sweetums' desires to further his baseball career? What kind of nonsense was that? The only person who ever impressed Minaka was Minaka. Besides, what did Minaka know about baseball, let alone a career in it?

Okay, so something had gone wrong with her original plan to keep Cash here. She was just going to come up with another plan to keep her Sweetums happily living in Tokyo until she could make her move. She stood up and unhooked her long uniform cloak. Perhaps a long hot session in her private bath would give her mind the relaxed mood needed to view her options and keep his trust while accomplishing her goals. Killing that silly Sekirei last night just hadn't as been as much fun as it had been in the past. Maybe she could paint a little later while she thought about her problems too.

The worrisome part of the whole thing was that Akitsu had combined with Uzume to lock Sweetums' mind down tight. He was still there and connected just as strongly to her subconscious, but she couldn't read his conscious thoughts now. Well, there were other ways to read a man's mind too, Karasuba chuckled, and have fun while doing it too. She'd work out her latest puzzle in how to keep the big boy close to her in Japan while soaking in warm water and reliving her most recent memories of his gentle kisses and caresses upon the small mounds now pushing against the front of her Disciplinary Squad uniform.


	9. Chapter 9

**The Game Changer**

**Chapter 9 – Play Called, Rain Delay**

Haihane, Sekirei Number 104, half blinded by the hard rain, barely twisted away in time before Karasuba's long sword slashed down. The attack was parried aside to the left by Haihane's steel gauntlets that ended in long, sharp, curved claws. Jamming the tips of her right hand's claws down onto the wet concrete of the training compound, she used them as a fulcrum to complete a full somersault over Karasuba's head to touch down and quickly leap away for more maneuvering room. She landed in a crouch with her claws instinctively crossed above her head for defense. It was good that she had. Karasuba had spun just as quickly and jumped to deliver a two handed downward cut that clanged and caught with metal sparks upon Haihane's claws. Again Haihane launched herself to her right with super agility and speed only to catch an even swifter kick in her backside that sent her flying over a training ground wall to land face first in a large puddle of muddy water.

Sometimes, Haihane sighed ruefully as she used her elbows and knees to push her face and body up from the clinging mud, sparring practice with Number 04 was a real pain in the ass. Note to self. Next time Karasuba asked for a quick, rainy day workout in MBI's training grounds, just say no. Haihane had been having a lot more productive and fun time fleecing an off duty security guard on the rec room's pool tables by playing eight ball for 1k yen per ball and 10k per game. At least she'd been dry. Why had dear leader decided to work off some energy out in a freaking thunder storm, and just had to pick Haihane's poor butt to kick? It wasn't like Karasuba normally, but then again, what was normal for Karasuba lately?

Something was definitely up with the Black Sekirei, Haihane decided, something those unusually long and frequent hot baths were not helping. Karasuba wasn't sleeping much at night, roaming the Disciplinary Squad's suite with dark circles under eyes, bitching at every one while working, and bemoaning the delays to the Sekirei Plan. Everyone knew something weird was going on when Karasuba ordered Benitsubasa to help her shop for new clothes. This was from a warrior that hadn't worn anything but her Sekirei uniform for years? It wasn't natural. Hell, Karasuba had even started doing impressionistic oil painting! What was that?

"You ready to give up?" Haihane chuckled up at the still tense looking Karasuba now standing over her. Thankfully, the long curved sword was back in its sheath. Play time was over. "Or do you need me to school you again to work off a little more of MY overly nervous energy?"

Karasuba stared down at her with unfocused eyes for a brief moment before breaking into a lazy grin.

"Is that what you call schooling me? I must have missed the part where I should be loaded down with half my weight in mud to be fighting more effectively."

"Just a small handicap and nice gesture on my part to give you an even chance to score a few extra points, that's all," Haihane stood up slowly, her head and claws drooping in weariness. "Even though it's raining like we're next to a typhoon's eye wall, I could use a bath." Haihane gave a slow teasing grin, "And some hot food, before I continue your lessons. I need to oil up and change my bandages anyway. You wanna take a break too?"

"A bath and hot food?" Karasuba blinked as an idea formed. "Let's reverse that. It's Sekirei night at MBI's bathhouse. I'll buy you and Nubs dinner out with a couple of friends, and then we'll head to the bathhouse together. I've got a couple of small errands to run first. When I'm done, I'll call to give you the time and place to meet us."

"Sounds good," Haihane shrugged affably. "I'll relay the plan to Flatty-chan. She needs to get out and relax some more anyway, otherwise she's gonna blow up again and pop those little boobs of hers out to an A cup." A long hot soak followed by a nice, long, muscle relaxing massage would feel good to me too, Haihane heaved a sigh of relief as her leader bounded up into the rainy sky. Thank the rain for delaying anymore ass kicking too. She always ached all over from Karasuba's bruising workouts, but this one had been more strenuous and intense than any before. And a lot muddier too, Haihane grimaced. Now she was down to her last set of clean body bandages to keep her albino skin covered. Wait. Karasuba had friends now too? Since when?

Puzzled and frowning slightly, Haihane paused to stare up at Karasuba fading from view into the heavy rainfall over Tokyo.

***scene break***

Cash stared morosely out his apartment window. True to his word at breakfast, Hiroto Minaka had gotten today's baseball game rescheduled to be played tonight under the lights, but it had just been canceled again by league officials. It was raining. It was not a light, intermittent spring shower, or even a short fast moving thunderstorm or two either. This was an hours long deluge that had started at noon and was still going strong four hours later, filling the low dips and underpasses in Tokyo's streets, backing up sewers, and flooding everything below ground level. Huge puddles formed along curbs that allowed passing motorists to gleefully slam rolling walls of water onto pedestrians scurrying for shelter along the sidewalks. A partial failure of the city's power grid had caused schools and most businesses to let out early, and MBI's Security Chief now running the city had just issued an unnecessary travel ban further restricting the population movement in Tokyo. Cash shook his head as he stared at the almost empty and rain filled street below. Even the all night, fast food noodle joint on the corner had closed. He might as well set up his easel and painter's stool in the hallway and do some more repair work on his "Shinto Dawn" masterpiece.

His cell phone vibrated and its text ring tone of "Beat Me Daddy Eight to the Bar" sounded from his front jeans pocket. Fishing it out he turned to the window's light to read, "Roof in 5*K". Karasuba wanted to see him on the apartment's roof? In this crap? What for?

Shrugging, Cash put his phone back into his pocket, kicked off his tennis shoes and socks, and took off his faded Chicago Cubs jersey. He began striding towards the door clad in just an old white t-shirt and his jeans. If she wanted to meet him on the roof, then that meant it was going to be a private chat.

"Kara Honey wants to see me on the roof," Cash announced casually. "I'll be back in a few."

Uzume and Akitsu, playing a desultory game of backgammon at the table, turned as one to give him a quizzical look. Riko, sitting cross-legged in the far corner and reading some kind of paperback book, glanced up while biting her lower lip. All three had a slight edge of worry in their eyes. Cash paused as he smiled at his two gamers at the table.

"All right, all right," he chuckled. "If I'm not back in fifteen, then you can lift your blanket on my mind, Kitty, and find me. Satisfied? I'm sure Honey just wants to talk, privately, probably about Minaka letting her go to the States with us or something, okay?"

"Yeah, whatever, and I know you and Aki-chan get along with her well, Joe," Uzume winced slightly as she spoke, "but that is one gal that seriously gives me the creeps whenever she's around. I know you trust her, but, ummm, how about letting me stay on this side of the roof door and close enough to hear you shout? I'll respect your privacy and still be close enough to come to you if you need me."

"Fine," Cash nodded agreeably, "but I'm sure there wont be anything weird happening. Would you toss me that big umbrella in the corner behind you, Kitty?"

A few minutes later, Cash scanned the surrounding sky while standing between the door and a giant puddle that had formed on the flat roof. The building's gutter system was still plugged up from last autumn's leaves. A leaping, dark gray speck in the eastern distance, bounding just below the dark cloud cover, grew into the Black Sekirei's rainy arrival. A soggy Karasuba landed lightly a few yards away to give him her signature crinkled eyed smile. She straightened up, clutching her sword's hilt with her left hand and using her right to toss her long gray cloak back behind her. She also wore a closed, white plastic shoulder bag that looked like it might contain extra clothing. It was slung around her neck to hang beneath her right armpit.

Wow, Cash thought immediately. His number one had to be the sexiest looking sword woman ever to wear a wet uniform plastered to her skin. Even her soaked long ponytail and her plastered shag cut bangs framing her face made her look rainy day gorgeous and totally appealing. Karasuba took two steps towards him and opened her mouth to say something when her eyes went suddenly wide, locking onto his. She stared for a brief shivering moment before a stronger shudder went through her and caused her to launch herself forward, her hands grabbing his shoulders to make her lips meet his. Cash tried in vain to hold onto his umbrella as Karasuba's black wings sprang up and began pulsing, but within seconds it was simply tossed aside as a hindrance to their torrid joining in the rainy downpour.

Some long minutes later, a weakly clinging Karasuba with her back against the roof door gave him a wicked look up through her eyelashes.

"Damn! I needed that! I'm REALLY beginning to like this roof," she breathed with a throaty chuckle, "even if it seems to rip and ruin every pair of panties I got."

"Well, it's your own fault for being the sexiest looking sword woman," Cash leaned forward to kiss her lightly on her forehead without noticing that she didn't flinch this time, "to ever arrive up here looking like a drowned duck. At least you don't have to rinse them out now."

"Like the three snoops panting on their knees behind the door?" Karasuba chuckled more loudly. "We haven't said anything, but at least they got a little more entertainment than gossip!"

"I've heard all about your psychic broadcasting powers. Doing a little play by play just now, were you?" Cash grinned while shaking his head and nuzzling the right side of her throat. "Ease up a little, Kara. They can't help but worry about me. And you."

"And you're not?" Karasuba playfully nipped his exposed throat.

"Hey, I was here innocently minding my own business just like the morning I got blindsided. I couldn't change anything now even if I wanted to. So I unwittingly re-imprinted a hottie alien bird woman with a long sharp sword and delusions of world domination that paints better than I do," Cash shrugged while leaning back to smile into her glowing black eyes, "and, while pretending to be a wolf in heat, she loves HAWT, up against the wall, mind blowing sex in the middle of a cold, monsoon type rain. What's to worry? We'll just make the best of it together and move on."

"When we first met, I knew you were going to be the beast damn Ashikabi," Karasuba shook her head and spoke half to herself in approval. "I should have met you YEARS ago."

"So, what's up? You come to tell us all our travel papers are good to go, or you just stopping by for a quickie howl or two?"

"Hmmm, or two, that sounds interesting, big boy," Karasuba made a sexy moue with her lips as her eyebrows raised, and she began fondling him anew. "Actually, I came by to take you all out to dinner and then to MBI's bathhouse. You said you wanted to meet and chat with other Ashikabis on our last dinner date, right? Well, tonight is Sekirei and Ashikabi night at the bath, but maybe you could turn me around here for another quickie before we go?"

"Ummm, since I can't play baseball, that sounds better than a backgammon tournament followed by a warmed over miso soup and rice dinner," Cash laughed softly as she turned to give him a challenging look over her shoulder. Being up here in the rain, Cash thought while moving her sword and soggy cloak aside, was also a whole lot more fun than just watching it pour down onto the street from the apartment window.

***scene break***

Riko turned her head to sigh softly while sightlessly staring out at the rainy evening from her corner window seat in the restaurant. Maybe insisting on coming along hadn't been that great of an idea, even if Uzume, Akitsu, and Karasuba had instantly agreed. There was one thing all four of them had in common. If Cash Joseph were to be killed, then they all were dead. Thus, his safety was best entrusted to all their powers, skills, and experience, even Riko's. Besides, Karasuba had grinned. Riko could save them all taxi fare and still get them there dry. There had been something a little off with the Black Sekirei's too pleased and self satisfied grin, Riko had decided, but true to Miya's admonitions, Riko had kept her temper curtailed, her mouth shut, and transported them all inside a dry pressure bubble high across Tokyo as if it was just another everyday occurrence.

Upon arrival, Riko had set them down right in front of the restaurant's awning covered entrance and led them down a dry, plush red carpet past a startled doorman. The restaurant's receptionist, alerted by Karasuba's familiar greeting, had led them to a big round table set for seven that was placed in a windowed corner area overlooking the mostly empty street outside. The table was cut off from the room's interior view by a huge four panel shoji screen carefully hand painted with large cherry tree branches sporting ornate pink blossoms. The reason for that hadn't been clear until the other two members of the MBI's Disciplinary Squad, Benitsubasa Number 105, the Crimson Sekirei, and Haihane Number 104, the Indigo Sekirei, arrived a few minutes later to join them wearing their normal battle dress. Since the rest of them had taken time to dress up in evening clothes, even Karasuba, the two MBI enforcers looked way too conspicuous and a little embarrassing to be seen eating with them in an upscale restaurant.

"Big boy, these are my squad members, Haihane Number 104 and Benitsubasa Number 105. Girls, this is Cash Archer from the United States." Karasuba's introduction was said in a neutral tone as if they were getting ready to eat a company picnic, and Cash just worked in some other division. Cash stood politely in greeting and bowed his head slightly. He hoped he had made the necessary gesture. Bowing in Japan was almost as automatic as shucking off one's shoes before entering anyplace that looked domestic, but he hadn't gotten used to doing either one as naturally as the Japanese citizenry. He quickly fished his Japanese phrase and dictionary paperback out of his back pocket and thumbed to "good evening".

"Konbon wa," he struggled to say while trying to rapidly scan pages and find anything further that said it was a pleasure to meet them both. He found one and began mispronouncing it. He was spared further social awkwardness by Haihane's amused blunt and stilted English slang.

"Don't get your nuts cracked, pal," Haihane interrupted his verbal searching with a husky voiced chuckle. "We all went to MBI's grade school and were made to learn English. Put that tourist teaser away before you ask if you can marry some cab driver's grandfather."

Akitsu frowned slightly at the crude rebuke/greeting before looking at Cash as to how she should react. He blandly smiled in return as he sat back down, winked, and simply took her hand in his for silent reassurance. His attitude was plainly to just chill. If these two were Karasuba's friends, then that was good enough for him. Uzume openly grimaced and looked away while saying nothing in greeting. Karasuba made her Cheshire cat smile as if this sort of social gathering always happened, and Riko fumed at having these two low life dogs anywhere near them, but thanks to Miya's head pounding admonitions for improved social behavior around Cash, she fumed inwardly and silently while biting her tongue.

Benitsubasa wasn't too bad to be seen with in public, Riko conceded while letting out a deep breath of frustration. Her long pink hair, brushed and tied in a side ponytail, and strange red eyes made Benitsubasa look almost cute and pixie like because she was also so short and decidedly flat chested. She had tried to make up for her lack of height and chest stature by wearing calf covering, high heeled red boots and a loose, dark kimono with one sleeve missing that was bunched loosely by a wide red belt above her matching, thigh length spandex shorts. At 5'2", 95 lbs, and with a figure of 30/22/36, her attempts to hide her ultra small breasts failed whenever she turned sideways to anyone.

The real problem with being anywhere in public with the Crimson Sekirei was that Benitsubasa had an extremely volatile temper, a sharp tongue to match, very strong physical combat powers, and a very nasty attitude about being teased about her lack of mammary development and height. This had turned her into a confrontational bully that had never missed a chance to plague Riko and a few other supposed weakling Sekirei when they were growing up. That mutual dislike had most definitely continued to the suddenly simmering present.

Haihane was the exact opposite but even more embarrassing to be around in public. Her attitude was laid back, affably joking, making easy small talk, and almost friendly for a gal that liked to stab and slash flesh into bloody ribbons. Her choice of clothing however was a clothing designer's fen shui nightmare. Her body and limbs were covered in wide, gray, oil blotted bandages starting from her neck and down into her knee high combat boots. Over this was tossed a badly tattered and ripped, knee length blue kimono cinched about her waist with a studded blue leather belt. The ratty looking kimono was open to the waist and split at the hips. This exposed Haihane's nicely proportioned 36/24/36 breasts, waist, and thighs, but it left an unsightly, long front flap hanging down past her knees that looked more like an after thought to cover the loins of a tall, underpaid, professional female sumo wrestler. To add to her sadly Gothic and chic challenged appearance, Haihane wore a wide, studded dog collar with an attached metal bull ring around her neck, and her hair was a shaggy, unkempt disaster that perpetually covered her left eye. At first glance and a long stare afterward, with or without the sheathed, steel clawed gauntlets slung over her back, the Indigo Sekirei looked like a homeless fugitive from a cut rate horror/porn/s&m video.

Haihane's relaxed arrival continued with a friendly smirking as she pulled out a chair across from Cash, slouched into it, and nonchalantly snagged a menu from in front of him, "So, like the cannibal said at the family table, what we eating tonight, mother?"

Benitsubasa, however, glanced down the table, took one look at Riko, put her fists on her hips, frowned with disgust, and demanded, "What is this? Half price Happy Meal night at McDonald's for underage retards? Who invited the Pin Headed Pencil Pusher, and why? "

Riko's jaws clenched at the hated nickname that had been hung upon her when young and concealing her powers by only showing the ability to move small objects around a table top. Maybe it was past time, Riko shivered in angry anticipation at the thought, to show Her Nubs how high Riko could push a pin headed human pencil.

"Riko wants the big boy here to be her Ashikabi," Karasuba lazily grinned and jerked her right thumb at Cash sitting between Uzume and Akitsu, "and decided he needed her protection until he did. He's kind enough to humor her. Sit your big ass down and be nice, will ya, Nubs? I'm hungry and in no mood for your bullshit."

Benitsubasa rolled her eyes after Karasuba's pointed rebuke, let out another snort of disgust in Riko's direction, but finally sat down primly beside Haihane. She picked up a menu while shaking her head and pointedly ignoring Riko. She HATED being called NUBS!

"Humor but not wing?" Haihane's one exposed eyebrow went up with interest as she let her menu droop while leaning forward. She cocked her head a little as her one green eye peered out from her distressed hairdo to gaze intently at Cash before exclaiming, "Hey! Wait a minute! Holy SHIT! You're that ballplayer from America we saw interviewed on TV the other night with Karasuba! You're CJ Archer, the pitcher! I've watched you play!"

"A guy, even if he is just a stupid ballplayer, doesn't need humor if he wants to be HER Ashikabi," Benitsubasa added darkly as she tossed another catty and repugnant look at Riko, and then turned to raise an arched eyebrow at Cash as if he was some kind of minor exhibit in a cheap freak show. "He needs to medicate a huge gag reflex if he's going to kiss the Reeking Riko here, and a stop watch to count the seconds she stays alive once the Third Phase battles start. Why would a big gaijin hunk ballplayer like you want to wing her anyway? Do you REALLY want to become her Ashikabi and be in the Sekirei Plan?"

"Ahhh, let's just say I'm hesitant about all that, and we're letting Riko explore other options before making any hasty decisions," Cash smiled diplomatically at Benitsubasa while warily giving a quick sideways glance at Riko. Time to spread a little soothing oil on troubled waters here, Cash old son, he admonished himself, or the TV cameras would soon be here to document a sudden hole in the restaurant's roof courtesy of this Benitsubasa going bye bye up into the rain clouds above. By association, he could then kiss any favorable publicity bye bye himself and probably be suspended permanently from pitching again until he was able to leave Tokyo. Not a helpful scenario.

Riko caught his look while mentally rolled her eyes in growing anger at Benitsubasa's overbearing rudeness, but for Cash's sake, she forced herself not to react and stayed silent. At least Cash was attempting to be somewhat kind to her in public. That was a change and even slightly good. Cash turned away and tactfully changed the subject.

"So Miss Haihane, you like baseball and even watch the minor league games?"

"All the time," Haihane nodded enthusiastically, "unless I'm fleecing the security rubes on the ping pong and pool tables. There's a been lot of boring days in our job lately."

"Really? I think that's good, right?" Cash gave her a raised eyebrows look of surprised sympathy. "Well, less violence means more love, right? Say. I know. I'll get you some free passes so you can come to the ballpark the next time you get bored. I know how tiresome waiting around can be too. Matter of fact, besides church league basketball, I used to play pool and ping pong during the winter while waiting for spring training to begin, but this year I've just begun painting. I've really felt that the inner artiste deep in my soul was yearning to be free since I couldn't find a church b-ball league in Tokyo."

"Cash happens to be a world class bullshitter about his painting too," Karasuba added teasingly. "It's another one of his time consuming talents."

"Painting huh?" Haihane glanced sideways to give Karasuba a knowing look. So here was the reason her squad commander was pacing her bedroom suite at night and going weird with paintbrushes. Their relationship HAD to be a lot more than just friends for that to happen. Haihane then turned to give Cash an even closer, narrow eyed look and tried to touch his mind to find ... nothing. Nothing? She concentrated harder, but only met a blank slate. Whoa, this guy had a very tight blanket on his thoughts. How? Why?

Haihane's eyes slid to scrapped Akitsu, to Uzume, and then back to Karasuba, all three winged Sekirei. Any one of these three could lock him down like that, especially Akitsu, but what if he was doing it on his own? There seemed to be a lot more to this possible Ashikabi for Reeking Riko than met her eye. And just why was he with Uzume now anyway? Where was her Ashikabi? Was this American ballplayer playing the field in more than baseball, like panty toss with three already winged Sekirei? Why hadn't he winged Riko then? Haihane leaned back as the waitress came to take their food and drink orders. Well, well, she mused. Tonight could be interesting in the bathhouse because that's where all the girls really let their hair down and talked. Intimate questions would be asked, and Haihane had a few for Karasuba.

Benitsubasa sat and pouted in aggravated silence, refusing to talk for the rest of the surprisingly low key meal. Riko ate like an automated statue. Karasuba, Haihane, and Uzume made small talk about the fates of various Sekirei who had already been eliminated from the Plan, the nature and level of their injuries, the tactics and powers of the victors who had defeated them, and the fallen alien's chances for repair/recovery/revival in MBI's laboratories after the standard medical helicopter recovery teams retrieved their bodies. Uzume tactfully refrained from mentioning any Sekirei that she had terminated upon Higa's orders as she had never stayed around to claim the victor's credit. Karasuba did the same. Some Sekirei, Haihane mentioned, were claiming all these anonymous attacks were being carried out by a deadly duo called the Demon Ashikabi and associated Grim Reaper Sekirei, a most evil pair that seemed to be hunting the northern part of Tokyo.

Akitsu, ignoring everyone and everything but her love, tried to help Cash use his chopsticks to eat his beef and rice mixture until he gave up and pulled a small spork for his coat pocket. He had purchased the platinum spoon with jagged edges at an international novelty shop a day after his arrival in Tokyo. He instinctively saw that he'd soon starve to death while trying to master chopstick eating. Using the spork was better than feeding his face with his fingers and/or slurping his food directly from the plate or bowl in front of him. After all, a spork may look a little barbaric in Japan's eating etiquette, but it was not as bad as looking like a totally ill mannered fool. Besides, he could shovel larger amounts of food into his mouth and finish eating quicker.

Thus it was, since a Japanese meal is considered more of a leisurely social event rather than a more Western speed feeding contest, Cash finished before everyone and sat back with a deep sigh of hunger sated satisfaction. Karasuba and he had enjoyed themselves immensely earlier on the roof, Akitsu was tucked warmly against one side and Uzume the other, Karasuba and her two new cohorts appeared genial enough as companions, and Riko for once was keeping her head down, powers in check, and big mouth shut. Even a social clod like him could appreciate a nice, peaceful dinner.

These good vibrations lasted until the meal was over and the seven of them stepped out of the restaurant's front door. Cash, with Uzume on his left arm and Akitsu on his right, led the way past the doorman to the edge of the entrance canopy. Riko followed close behind. Benitsubasa began donning her long and hooded travel poncho that was still wet from her arrival. Standing under the large awning sheltering the entrance from the continuing rain, Cash turned to look back at her and then had no idea his next innocent comment was going to start a Sekirei mini war.

"How far away is this MBI bathhouse place, Riko?" Cash idly spoke over his opposite shoulder to the silent but still inwardly fuming Riko. "Are you going to be able to lift all seven of us there and keep a dry zone around us, or will it be too much to handle?"

"Are you serious?" Benitsubasa jeered in snorting disbelief from just behind them. "The most the Reeker ever lifted was her smelly underwear after wetting her bed at night."

A long pregnant pause began as Riko turned to look at the Crimson Sekirei with hardened eyes of absolute hate. Her facial features became the visage of a sadistic little girl eying a creepy looking cockroach just before stomping it into chitinous goo.

"Heh," Karasuba snickered softly as she nudged Haihane still standing back in the doorway beside her. "I knew it! Riko's going to blow. Watch this!"

"You better watch the way you look at me," Benitsubasa continued to sneer, "You weenie piece of …." The rest was lost in a startled shriek that faded upwards through the sudden hole in the canvas entrance canopy.

"Whoa!" Haihane blinked in mouth agape awe at the suddenly rain challenged covering while Karasuba began chuckling even louder. Some things like taxes, death, and Riko's quick temper could always be counted on.

"Riko! Dammit!" Cash heaved a long suffering sigh. "You'd better catch her and not let her get hurt! We're SUPPOSED to be having a nice, quiet social dinner and bath after time here, and you frigging PROMISED ME no more of your damn hijinks, remember?"

"Oh, I'll catch her all right!" Riko quivered in ongoing rage. "And I won't HURT her, but that short, pin headed, flat chested, bullying little bitch is going to LEARN to keep her nasty ass mouth SHUT around me!"

"Oh damn," Uzume tugged at Cash's arm to step aside. "Better get back inside with me and Aki-chan, Joe. This has been building for years." With that she and Akitsu hoisted him up and hastily hustled Cash back into the restaurant's foyer past a still grinning Karasuba and a visibly impressed Haihane.

Benitsubasa dropped out of the sky with an ear shattering howl but didn't hit the street. Instead, her body seemed to be jerked back up by a giant bungee cord tied to her back. That cord then turned into a large invisible string that had been wrapped around her torso to be given a very hard yank. The result was Benitsubasa spinning helplessly in mid air about two stories up off the ground. She resembled a furiously spun top, a child's multicolored toy that was shedding bullets of water drops. Her arms and rain poncho were whipping outward from centrifugal force as her continuous modulating howl of dismay echoed off the surrounding buildings. Then she began rapidly bouncing up and down while still spinning. It was as if she was imitating some kind of malfunctioning washing machine stuck between wash and spin dry while being powered by a turbocharged, 12 cylinder diesel engine.

"Yo! Riko!" Haihane rushed forward in excitement to grab Riko's shoulders and turn her around. "Do all that to me too!"

"FINE!" Riko shouted with the whites of her wild eyes showing the same color as her clenched teeth.

Haihane's long, drawn out yell of "Yeaaaaahhhhhhh!" also faded skyward through the same restaurant awning hole.

"That clawed idiot is one sick chick," Karasuba shook her head in unbelieving mirth as she crossed her arms across her stomach to keep from laughing too hard and inadvertently getting a dose of Riko's monumental ire too.

"RIKO!" Cash shouted from behind Karasuba. "I'm gonna get REALLY pissed here! You'll either sleep in the damn hallway tonight, or we'll all just stay at Karasuba's place and leave you OUT! Maybe even for a week!"

This threat immediately cut through Riko's towering rage.

Benitsubasa dropped none too gently to the street onto her derriere, bounced once, and staggered upright to wobble about while puking her dinner. Recovering slightly, her own impaired vertigo rage made her stumble drunkenly, plant her feet, and shout, "GEKEISHIN!" Her gloved fist came down to deliver her extreme earthquake blow to the street and aim a death dealing shock wave at Riko. Unfortunately, she hit a manhole cover and drove it downward with a loud thud and no shock wave. She followed the badly bent piece of thick metal into the large storm sewer with another ear piercing, echoing shriek that faded downward this time.

Haihane came down with a growing louder, "yeeeeeEE HAAAWWWW!" She too got the bungee cord recovery with the water shedding airplane spin as requested before being brought down to a soft crouched landing and falling forward onto her hands and knees on the now drenched entrance carpet.

"MAN! What a RUSH!" Haihane chortled with head shaking glee as her body wobbled unsteadily in a four point kneel. "That was WAY better than any ride at Tokyo Disney! Give me a minute then do it again, Reek!"

"I am NOT your entertainment ride, you side show freak," Riko gritted out low enough so that Cash couldn't hear. It didn't take much. Benitsubasa's screams of rage and burbling incoherent threats echoing from the nearby sewer grates were loud enough to cancel out the sound of the rain falling through the hole in the awning above them, let alone Riko's terse refusal.

"Sweetums," Karasuba handed Cash her MBI card while still grinning. "Be a dear and pay the management for the awning. I'll get Riko to fish Nubs out of the sewer and calm them both down. We'll stop by our MBI suites so Nubs can change clothes. Then we all can go relax at the bathhouse and meet a couple of Ashikabi that might be able to help you. Okay, lover?" She gave him a quick smooch on the lips, turned to gently take a rapidly calming Riko's left arm, and started both of them towards the open sewer hole in the street to rescue a possibly drowning Benitsubasa.

Cash simply shrugged in head shaking disappointment over the ruined dinner vibes as Riko turned to give him a sad eyed and remorseful look over her shoulder along the length of the red carpet, a long look that was filtered by the heavy rain falling between them through the middle of the awning.

***scene break***

Haihane stared out Karasuba's apartment window at the rainy Tokyo skyline with her forehead furrowed in frowning thought. The two of them had separated from Cash, Akitsu, Uzume, and a contrite Riko in the tower's first floor lobby while the three disciplinary Squad members had come upstairs to change into clean and dry uniforms. Benitsubasa was still changing as Haihane had finished and been called by Karasuba to step in for a little private chat. Then Karasuba had dropped her informational bomb.

"So you're saying that Riko was NEVER adjusted, at all?" Haihane's husky voice was in shocked awe at what she had just heard. "And Minaka doesn't know? Holy SHIT! That means the Reeker could be almost as powerful as..."

"Miya," Karasuba finished with a canary eating grin.

"Whoa," Haihane breathed as implications and questions hit her. "This could royally screw up the Sekirei Plan! How did you find out? How are the three of us gonna be able to win now? Wait. I KNOW you. You're up to something here, aren't you. What is it?"

"I found out about Riko the morning the big boy downstairs refused to wing her, and re-winged me instead."

"WHAT?" Haihane's eyes bulged and her mouth fell further agape in shock. "CJ Archer overrode your winging to Natsuo? DAMN! How could he do that? I mean, I've never heard of any Ashikabi able to, are you sure? His mind is a blank! I got nothing out of him at dinner!"

"Oh, am I sure!" Karasuba snorted as she casually perched on the back of her apartment's couch with one leg up. "Listen, there's more to Sweetums than meets the eye or mind. His psychic power is the only human one that I've found that matches and may even surpass ours. I can feel him still growing stronger every time we get together. Besides, Akitsu is keeping him totally covered and not even Miya can get past her blanket. It's the real reason Akitsu was scrapped in the first place. The humans just thought her ice powers were too great, but didn't know why. They had no idea about Akitsu's psychic abilities, not even now after my big boy fixed her."

"You mean he's unscrapped Akitsu and winged her too?" Haihane's mouth was still open in disbelief. "Then that means he's got Uzume too, right? DAMN! The three of you? And Riko soon too? So that's how you're going to win! And I thought he was just another dumb American jock! Bagging Riko and re-winging three of the most powerful Sekirei? "

"Four actually," Karasuba smiled in pleased amusement. "He's also bonded with Miya, totally."

Haihane could only let out a startled gasp of amazement as she sank slowly into an easy chair.

"Whoa! Miya too? But how? And why did you allow it?"

"I set it up. Remember those sexy dreams we've all been having lately? That was Akitsu and Cash with a big boost from little old me tuning a few recruits, and I wanted Miya imprinted too because I knew she couldn't kill Cash to get me without killing herself. Her bonding isn't like that little three way crush we had with Takehito years ago. This time she's in with all she's got and playing for keeps against Minaka, just like me. Oh, we're still at war and hate each others guts, only this time it's on the hush hush within our Ashikabi's mind. She's got Uzume and, unless I can turn her, maybe Riko. I've already got Akitsu on my side. Something happened between the two of us when we made love to Sweetums together. A secondary type of bonding or something. I don't know, but I DO know she's with me as my pal in whatever I do." Karasuba waited patiently as Haihane sifted through all this.

"Yeah? Even that sounds kinda weird too, ya know? And you want me and Her Nubs re-winged by CJ for you as a backup to maybe take on Uzume if you need us?" Haihane began slowly shaking her head. "Man, I don't know. Benny thinks she's in love with Natsuo, and, and, uhhh, I'm not the best looking gal at the fish market either, pal. I mean, I'm a very Plain Jane, and I got rashes all over my body! That's why I opted for the Squad in the first place. No decent looking guy is gonna want me. Natsuo took one look at me naked and threw up! And he's a fruit! I'm still a virgin, Boss! Technically, that is. Besides, CJ's mind is closed to me. I couldn't turn him on in a dark room, let alone get him interested enough to kiss me."

"So you need a little help in getting re-winged from yours truly," Karasuba shrugged while waving off Haihane's negativism with a nonchalant hand. "It will be a lot easier than you give yourself credit for. You might have to get a little sexiness make over, but so what? Better yet, ask Sweetums what he'd think would make you look cuter to men. He's just simple and blunt enough to tell you without even being suspicious. Play on his sympathy. He's really a sweet guy in all honesty. Look how he dotes over Akitsu as brain damaged as she still is."

"Well," Haihane rubbed her chin in indecision as she thought it over. "What about Natsuo? He's got to at least know something's wrong if he doesn't feel us in his mind anymore, right? And he's sure to squeal to Minaka that we're up to no good."

"I've got Natsuo busy with a low grade computer tech in accounting who part times as an escort in a gay bar," Karasuba snorted her contempt. "He never thinks about us in the first place. If he gets a little suspicious, my new friends in the Yakuza will simply make him disappear."

"That might work, yeah," Haihane continued to stroke her chin before giving Karasuba an openly suspicious look. "Okay, suppose it all goes down just like you want. You win the Sekirei plan. Miya's dead or at least harmless. You get control of the ship and all that comes with it. Big whoop for the rest of us. So, just what's in all this for me?"

"Second in command, my friend, with all the nice rewards that go with it and knowing that I'll snuff you like a bug if you ever try to turn on me. In addition, we'll put every doctor, research genius, and technician that MBI can locate to fix your skin problems. Can you live with that?"

"Yeah, sure," Haihane nodded while still mulling it over.

"Look," Karasuba sighed at Haihane's reluctance born out of deep insecurity over her lack of beauty. "At the best, I'll be able to neutralize and maybe even kill Miya by using Riko and take the command chair while still using her to screw Minaka right out of the picture. That's Plan A. Plan B involves the four of us taking out the other three during the final battle of the Sekirei Plan. If Plan A and Plan B both come up empty, and everything goes down the tubes, have you ever heard of, if you can't lick them, join them? At the very least, Miya's going to be hard wired by Cash to keep me and the rest of his winged Sekirei alive. In the meantime, you will stop being a technical virgin because Cash Joseph Archer is an Ashikabi that will absolutely blow your mind on a regular basis. He stays alive no matter what too. Got it? I'll have to warn you though. He's so psychically strong that he's almost like a narcotic, and it'll give you the yips and jumps at night if you're away from him for too long."

"Will it make me take up impressionistic oil painting too?" Haihane grinned teasingly as she quickly started to warm up to the entire scheme.

"Kid, if you thought that amusement ride you got tonight from Riko was really something," Karasuba took a deep breath and blew it out with a shudder. "You have no idea."

"What about Nubs? How you gonna get her in this thing with us?"

"Leave that to me," Karasuba crinkled her grinning eyes half shut as she stood up and adjusted her cloak and sword for departure. "I got a little something cooking to get her interested and keep her that way. Just keep your thoughts cloaked tight from now on and your mouth shut, especially around Natsuo and Minaka's other little toadies. For now, we're just going to go take a nice long relaxing bath, right?"

"As long as Benny doesn't destroy it again when the gals start teasing her training bra size," Haihane grinned in approval. "At least we'll have Riko with us to keep the roof from cracking down around our ears if Nubs does go nuts like the last couple of times."

The Indigo Sekirei took a fast look at her eerily grinning but still decidedly unsexy reflection in the window and then sent another long glance out at Tokyo's cloud misted skyline. A nice hot bath and massage still sounded a lot better than a hard kick in the ass into a mud puddle. Come to think of it, this mangy day even looked a little brighter, at least a lot less boring for sure, as well as the future, even if the damn rain still continued to pound the city.


	10. Chapter 10

**The Game Changer**

**Chapter 10 – Rain Delay II, Locker Room**

Seeing the pristine outline of MBI's bathhouse emerge out of Tokyo's rainy overcast was a little disconcerting. The size of what looked like a massive, Shinto type shine made of dark stone and green roof tile along with its perfectly manicured surrounds of gardens, ponds, and small parks was enough to impress even a culturally insensitive Western clod like Cash. Seeing the facility from the air was even more impressive.

On the other hand, Cash was pretty much a ground based guy and aerial views were still a big novelty for him. He had never really gotten used to recently being casually flitted around and above the city's skyline by Riko's mental powers or making long bounding jumps from roof to roof while being clutched around the waist by his other Sekirei. Alien air travel did save on bus, taxi, and train fare, but it also tended to give him a queasy stomach. It also saved him from standing around looking lost in public places where people shouldn't be lost while consulting his well worn Japanese pocket dictionary. Fortunately, Japanese people don't like people being lost in public as it seems to upset the fen shui of their shared cultural conscience.

Thus, complete strangers would constantly take Cash's arm and move and/or point him in the direction he was most likely to go. They did it smiling and bowing as he fumbled with his dictionary. He hoped he was being polite in his acceptance for their help, but he never really knew if they weren't actually laughing at him for being such a liability to himself for even trying to travel around solo in Tokyo in the first place. Either way, by alien air or common ground, Cash had been able to more or less navigate the city while keeping from vomiting upon arrival or embarrassing himself too badly around the concerned citizenry.

Entering the MBI bathhouse wasn't nearly as intimidating as its impressive exterior at first. There were two wall mounted sets of wooden foyer boxes just inside the massive front doors to hold visitors' shoes to be removed upon arrival. Smiling and bowing female attendants dressed in traditional kimonos provided slippers to walk across the gleaming white marble floors and through the secondary entrance to a long, marble topped desk where a locker key and small towel was handed out. So far so good. Everything about the place spelled big money with its gently highlighted and generous use of expensive marble, flowing water fountains, manicured greenery, and burnished teak wood furnishing.

Soft plinking and twanging music from a Geisha's Japanese guitar called a Shamisen was being piped to echo all around. It reminded Cash of the one very upscale Geisha style restaurant he had visited with his team manager, coach, and team mates during his first week after arriving in Tokyo. This place, Cash looked around with wide eyed wonder, had to have cost MBI a small fortune to build.

Pointed to the left to be directed towards a blue curtain for the male changing room, Cash glanced to the right as Riko, Akitsu, Karasuba, Haihane, and Benitsubasa nonchalantly turned to the right from the desk and entered a heavy red curtain covered doorway. In the far front corner beside the red curtain stood an impressive array of cached weaponry from small sheaths of sharp throwing knives and other wicked looking objects, up through various sizes and styles of intimidating swords, unto large bladed halberds, pikes, lances, and other nasty things that looked very capable of skewering, bludgeoning, slashing, and removing large hunks of bloody flesh in a single pass.

Cash shuddered uncomfortably. A long lance standing in the corner looked very similar to the weapon carried by one of the very tough looking female guards outside Chiho's room. From the amount of naked sharp steel displayed in that corner, there seemed to be an awful lot of combative alien females bathing tonight, even if Karasuba had reassured him that this was supposed to a battle neutral zone. He had accepted her smiling statement, but still, the red curtained entrance looked very intimidating to a live and let live type of guy.

Beside the blue entrance to his left stood one lone, long sword in a heavy, and ornately carved wooden sheath. Cash instantly recognized the weapon "dangerous" Sekirei male Number 05 Mutsu had carried the night Riko and Akitsu had turned Mikogami's white limo into twin icebergs floating in Tokyo Bay. Karasuba had said that she had made sure two Ashikabi named Sahashi Minato and Kaoru Seo were attending tonight with their Sekirei. She hadn't mentioned a possibly revenge minded Mutsu was going to be here too. Cash instantly wondered whether swift and terrible retribution for being the Ashikabi assumed responsible for murdering a perfectly good, late model limo was in his immediate future.

Nervously swallowing a sudden small throat lump, Cash cautiously entered what looked like a typical tiled locker bathing area except that it didn't have a Western row of wall mounted shower heads. Instead, there were large tubs of water with ladles in them, stools set before them, and a convenient nearby shelf filled with cleaning aids. Cash looked to his right after taking a hesitant step inside.

Sure enough, Mutsu, sans any clothing and looking like a tall, incredibly sculpted male model for an ancient Greek statute, glanced over his shoulder to note Cash's entrance. His stoic facial features that resembled Karasuba's displayed a quick puzzled frown. His head cocked instantly sideways as if listening to something very vague, but he promptly looked aside without making any threatening gesture. Thankfully, he then only gave Cash a slight, silent bow of the head to acknowledge him while avoiding looking into Cash's eyes before turning to gracefully sink down onto a four legged, wooden stool. Mutsu immediately began dowsing himself with water from his tub and then scrubbing himself with his own small towel while using copious amounts of soap and shampoo from his shelf. Finishing a once over from head to toe, Mutsu began a second, silent, thorough scrubbing.

Cash, after a long pause to make sure he was in no immediate dismemberment danger, began to cautiously imitate Mutsu's attention to total hygiene while sitting silently several stools away. He found himself wondering what was proper Japanese bath protocol here as he soaped up. Should he at least say hello, maybe make a little inane "public" small talk, apologize for the destroyed vehicle, or just politely ignore the alien male? Should he even risk possibly insulting a creature who looked like he was capable of tearing Cash's pitching arm off and cheerfully beating him to death with it? Fortunately, two other naked human men carrying small towels entered the scrubbing area, and one gave a boisterous greeting, surprisingly in very slangy English, to break the silence and spare Cash another Tokyo social faux pas.

"Hey there, big fella!" the older, bigger, and rougher looking newcomer of the pair gave a friendly wave in passing, "are you the new American gaijin visitor? The front desk asked us to greet you! How's it hanging? Big I see! The tub water is cold and deep, eh?"

"Yo, Muts," the same cheerful, shaggy haired guy sporting a three day beard turned to call loudly with a big teasing grin to match, "I hear your Ashikabi might need a little help taking his twins Mitsuki and Mitsuha's virginity. I happen to have a little experience in that area, my friend. Tell him I'll volunteer my services for free as long as I get to service Himeko and Taki too. After that though, I'll have to charge my usual service fees, even if all four of those hot baby cakes have really beautiful big boobies. A man's gotta eat, see? And keep my lightning twins fed too, otherwise Hibiki and Hikari will fry me."

Mutsu, after a long suffering sigh and withering look of social weariness while not denying the friendship, replied in a calm but aggrieved tenor tone. "Go to work and earn a living wage, Seo, you deadbeat. I am a seeker of truth, wisdom, and further enlightenment, not a Sekirei stud procurer for free or for a fee, and don't call me Muts. It sounds too canine." The big alien male turned to give Cash a stoic yet slightly malevolent look with an arched eyebrow before adding, "And I've had all the mental distress from a certain local Canis Lupus/Homo Sapien mentally broadcasting his constant mating hijinks across Tokyo that I'm prepared to tolerate. Thankfully, it has been mostly silenced for the time being, but it would behoove the man involved to keep it that way from now on. It disturbs my meditation of the cosmic all."

Cash blinked at the none too subtle threat in Mutsu's suddenly icy tone. Geez, why was the big alien guy upset with him? Akitsu and Karasuba were the brain wave generators, not good old Cash Joseph Archer. Besides, was it his fault Little CJ had no control when it came to resisting alluring, willing, and incredibly hot alien females that constantly craved him? Any normal, young, heterosexual human male with blood flowing in their veins would have done the same, more than Cash, and repeatedly too. Matter of fact, why hadn't the alien Mutsu been chosen by the low number Sekirei to sex them up in the first place? He certainly looked like a giant leap up the evolutionary scale from Cash, and he was of their same avian alien species. And from what Cash had surreptitiously observed, Mutsu certainly shouldn't suffer from any type of penis envy either. Maybe it was all that mystic, contemplating the cosmic all like Spock from Star Trek attitude that had turned Mutsu's contemporary alien females off.

"Yo, American fella!" the rough looking Seo immediately caught Mutsu's inference and eyed Cash again with extreme interest, "are YOU the Ashikabi that's been heating up northern Tokyo's dream world lately? A gaijin has been doing that? Ho! You, my friend, and you are now my GOOD friend whoever you are and no matter where from, have made it possible for me to finally get Hibiki and Hikari's panties off twice in one week. That is legendary stuff in my book. Those wolf dreams have worn Minato here down to a nub, but as for me, ignore Muts here and just go back to howling at least three, no, four times a week, more if you can hack it, right?"

The rather studiously quiet, slim, good looking, yet hollowed eyed young man named Minato now sitting beside Seo turned to give Cash a pitifully pleading look of desperation. There was a distinct redness around his eyes and dark bags below them. His body seemed to shivering slightly with extreme weariness.

"You, you, you," Minato stuttered as he sat upon his stool with slumping shoulders. He continued to stare at Cash with wounded, questioning eyes, "can stop those wild animal dreams? Please, please help me! Kazehana is a MACHINE! She's like a sex fem-bot that can NEVER be satisfied! She doesn't NEED more stimulation! And Matsu is getting really WEIRD! Then Musubi and Tsukuimi started to compete at night like they do in the daily shopping race! My dick is so SORE, and I'm exhausted! If it wasn't for Ku-chan making me watch a Spongebob Squarepants marathon twice this week so I could eat and sleep a little, I would have shriveled and died from dehydration already! Please, whoever you are, you've got to help me and stop those wild animal Ashikabi dreams! I got to get some rest and sleep without hearing or seeing that stupid female squirrel in a diving helmet and that idiot pink starfish! They're killing me too!"

"Uhhh, hi, I'm Cash," Cash frowned uncertainly as he paused in his scrubbing and looked at all three males while attempting polite protocol, "look, ummm, sirs, I apologize for, ummm, any intruding upon your, uhhh, meditation and sleeping habits, but at the time, I didn't know anything like that was occurring, and I never wanted to be an Ashikabi in the first place. I got jumped by this really sexy Sekirei, hit with these hot mental waves, and before I knew it, I was just kinda going on a wet dream honeymoon, see? Then I got jumped again, twice, the honeymoon got extended, and then I had to keep from being haunted so I, ummm, well, now that one I kinda did make the choice, but any red blooded male with at least one functioning gonad would have done the same. Don't get me wrong. I was a confirmed bachelor before I got yanked into this Sekirei stuff, and I REALLY wanted to stay single, but I'm kinda getting used to living with my two sweethearts now.

"The thing is, uhhh, well, I was really wanting to help my Sugar Kitty, and she said that sex with her seemed to be doing the job. You see, Kitty couldn't help some of her happy broadcasting in the beginning because after being injected with chemicals at that MBI joint, her brain got hurt pretty badly. She's getting much better since our honeymoon type of loving started fixing her mental circuits. But again, I'm sorry for disturbing you guys with our efforts to heal her."

A silence hit the scrubbing area as all three males stared with both eyebrows raised at Cash. Mutsu then frowned.

"Fixing Kitty? Akitsu?"

"Yeah, well kinda, almost," Cash apologetically waggled his head in a semi nod, semi negative shake. "We got that light pink bird tattoo off her forehead and put it between her shoulder blades where it belongs, and it now has a nice heavy color mix of Alizarin Crimson and Van Dyke brown, but she's still not hitting on all twelve cylinders in her head yet, maybe ten and some change. I don't mind it really, because she's such a sweetheart."

"You mean you have actually winged scrapped Akitsu, Number 07, and it has somehow increased her mental capacity?" Mutsu's voice and manner took on a harder tone as he quickly assessed what Cash had said, "And now she's also capable of using her Norito too?"

"Uh huh," Cash nodded while looking vaguely puzzled, "but I'm not exactly sure about this dumb sounding Norito business. I mean, they use it after swapping spit with their Ashikabi for an extra DNA hit, right? Then I gather it's some kind of one or two line chant used to focus a Sekirei's mind for a temporary power boost; kinda like Raven from Teen Titans spouting off with 'Azarath!, Metrion!, Zinthos!' whenever she's gonna deal massive hits on some evil baddies and their comic book minions. I always thought just yelling SHAZAM! or Thor pounding his hammer was a little more time and effort efficient, but hey, any time Kitty wants to kiss and chant for a while to focus her mind better, then I'm all for it. I haven't heard her yet, so she might bust out with 'By The Power Of Gray Skull!', 'Flame On!', or in her case, 'Ice, Ice, Baby!', but I'm hoping it's nothing as lame, pathetic, and juvenile as Green Lantern's poetic ring charge. His powers get canceled by yellow for Pete's sakes! What a total tool! Do you have any idea how much yellow there really is in this universe?"

"Forget the comic writers' creative inadequacies. You have become Akitsu's real Ashikabi and unleashed her total power? You also have unadjusted Riko as well," Mutsu's eyes took on a distant look of concern as he stared through Cash in thought, "and yet you appear totally unenlightened as to your position and their combined potential in the Sekirei Plan battles. The pair were most formidable on the roof the night we met. Why do you still remain in willful ignorance as to their true cooperative ability to win everything for you?"

"Meh, as a live and let live kind of guy, I'm just not digging that Sekirei Plan battle crap at all. I'm not much into any kind of ascensions afterward either. I know Akitsu's a psychic and ice heavy weight," Cash tried to correct Mutsu's assumption, "but Kitty and I are just going to sit the whole thing out when I go back to the States in a few weeks and pitch for the Batavia Muckdogs again. As for Riko, she's certainly not my..."

"YO!" Seo jumped up excitedly in the middle of vigorously shampooing his hair. It made his head appear to have been attacked by a hairdresser that had given him a huge, white bubbled, Afro new do. "You're the new American BALLPLAYER, that uhhh, CJ Archer fella interviewed on TV the other night with Akitsu, Karasuba, and that little dish Riko! I knew you looked familiar! I'm Seo, this is Minato, and the big guy is Mutsu! Wow! That dress Akitsu was wearing probably kept half the teen boys in Tokyo wanking off for a week! Wouldn't she look great naked in bed with the ultra spectacular and super sexy looking Kazehana too? Oh YEAH! Now there's the type of animal dreams I could REALLY get into! Man, I just LOVE big tits!"

"This is SO much more serious, Seo," Mutsu glowered at Seo in exasperation, "than the size of female mammary glands on already winged Sekirei, you barbaric dunce." He turned back to Cash, "What were you saying about your Number 67 Riko? What is she certainly not?"

"She's certainly NOT my sweetheart, NOR my winged Sekirei," Cash scowled while reaching for a ladle of water to angrily douse himself for another quick rinse. "Technically she IS living with us, because nobody can make her leave, and she has apologized to Akitsu and my sweetheart Uzume for being such a little snit all the time, but that's it. I didn't want Riko the first time she wanted to jam her tongue down my throat, and I still don't. Actually, I'm trying to find her an Ashikabi that is a little more compatible for her than I am. Matter of fact, that's the reason I asked Karasuba to introduce me to a couple of guys who already winged a few high powered gals and might be able to help me out. So I actually came here to tonight to meet and talk to these two fine looking young men here."

Open mouthed, staring silence again greeted Cash's last statements as each mulled them over for what was really relevant to themselves. Minato recovered first.

"You, you're saying that Uzume is your other sweetheart then? You re-winged her? But how?She's still alive after her Ashikabi died? That's, that's amazing! Oh, Kusano will be so happy! I love her, but Ku-chan has been such a rotten little brat ever since Uzume went for a long walk and didn't come back. I'm so glad for Uzume!"

"Hey! CJ! Buddy! Fella!" Seo began bouncing on his toes and waving his arms with increased excitement. "WOW!You can re-wing Sekirei? Steal 'em from another Ashikabi? I've never heard of that! And Uzume! YOW! I've always wanted a bed bounce marathon with her! Man! How did you do it? This re-winging stealing, I mean!"

"Ehhh, it's no big deal," Cash tossed out carelessly as he began to scrub himself again. "And I haven't stolen any. I got jumped, I tell ya, except for Uzume. We kinda, ummm, mutually stepped into it. Listen, I'm pretty sure at least you two guys can re-wing Sekirei too since you've already winged low numbered ones on your own. From what my gals tell me, all you gotta do is totally focus your thoughts on them and then look them in the eye while thinking about having sex with them. A little male pheromone generating sweat for them to sniff at the same time is good too. Their brain waves tune into yours, their hormones get the message, and the next thing you know, you both go on this incredible, wing pulsing, bird sign burning, and whoopee loop type of external orgasm together. When it quits, there she sits imprinted in your mind and tearing her panties off to get at your Johnson so she can complete her mental tuning to you in the good old fashioned physical way. The more you two get it on after that, the more tuned she gets. If you need help focusing your thoughts better, I can help you with that. It's kinda like trying to pitch a really good forkball on a 3 and 2 count, see?"

"REALLY? Oh Man!" Seo chortled in anticipatory glee. "Hey! Could I interest you in a little two for two trade? You'd get a real charge out of my twins Hibiki and Hikari, and those two kids can really cook up a storm! You'll have to supply their food though! If not, then how about a swap for a night once a week or so!"

"Uhhh, I'm not sure the gals can be re-winged a second time," Cash gave Seo puzzled frown. This guy was starting to sound like a real phony lounge lizard type and maybe not too appealing to Riko at all. Hopefully, the quieter and more studious looking Minato might be a better bet and able to re-punch Riko's Sekirei tuning buttons. "It has to do with them being weakly winged in the first place, and then they kinda go for a more powerful Ashikabi upgrade, see? Anyway, I'm pretty sure Kitty and Uzi would be REALLY disappointed if I even mentioned such a thing, besides I'm not particularly keen on that sharing concept either. I hear that there's plenty of other weakly winged Sekirei out there if you're really that into stealing, and some of them have to have big tits, right? Just go get a few."

"Fascinating, you have the ability to re-wing Sekirei, and you're willing to teach your technique to rivals? You're simply handing your gravest potential enemies the means to defeat you? Sun Tzu has to be spinning in his grave, wherever it is," Mutsu murmured as he cupped his chin with his right hand and stared at Cash as if he were some unexpected result in a lab rat training session. A troubled frown slightly wrinkled his forehead. "You said Karasuba planned and set up this meeting here tonight? That means there's something VERY devious and quite dangerous going on here. Just exactly what is your relationship with Number 04?"

"Kara Honey is my Number One hottie," Cash grinned proudly while rinsing himself anew. "She re-winged herself on my rooftop while I was painting my Shinto Dawn masterpiece, well, repairing it actually, but she has job responsibilities for MBI and stays there most of the time. She doesn't live with Kitty, Uzi, and me. Wait. Minato, you didn't know about Uzi being re-winged by me? At all? You and Kusano and Kazehana didn't arrange for me to meet Uzi's Ashikabi? The one named Chiho who was dying in that Higa fella's hospital? Then who did?"

Mutsu reacted as if he had been struck in the face with an incredibly large, decaying fish.

"You have Number 07 Akitsu, Number 10 Uzume, and 04 KARASUBA winged? But you don't want unadjusted RIKO?" The big alien male's sickly stare turned to outright disbelief.

"How about just one night with Akitsu then, without a re-wing!" Seo begged with both hands reaching out in desperation while slightly emulating his potential fondling of Akitsu's spectacular chest. "Hey! I know! I'll throw in the twins for a quickie afternoon delight if you can talk them into it, good luck with that, but if you'll feed them a couple of meals and a lot of sweet chocolates, hey, they just might get frisky, and, and, hey! I'll even try to take Riko off your hands for a night or two. She looks like she fills out her panties and bra well enough. Just one night with Akitsu! That's all I'm asking here!"

"You re-winged KARASUBA? The, the, the killer?" Minato recoiled in horror at the thought while sneaking a quick peek for a set of giant brass balls in Cash's genital area.

"Yeah, Kara Honey has been real cool, but Riko has been one GIANT pain in the ass!" Cash responded to Minato and Mutsu before turning to Seo with, "Sorry old bean, out of the question, but, Hey! You can have Riko full time for free! And yes, she's cute enough with a nice set of 36 C cups for you, wears black lace underwear, and she's still a virgin to boot! She may not look and be a sex machine, but she's a real WHIZ at cleaning toilets! She'd be a perfect little homemaking addition for you and your cooking twins, right? Hell, she'll even buy all your food because she runs this maid service that's just been growing like a giant Kudzu vine in a hot Georgia swamp. She charges top dollar and will split all the profits right down the middle 50/50. You grocery worries will just become a thing of the past, new good buddy of mine."

"Karasuba is real COOL?" Minato kept shaking his head in wonder.

"Yep, and one helluva impressionistic artist too," Cash chortled enthusiastically before his primary reason for being here tonight kicked in. "Now look, Minato, old sport, you're a guy who has natural brain waves high enough to wing the low number Sekirei, right? Riko could be a real prime addition to your crew too! She functions on those exact same wave lengths. She does very little for me physically and just totally turns me off emotionally, but hey, I'm a gaijin clod. You now, you're a sophisticated young student of the Eastern world, just the kind of semi manly hunk she'd probably go for. She needs a more understanding, intellectually sharp, laid back, and patient nice guy, one like you. I'm thinking that if you concentrated hard enough, I mean really, really focus on her while thinking about having sex with her, maybe run and sweat a little first, then look her in the eye while kissing her, she'd re-tune herself to you very nicely. Then all her kinetic talents, and brother has she got 'em, would be available to you for your winning the Sekirei Plan. She's real keen on doing that too!"

"I'm not," Minato began with the start of a negative head shake, but Cash quickly cut him off.

"Listen, I think Riko's basically got a good heart that she hides behind all her spoiled arrogance and immature temper in the way she treats me, but man, if you got the patience to love your little Kusano typhoon, then Riko would turn into a warm, gentle breeze for you! That way Kitty, Uzi, and I could just fade back to the States never to trouble this town again, and Kara Honey can join us whenever she's free of her job duties. That might even be sooner, and she could go with us if her Minaka boss gets all their travel papers ready in two weeks like he promised this morning. Riko might even turn out to be a nice little, mild, low key loving surprise in the sack for you too. What do you say?"

"Another Sekirei? For sex?" Minato turned slightly green at the concept and then shuddered. "Ever since Miya relaxed her rules for lovemaking at Izumo Inn, I can't keep up with the ones I've got! Kazehana's killing me! Besides, Musubi and Tsukuimi fight ALL the time. Matsu is a complete pervert, all that s&m gear, you have NO idea! Look at all my bruises! Kusano, I love her, but she's a completely spoiled brat with a quick and nasty temper! I think even Homura is reacting to me! On any given bad day or time of the month, he/she could zap me into burnt toast! No way! I mean NO WAY am I ever winging another Sekirei! Besides, I'm going broke and doing housemaid chores around the Inn to feed them all now as it is!"

"He might wing Homura too? Damn! Gotta stop THAT!" Mutsu gritted out softly but unheard by the other three.

"Okay, okay, hey, just calm down, Minny old son. Here's another better idea," Cash held his hands out palms out to quickly quiet the agitated young man. "Let's help our good pal Seo here re-wing your big busted Kazehana. It sounds like their over ripe libidos and desires are simply made for each other, and THEN you can wing Riko with all her power, smaller tits, and reduced sex drive! You two guys can then team up, and by pooling your Sekirei's talents, you'll be sure to win MBI's Sekirei Plan! Can you say Las Vegas, baby? You all can then just ascend all over the place until your blessed, little pea picking hearts are totally happy together, see? It's a win-win for both of you! Your Sekirei, Riko, me, Kara, Kitty, and Uzi will all win too! Man, now that's a good deal! Better than a buy one get one free sale on a older model used truck rusting on a typical front lawn in Paducah, Kentucky! You two just need to jump all over that! Hell, I'm pitching tomorrow! I'll even throw in free game tickets behind third base for you both and all your gals! Nothing better than a good old rousing baseball game to get the ol' switcheroo and re-winging juices flowing in your favor, I always say! NOW, what do you think?"

"Re-wing Kazehana? With Seo?" Minato's eyes glazed over in shock before he refocused on Cash. "Are you NUTS? She's Number 03! AND YOU WANT TO RISK PISSING HER OFF?"

"What so nuts about it?" Cash shrank back in surprise from calm Minato's sudden vehemence. "Look, why would she get pissed off? To her it would just be another Neanderthal type of guy giving her an intense hot look of desire. If she's the stupendous hottie that Seo thinks she is, then your Kazehana gets those looks all the time, right? Only this time she'd get a totally sexy look that has a laser beam mental focus on her wavelength with an extra added good sweaty sniff of Seo's rank underarms to kick her into high gear. Bingo! Your sleepless nights would be over, my new young chum, just like that! And then you can have Riko keeping all of you and your flock fed AND your wallet fat with her maid service money until you win MBI's stupid Sekirei tournament."

"Isn't there some other way to calm Kazehana down for me, and maybe get Hibiki and Hikari more enthusiastic for Seo?" Minato's focused attention wavered as he abruptly yawned and shuddered from extreme weariness again.

Cash blinked at the sudden change in Minato's agitated demeanor to one of total listlessness. This poor guy is really out of it, Cash realized. Come to think of it, there might be a way.

"Well, yeah, maybe," Cash nodded reluctantly and mentally cringed at the immediate hopeful response in Minato's eyes. Think Riko, you young putz, Cash mentally urged. You NEED to wing Riko! "It's just possible that you guys weren't totally focused on your Sekirei when you first winged them, and they didn't get their brains completely tuned to yours then or since. Your brainwaves are on FM 105.3, but they're still only getting a fuzzy 105.1 reception. You need to get them on the exact same mental wavelengths with you, fine tune those gals to you some more, see? What you might try is working up a good physical sweat, then block everything out of your mind except for how sexy and totally desirable your gal is, and then look her square in the eyes while kissing her as if she were the only female in the world that could ever satisfy your needs as a male. That's what I'd try first, I guess, but I'm still thinking a Kazehana hand off to Seo and you winging Riko is a whole lot better option."

"If I may interrupt this pointless diatribe," Mutsu said forcefully to Seo and Minato while standing up, "forget it. Kazehana's a hopeless and worthless drunk and has been for almost twenty years. She'd be lucky to even recognize you, Seo, let alone see that you haven't got a mind for her to focus upon to begin with. Riko and her dominating powers deserve much better than a throw in sop to keep you two deadbeats in food too. Mikogami and I would treat her far, far better. It would be much kinder if you had just winged Riko and paid minimal attention to her instead of making her suffer such a painful rejection as you have, Archer-sama, and you have left her vulnerable to unscrupulous winging. She is very, very powerful, but not invincible. She's still vulnerable to snipers and hypodermic needles in crowds as well as multiple attacks after her sight has been impaired. You three stop all this silly Sekirei trading talk nonsense, and pay attention."

This last was said grimly enough to make a now ecstatic Seo stand completely still. He had completely bought into Cash's idea for him to try re-winging Kazehana and was trying to keep the shampoo out of his eyes before attempting handsprings when Mutsu rudely shut him down. Minato and Cash's heads both snapped immediately sideways to stare up at the big alien male now looming over both of them.

"Archer-sama, let me re-iterate for clarity here. One, you have no interest in winning the Sekirei Plan, staying in Japan, or ever winging Number 67 Riko. In fact, you are actually seeking another Ashikabi to wing her. Two, you somehow have the ability to re-wing Sekirei, even the more powerful lower numbers. Three, you are more than willing to teach your mind focusing, re-winging, and Sekirei re-tuning technique to other Ashikabi, and four, you're leaving very soon for the United States with Akitsu, Uzume, AND possibly Karasuba as promised to you this morning by Hiroto Minaka? Have I got this right?"

"Yep, that's exactly right Mister Mutsu Sir," Cash nodded diplomatically. Extra politeness upon this occasion seemed very wise indeed. There was no way Cash wanted to see this potential alien engine of total destruction angry, at him specifically or even in the same general area. "Except for there's a coupe of Ashikabi I won't help. That Higa fella is a real heartless bastard from the way he used my Uzi sweetheart and hurt Chiho before she died, and Uzi says that some guy named Sanada of the West is just a small time poseur, not our kind of people."

"Indeed, a wise thought, for once. Higa of the East is a totally unscrupulous fellow. How did Minaka relay these promises of escaping Tokyo to you?"

"The goofy looking dude called me up this morning, and then asked to take Kitty, Uzi, and I out for breakfast and a little informal chat. He showed up looking like a wild eyed, wild haired, Revenge of the Nerd Batman, and he spoke like one too. When he was done talking, I got the distinct impression he wanted the three of us and Karasuba out of Tokyo ASAP and was willing to do anything to speed us on our way. That's why it totally blew me away when he helped me with a few ideas to improve my forkball. He was even willing to fix it for Riko to go Stateside with all of us too, but I doubt if she's gonna buy into that. At least, I sure hope not."

"Incredible," Mutsu shook his head slightly in frowning disbelief. "You are willing to take three of the most powerful Sekirei completely out of the game, and give a fourth of even more power to a rival Ashikabi?"

"Well, when you put it that way," Cash shrugged philosophically, "this Sekirei Plan stuff, with all it's battles, super ninja type aliens, and all those rather impressive weapons out in the lobby, somehow doesn't look like much of a game to me. Some folks are probably gonna get hurt, maimed for life, and even killed, maybe even a lot of innocent bystanders, of whom I don't want to be one. I'm a ballplayer, man. That's what I do, and all I want to do, well except paint better, and maybe learn a few more chords on my guitar. I pretty much know seven major chords, five minors, and several sevenths already. That means I can play rhythm on about 60% of all the blues, country, folk, gospel, and old time rock and roll ever written, but I have to knock off the guitar playing during spring training to focus on my pitching better. Anyway, I'm not a fighter, and I don't want my sweethearts, or me, to get hurt in a bunch of power mad nonsense sponsored and promoted by an obvious total nut job like MBI's Minaka. What's so incredible about that?"

"Indeed," Mutsu nodded thoughtfully. "That is a very valid point. Perhaps you're not quite as totally obtuse as you appear, and you have developed a very impressive and very tight mental blanket for a human, I must say. However, I fear you have utterly failed to consider Karasuba's possible ulterior motives in using you, your abilities, and your Sekirei to get her where SHE wants to go. Nor have you factored in her utter hatred of Miya, and the fact that Number 04 is a totally ambitious and totally insane killing machine. You can rest assured that Karasuba has no intention of leaving Japan or letting you go anywhere either, not until she has outwitted Minaka, secured total control of our ship, and killed Miya. Then she may go anywhere in the world with you in tow, but not before."

"Ummm," Cash rubbed his jaw thoughtfully. That in tow stuff didn't sound good either. Neither did killing his Miya. "Maybe I better have a little chat with Kara Honey about Miya. I think you're right about that. There's still a little unhappiness there that needs some more attention."

"A little?" Mutsu's eyebrow arched again in disbelief. "You are totally unaware of their history? Perhaps you should educate yourself before chatting. You might also consider the simple fact that Miya, as totally unbalanced as she has now become, is not going to just tamely stand by and let her worst arch enemy win everything Miya holds dear without a supreme struggle. One cannot underestimate Miya's total ruthlessness, her deviousness, nor her considerable powers either. The reason I winged with Mikogami in the first place was to provide a reasonably sane alternative to those two utterly mad and dominant females. He's young and socially immature, but he's growing, and learning, and he has a most caring heart as well as an outstanding, honest intellect. I believe, with the proper guidance, he could be a very benevolent world leader once we win the Sekirei Plan's battles and kill Minaka."

"You know," Cash frowned. Maybe he needed to have a little chat with Miya too. This whole insane battling nonsense was sounding like it could go a little wee tad overboard. "I'm a little hazy on this whole Sekirei Plan's need for fighting in the first place. What's it all about? What are these battles for, and why does this Minaka want them to happen?"

"You want to know what's it all about, Alfie? That's easy," Seo chimed in while grinning at his own internal musical joke at Cash's expense. "There's eight control rods called jinkis that power and handle the Sekirei ship. Matsu stole Number 08 Yume's control rod and hid out with Miya. The seven that Minaka still have are worthless without the eighth, but Miya's too powerful to confront head on. Minaka's gonna use his seven rods as battle prizes to try and get a team Miya chooses to gather them all together again. Then I'm sure he's got some sneaky mechanism in place to go after them all for himself. If Miya and Karasuba and other more powerful Sekirei get killed in the process, or at least neutralized out of the country, then that's even better for him. Minaka had all eight rods, but didn't understand how they worked. He didn't know until recently that he needed Miya or another dominant Sekirei to mentally operate them and unlock the rest of the ship, specifically the weapons and star drive technologies. He may even be working on some mental wave generator device to bypass a need for any Sekirei involvement at all. The Sekirei Plan is basically all about everyone gambling on and fighting for control of the Sekirei ship and then unlocking it to dominate the world."

"I see," Cash nodded and then shrugged. "Well, if that's all it is, then me and my gals for sure are better off out of it. There's too much greed and ambition in the world and this end of the Milky Way already. Why add to it? I'll just have to really be firm with Kara Honey about my going home to pitch for Batavia, that's all."

"Sekirei imprint very deeply when they wing," Mutsu shook his head sadly. "Even I at times have these very odd cravings called Jonesing for Hostess Twinkies and scarfing them down while listening to hip hop music when I much prefer a quiet evening with symphonic masterpieces and Chardonnay, but if you think you're going to remake and 'fix' Karasuba's insanity and ambitions, then you are sadly underestimating her strength. She is most formidable. It will take all my skills and powers along with several accomplices to defeat her. When Karasuba dies, you are going to suffer very greatly. Sekirei imprinting is a two way street, Archer-sama."

"Well, we'll just have to wait and see won't we? And if that deep two way imprinting stuff is true," Cash grinned unconcernedly as the four of them began walking towards the giant pool of hot water for a long relaxing soak, "then maybe I'll start painting a little better, and Kara Honey might learn to play a mean bass guitar while backing me up in an all night blues jamming session at Batavia's Green Frog Oasis Saloon."

"You're ability to focus on the hopelessly and dangerously inane," Mutsu muttered half to himself as he gratefully sank into the mentally and physically soothing hot water, "is quite impressive, Archer-sama."

***scene break***

If Riko had been impressed with her first trip to MBI's massive bathhouse, it didn't show in the range of emotions that were crossing her facial features as she hovered in the cold rain beside the outside wall vent to the male washing area. As the four males moved away to sink into their hot pool, Riko tried to mentally process the flood of data that had been gathered by her clandestine snooping. She struggled mightily to separate the emotionally disappointing from the cold hard facts while cataloging them by order of importance.

Cash didn't want her physically. Not even her black lace underwear had helped. She had been prepared for all the other negativity from him, even his trying to palm her off onto other Ashikabi for winging as a real WHIZ of a toilet cleaner, but that one about her total lack of emotional and physical sex appeal to him now really hurt. And how could he make any judgments about how she might make love? If Karasuba could turn him to mindless jelly, let alone Akitsu, Miya, and Uzume, then Riko could too IF he'd ever give her half the chance! At least he thought she might have a good heart. That was slightly encouraging, but it had been the only thing. Now what to do?

Wait. Mutsu had said that Sekirei winging was a very deep, two way street. There was where she had made her first mistake! When Cash Joseph and his Little CJ had been initially reacting to her on the roof during their first meeting, she hadn't looked into his eyes, let alone make him look into hers! He hadn't really "tuned" into her desires for him, or his for her, and they never had since! They hadn't really been alone or in a time and place where she could just let it all go towards him either! She could make him want her, there was no doubt in her mind, but she'd have to plan it carefully. The likelihood of getting a second chance would drop exponentially if she failed, she was sure. He'd be on his guard to have his other Sekirei protect him, and make no mistake, Akitsu and Uzume would both willingly die for him, let alone keep Riko from his lips. Or from any other place on his anatomy where his DNA could be obtained while looking deep into his eyes.

Riko smiled to herself at this suddenly cheering thought. Uzume wasn't the only very willing game in Tokyo for THAT! On the other hand, it might help if he wasn't quite sober during her attempting such a thing, but he wasn't much of a drinker. Alcohol was bad for the body, he claimed. Okay, so it needed further careful thought and maybe a few bananas for practice, but it certainly had BIG possibilities as it was every male's greatest weakness to be exploited. All the self help sex guide books and even the Kama Sutra said so.

Another pair of very sobering thoughts from Mutsu needed to be mulled also. She was not invincible, and she was still vulnerable to forced winging as well as ranged weaponry and sneaky needles. How could she reduce the odds of those attacks succeeding and/or staying free until she could get Cash to come to his senses, or lose them under careful manipulation, and wing her?

The Sekirei Plan's Phase Three battles couldn't take place until all the Sekirei were winged, so her time of wingless freedom was definitely getting shorter. Minato and Seo were such a pair of losers, but Higa of the East, with his very strong Sekirei, and Mutsu's Mikogami with the sheer number of Sekirei that he had winged, could both be very nasty opponents, especially if Mutsu joined in the hunt to capture Riko. He alone was not to be taken lightly at all either. He'd only given in so easily before to gauge her strength and protect his weaker sisters. If he came after her with his companions working in coordination and under his considerably powerful mind control, Riko could very well get a knockout shot and wake up winged by Mikogami instead of Cash Joseph. Then it would be good luck trying to get her true Ashikabi to re-wing her later. He didn't like much of anything about her now, and didn't even need her maid business income.

Riko sighed in frustration. What a complete and utter naïve fool she had been upon her escape from MBI! She should have done a much better job of arranging her first meeting with Cash Joseph, studying him, learning his personality, yes, even stalking him, instead of just being a silly, huge homing beacon pointing to his powerfully psychic mind for that conniving witch Karasuba and the equally conniving Miya. Riko hadn't even stopped to consider how attractive he would be to the more powerfully psychic Sekirei, let alone what a useful tool he could become in their war against each other.

Riko didn't really mind Cash Joseph's winging of Akitsu or even Uzume. Both had needed him as desperately as she and had already been "friends" with her before, but both of those shallow friendships were now in deep jeopardy due to Riko's unruly tongue and unchecked temper. She just had to do much better with that! She could very easily share him with them for the hundreds of decades to come, especially if she made good on her promise to respectfully treat them both much better from now on, but something would have to be done about 01 and 04. Either one could very easily get Cash Joseph hurt badly, and that would never do. Better both should die first, and Minaka too.

Fighting for possession of the Sekirei ship was not going to be the cause of events that could potentially hurt her Ashikabi either. Riko was the one Sekirei that had the sheer power to free that ship from its cooled volcanic lava prison and let it slip back into the deepest depths of the Pacific Ocean forever. Then those precious controls rods, the battles for them, and every combatant's ambitions would suddenly become totally moot. MBI would just have to be content with what it had already gleaned from Sekirei technology, and all the dreams for world domination would fade into the mists of history with Sekirei and their Ashikabi learning to live and love the Earth as their new and only home from now on.

Riko shuddered with cold. Her time in listening at the vent had exceeded the normal expelling of body waste that she had used as an excuse to slip out of the changing room. She must hurry through her own quick scrubbing and head for the female's hot pool to be seen as well as get warm. She also needed to catch up on all the latest gossip and glean it for any germane information she could use in her own Sekirei Plan. The results of which, she smiled grimly, might be as impressive as Cash Joseph's obtuseness in his soon to fail schemes for refusing to wing her.

***scene break***

As in every flock of females, Riko sighed, there were always certain impressive individuals that stood out as dominant. Around these were grouped the less awe inspiring that basked in their queen bee's glow in hopes of sharing her limelight and attention. In the big hot pool for females that could easily hold fifty patrons or more, Riko found the usual and inevitable power groups arranged in descending order along the pool as she had known that she would. Tonight there were four of these groups near the entrance and along both sides with several other lesser groups, pairs, and a few singles at the far end of the pool.

Seated around a lazily grinning Karasuba in the pool's dominant front edge was Akitsu, Haihane, and Benitsubasa with Uzume seated somewhat apart but close to them.

To the left around Higa of the East's lead Sekirei, Number 16 Toyotama, a tall, busty, Amazon of the Lance that had impossibly full and flowing dark green hair, was the powerful hand to hand specialist, Number 18 Ichiya and several more of Higa's lesser Sekirei.

Further left, Mikogami's lead female was the graceful, beautiful, and gray haired Number 15 Himeko whose compassion in caring for her winged sisters was as great as the huge two edged sword she wielded with ease. Around her were Number 65 Taki of the Mists and the blond, ranged whip fighting twins, Number 38 Mitsuha and Number 39 Mitsuki, both of whom bore a very close resemblance to Karasuba. Several others of Mikogami's large flock were with Himeko too.

The last powerful presence in the bathhouse immediately to Karasuba's right and in the other prime slot was the ultra beauty queen, Number 03 Kazehana of the Wind. She was as tall as Toyotama and had the same type of thick haired fullness flowing about her face and shoulders, albeit coal black and not dark green, but her surprisingly high riding and outsized breasts, as well as the perfect proportions in the rest of her long legged and endowed figure, were easily the best in the bathhouse with Akitsu coming in a very close second. Kazehana's court consisted of Minato of the North's data and electronic manipulator Number 02 Matsu, a red haired, studious, pigtailed, and busty beauty in her own right, the tall and buxom blond Water Sekirei, Number 09 Tsukuimi, the shorter hand to hand powerhouse Number 88 Musubi with third best looking figure in the pool, and the little blonde, shaggy haired, Green Sekirei, Number 108 Kusano. With this group were Seo's Lightning Twins, Number 11 Hikari and Number 12 Hibiki, both black haired beauties with nice but slimmer proportions.

Riko purposely floated herself out of the scrubbing area and eased herself into the hot water beside Uzume. The guarded look that Uzume gave her arrival was heartbreaking, but on the other hand, Riko mentally sighed, she well deserved it. She turned to see Karasuba giving her a silent, slit eyed smile of welcome along with Haihane's easy going nod of acceptance, and Benitsubasa's wary but very silent small frown. Riko's fairly impressive entrance didn't seem to interrupt the seemingly good natured but extremely catty undercurrent of female bantering among the soaking, chattering, and laughing Sekirei. Riko was ignored because the focus of everyone's attention was on the obvious change in status of Karasuba, Uzume, and Akitsu as evidenced by the more dark red colors that the three displayed in their Sekirei crests, much darker than any other female's present.

"How did your Ashikabi burn that red delicious looking birdie into your back, Akitsu?" the one named Number 16 Toyotama demanded loudly as all the other chattering instantly ceased, "and who is he? You were scrapped with your own forehead shot by MBI. What gives?"

"My Ashikabi is Cash Joseph-sama," Akitsu returned mildly and simply as her eyes closed and she started smiling in total satisfaction at the memory of her deep winging ecstasy, "and he claimed me and fixed me with his strong loving mind and body. And he keeps on doing it."

"There is a human Ashikabi with that kind of mental power?" Number 15 Himeko gently asked with her head cocked to one side in instant and almost intense interest. "I can feel that your mind is much better now, and I'm really very glad for you, but how could you ever sense him as damaged as you were? How did you find him?"

"Ahhh, I felt him when he winged my new sister and shared bed mate Karasuba. Their minds reached out to me when they joined, and I followed his to the stadium where he plays baseball."

"Are you saying that American ball player we saw you guys with on TV is this super Ashikabi?" Toyotama's mouth dropped open in surprise, "and he can re-wing Sekirei as well as scrapped ones? I don't fricken believe it! A stupid gaijin ballplayer?"

"Get over it, Toys," Karasuba snickered as she turned to proudly display her own dark red crest, "Sweetums is much, much more than a ballplayer. He's a super fantastic magician! He turned me into an impressionist painter! You ought to see the one I've just done called Silk Chains and Honey!"

"Oh really, Blackie?" Kazehana turned to give Karasuba a mild, bleary eyed, and more than a little tipsy look of interest. "A magician? What kind of magic tricks can he do? Is he better than that guy who can make a live elephant go poof into thin air?"

"Better, you dumb sot," Karasuba grinned in her own closed eyed memories of wicked satisfaction."One hot look from the BIG boy and my panties simply fall off and disappear. And then the magic really starts. He can ring my bell so hard and so often it's like he transforms himself into the Hunchback of Notre Dame going bell rope spastic on Christmas Eve. Then comes that magic, magic, super glow afterward. Except for me, Aki-chan, and Uzi here, all you frustrated and dried up clowns have NO idea."

Total silence greeted Karasuba's little jealousy twisting knife of an endorsement for her choice of an Ashikabi.

"Is any of that true, Uzume?" Himeko gave Karasuba a slightly withering look of disbelief and repugnance at the Black Sekirei's crudeness. "You were winged by a woman and now re-winged by this American man? How can this be if you're, ummm, physically incompatible?"

"Yes, it's all true," Uzume nodded while defiantly lifting her chin along with the rest of her impressive torso. "Joe is the real deal, and I have never been incompatible as you put it. I simply responded to my Chiho's great capacity for love, and out of her love for me, she found Joe to love me just as much, only differently and, and much more, ummm, physically. And before you all ask at once," Uzume quickly held up both hands with her palms out to cut off the myriad of questions forming on the many curious faces glued to watching hers in fascination, "Being with Joe is EXACTLY the way Karasuba put it, but I'm NOT going to talk about it anymore. What we have is private and very, very beautiful. Not to be cheapened by any more gossip here."

After another long silence, the Sekirei all exchanged glances with one another, and then the groups all resumed their chattering between themselves so loudly and excitedly that it had an audio resemblance to a small town hen party on powerful steroids.

"Boss," Benitsubasa leaned over to whisper in Karasuba's ear, "Are you sure CJ would really want me? I mean, I just couldn't bear to be rejected because of my, my ..."

"Nubs?" Karasuba turned to mutter out of the side of her mouth. "Look at the size of my small boobs in comparison to all the rest of these cows like Kazehana, Himeko, Toys, Taki, and the two whip twins. Sweetums winged me first! Don't you get it? He's a thighs and ass man! And you and I just happen to have the best looking buns and thighs of steel in this whole damn building, right? When the time is right, and I get it set up, you just stick your big round, naked butt in his face and give him a hot look over your shoulder. Trust me. You'll be in bell ringing heaven before you can say Abra Ka Dabra!"

"Oh yes, oh I hope so!" Benitsubasa let out a breathless sigh as she leaned back with eyes closed to imagine how good it would be when she finally, and none too soon, lost her virginity.

"And you're going to set me up too, right Boss?" Haihane muttered from the other side. "I'm the kind of gal that could really USE some big ring a ding dings as long as he don't mind my skin."

"Don't worry, Claws," Karasuba chuckled softly. "My plan for Sweetums is to get him started early in my dark bedroom with you naked in the closet ready to go, and then we'll tag team him the rest of the night together once you get re-winged. The big boy WILL deliver. He knocked Akitsu out and left me singing to myself the last time we doubled up on him. I'll even bring the honey!"

"Whoa! Sounds GOOD! Better than a Disney ride too!" Haihane whistled softly in shuddering anticipation. "I always wanted an Ashikabi that would romp me, spank me, tie me up, and make me spend ALL my ATM money on him! Yowsers!"

"Reek," Uzume leaned over to calm her inwardly fuming friend. Benitsubasa, Haihane, and Karasuba's little low three way conversation had carried to Riko and Uzume's ears. Riko hadn't liked what she had heard at all. "Calm down, girl. Ignore them. I'll warn Joe, and go to bat for you with him when I can. You KNOW he's not interested in winging either one of those two dog turds, but keep your mind closed around Aki-chan. She's got herself mated to Karasuba as well as Cash now like those old circle legends we used to hear as kids, remember?"

Just as Riko turned her head to give Uzume a nodding murmur of acceptance and thanks for still being a good friend after Riko's shabby reaction to Uzume's re-winging with Cash Joseph, Himeko spoke from nearby.

"Riko," Himeko began with kindly interest and sympathy at Riko's troubled facial expression. "Are you well? I've heard that you have wanted this American to be your Ashikabi too, but you don't have his dark red crest yet. You'll be hunted and forced if you don't wing with him soon so that Phase Three can begin. What's wrong? Doesn't he understand what dangers he exposing you to? Aren't you getting anxious?"

"We are, ummm, simply exploring all our options before making any hasty decisions, Himeko," Riko returned tightly as her fume quotient went up a couple of notches. Leave it to the most lovable and kind hearted Sekirei in here to squarely put her thumb into the middle of a gal's sore and crestless back!

Riko's terse reply didn't go unnoticed by Number 16 Toyotama and her tough looking pal beside her, Number 18 Ichiya. The two exchanged a quick knowing glance and slight nod. It was time to see if the rumors Kakizaki had heard about Riko were true.

"What's wrong is that Karasuba's gaijin doesn't want anything to do with the Reeker here," the big lance fighter Toyotama mocked with an arched eyebrow and a heavy tone of undisguised contempt. "He probably doesn't want to get saddled with a such a battle weenie when the chips are down. I noticed that was a new type of entrance for you too, Reeker. So you've finally learned how to move your bod around almost as well as the pencils you roll on a table. Got any other little tricks we all should know about?"

Haihane nudged Karasuba, gave her a half smiling sideways glance, and muttered out of the side of her mouth, "This is going to be good too, right?"

"Oh yeah," Karasuba grinned in return. Sure enough, Riko's eyes had instantly hardened at Toyotama's heavy handed sarcasm and now invisible steam was coming out of an already fuming Riko's ears.

"Well, it seems," Riko started out with exaggerated sweetness while slowly folding her arms over her naked breasts and smiling, but her real body language looked more like a cat ready to pounce, "that I am just a real WHIZ at cleaning toilets. Here, let me demonstrate."

With that, Toyotama's long, naked body shot straight up out of water and swapped ends to hang head down with startled gasps of dismay coming from all around the pool and instant wrath from Higa's Sekirei. All the other hen chatter ceased as well. Toyotama growled in helpless anger as her limbs were mentally pushed together by Riko. These growls ceased as Toyotama's long green hair, as well as the rest of her upper torso, were dipped several times into the pool as if she were a long handled mop being prepared for use. She then rose up and her dripping hair with body above was rapidly run back and forth across the tiled concrete floor along side her sister Sekirei from Higa's group. Those that tried to snatch her down, including Number 18 Ichiya, met the same fate. In a heartbeat there were five naked female mop heads being used to scrub the poolside tiles.

"Reek, stop, you've made your point, and Joe isn't going to like this!"Uzume counseled quietly as Haihane and Karasuba began laughing loudly at the sight. "Let them go before we get tossed out and banned from now on too. This is a neutral zone, remember?"

"Okay, Zoomer, you're right," Riko sighed as she unceremoniously let her five human mops drop into the middle of the hot pool. When was she ever going to learn to control her damnable temper? Uzume was right. Cash Joseph was not going to be impressed with any more of her professions and promises to curb herself either. Damn.

Toyotama rose slowly to her feet to stand majestically breast deep in the water, her long hair plastered down upon her face and skin. That somehow made her look even more like a well muscled Amazon warrior queen than before. She just as slowly stepped towards the still sitting Riko to stand challengingly before and above her, Toyotama's hard, light blue eyes glittering in the wavering light reflected by the pool's disturbed surface. An equally angry Ichiya moved to stand beside her leader.

"When the time comes," Toyotama said softly, "And the time will come, Reeker. You can count on it. I'm really going to enjoy ramming my spear through your guts, and then give it a few nice twists to yank them out and mop your face with them. Thank you for your little public demonstration of what you really are. Now we'll all be able to better plan for ways to just rip you apart."

"Okay," Riko returned just as icily. "It was my pleasure, and I'm glad you've learned something here, Toys. As for the rest of your small threats, well, good luck with that. And if you even so much as twitch, Ichiya, I'll put your thick head through the roof, very fast, and we'll see if you, your skull, and your neck can survive the trip. So back off, Butch."

Toyotama stared silently at Riko's unflinching and unwavering eyes while now coldly contemplating what had just happened. She jerked her head to motion Ichiya to move away. So, Kakizaki had been right. There WAS a new Sekirei power queen in town. Interesting. And one more than capable of taking Uzume's place as a Sekirei assassin for Higa as long as the right means of persuasion and control were found; a power possibly able to defeat Karasuba and Miya too if good tactics were used. Toyotama turned away with a slight satisfied smile only to look back over her muscled shoulder at Riko and add with a deadly chuckle, "You know, Reeker. You were right. You really ARE a whiz at cleaning. I'm impressed."


	11. Chapter 11

**The Game Changer**

**Chapter 11 – Play To Resume, Warm Up Tosses**

Miya tossed restlessly on her futon, trying to find a comfortable way for her body and mind to relax and go to sleep by the sheer force of her will. Both body and mind wouldn't cooperate. First her body felt too warm. She threw off her blankets. No, that didn't feel right as it would then be too cold in the early morning. She would need the blanket for warmth. She pulled it back up. After a few minutes of restless shifting for more comfort in her long silk nightgown, she still felt too hot. She pulled the blanket back down to just cover her heated loins and legs. Her entire body now rebelled at feeling too alone upon the futon. She could get up and go to her back yard for another hour or two of sword exercises to tire her muscles, but she had just done that. Matter of fact, her mind couldn't think of anything else she could possibly do around her precious Izumo Inn to quell her exponentially increasing agitation.

The Inn's wooden floors were freshly swept, mopped, and waxed, twice in two days. Her kitchen had been torn apart, relentlessly and minutely scrubbed, and reassembled for the third time in 36 hours. The gardens had been tilled and planted, the lawn and shrubberies meticulously trimmed and mulched, the windows and doors washed inside and out, the rugs beaten with a vengeance, every imaginable small repair done, and the sidewalks and street swept clean for a block in both directions. Four hot baths and two muscle pounding massages in the last than 24 hours had left her skin glowing, her muscles aching, and her agonized mind contemplating the extreme use of some of her old self help s&m toys last used when her former husband had been alive. Even those hadn't been enough to let her tortured mind and body get comfortable and finally get some sleep tonight. The rational part of her mind was willing, but not her body.

Her body, that traitorous length of female strength mixed with its curves, softness, and intense yearning, was merely expressing its instinctive desires for another kind of warmth and comfort; the big, cozy, filling, strongly muscled, hot blooded breathing mass of needed love and security that only HER man could give when she was joined to him and enveloped in his arms. Miya then grabbed an extra pillow and hugged it tightly to emulate Cash Joseph Archer being held tightly against her bosom. Then she moved the bottom end down far enough to also clasp the pillow with her thighs. Even the pillow hugging wasn't helping her unruly body much. It wanted what it wanted, regardless of Miya's rational mind trying to exert her considerable will in order to override her unrelenting physical longing and futon tossing restlessness.

On the other hand, her rational mind was also having its own battles of will within itself. Her thoughts kept racing around and around, covering the same distance and passing the same warning signs on each lap while going nowhere and never winning sleep inducing peace. Miya's mental race track was a deeply rutted, emotional morass of worry over Cash's future discovery of her duplicitous actions against his career, fear of his rejection once he inevitably found her out, uncertainty of what he was thinking about her right now, indecisiveness on which course of action to take to fix the mess she was in, and determination to relieve her aching love and affection needs only he could fulfill.

Miya's racing mind was desperately trying to find rational courses of action to deal with each emotion clamoring for instant relief. Her over revved mental circuits were at the same time also trying to control the hot physical desires fueled by the memories of her first pitcher's mound bonding with Cash and her almost uncontrollable urges to immediately make new ones. Round and round her mind roared, each emotional and physical craving jockeying for the inside and dominant position on her mental race track to be taken care of first.

Suddenly, as her bedroom clock sitting on a lamp table ticked midnight, Miya's over stressed mind and body froze as a red flag chopped her mental race short. That race halting, searing hot, and blood enraged flag was the ancient carnal instinct for an over heated Sekirei female to internally possess her equally in tune mate. It totally overrode every rational and emotional mental circuit she had. She Needed HIM, NOW! Where was he? She could only faintly feel his mind's life force somewhere southeast of her. She wanted, no, NEEDED to touch him, hold him, smell him, taste him, feel his kisses, join to him, and receive the hot flooding results of his desires for her. And she needed it all NOW. Everything else would have to be worked out later when she could think better because her mind had completely lost it's capacity for any further rational thought.

Leaping up from her tangled bedding with a guttural growl, Miya viciously kicked her futon and bed covers aside, and then followed them across her bedroom floor to kick them again because the savage attacking action on the defenseless clothing materials had felt so good. Her entire body was HOT! Grasping her night gown by the front below her throat, she ripped it asunder with both hands and flung it over her head. She opened her window, instinctively grabbed her sheathed katana standing in the corner, and, except for her lavender, silk and laced panties, leaped naked out into the cool night, her irrational mind questing southeast to get a better bead on her man's exact location.

***scene break***

Hiroto Minaka angrily tossed his long cape away from his right shoulder as he pointed a finger of doom at his harried assistant trying desperately to verbally enter each memo hurled at him from his extremely agitated boss. The circuits on the assistant's electronic notepad were just not responding quickly enough to voice commands that were always interspersed with orders to kill anything. It kept interpreting it as a shut down prompt.

"FOOLS! DOLTS! MINDLESS TROLLS! Fire, no, KILL everyone of them! TONIGHT!" Minaka raged as he paced back and forth in front of his office desk.

It was a very large desk, but it fit very serenely into the cavernous director's suite situated at the end of MBI's co-joined research labs and security control consoles. These were linked directly to the vast computer complex deep in the bowels of MBI's tower compounds. The length of Minaka's immediate penthouse domain was impressive in its own right, and well suited for a healthy daily walk. As it was, the vexed assistant was getting a very nice cardiovascular workout trying to keep pace with Minaka's rampaging intellect being expressed in twelve long strides back and twelve strides forth in front of his massive desk.

"Your World Majesty! Sire!" The assistant begged for a little saner rethink of that last command. "If you kill or fire all your top computer experts totally familiar with MBI's systems tonight, how can we replace them and get back up to speed on your latest project before Phase Three starts?"

Minaka halted his pacing to snap his head around and glare at the cretin following him. This action caused the highly starched corner of his cape's high collar to painfully jab Minaka's right cheek. Note to self. Either get a few centimeters trimmed off my cape's collars or have the cleaning service use less starch. No, no, a limp collar would never do! Addendum - Have the starched collar made larger and curved outwards for a more masterful winging effect. Yes, yes! More masterful! That was the key!

"This is Japan you mindless ass! It's not like we need to track down 24 chickens wearing rubber lederhosen at three after midnight! This city is crawling with wanking teenage IT geniuses! Hire two dozen of the youngest immediately and promise them unlimited funds for hookers as a hiring bonus! Then tell those so called top experts of mine to stop running around in circles and find the back door code that those damnable Chinese hackers are using while trying to steal and screw up my research! They have until sunrise, or two will be be randomly shot every 3.14 hours while we train their replacements! They can stick that into their PI r squared thinking!" Minaka resumed pacing with his head down, his cape flowing and swishing out behind him as he strode.

Problem: A – His new human psychic brain wave generator had no base line wavelength to standardize the results of his tests on incrementally increasing frequencies that could activate the Sekirei ship's jinki control rods. Simplified – He had to start somewhere on the psychic mental scale, but where? And how could he test whether the damn thing was even generating psychic waves to begin with? Shouldn't those jinkis at least glow a little? B – Where did one find a human of a known psychic potential yet already proven not strong enough to activate the control rods at this time of night? Solution: A - He needed an Ashikabi that had already winged a Sekirei, again not a chicken in rubber lederhosen. B – It was time for that lazy, good timing fruitcake, Ichinomi Natsuo who had winged the Disciplinary Squad to earn his damn keep.

"Find Ichinomi Natsuo and have him report to the research lab for mental wavelength standardization tests immediately! If he doesn't show up in 7,230 seconds, then kill HIM and his boyfriend, but keep Natuso's brain preserved! I might need it later!" Minaka barked out while wheeling to turn about. This action caused his left cheek to be gouged by the other side of his masterful cape's high starched collar. Gads! How was an incomparable genius almost ready to achieve world domination supposed to function with all these petty distractions?

"Take a memo! Have all the collars on my masterful world domination capes immediately made higher but have them starched with an outward bend for a more intellectually superior Alar effect!" Minaka then resumed his cape swishing problem solving.

Problem: A - The vital parts, i.e. - weapons, of the Sekirei ship were psychically locked, said locking could only be deactivated by an as yet unknown resonating high frequency command that simultaneously activated eight crystal rods, the stupid sounding Sekirei jinkis; an heretofore unheard mild epitaph only used by that brainless Velma gal in those totally brainless Scooby Doo comics his Mother had always made him watch. Fortunately, his supremely brilliant mind had not been driven insane by THAT insipid drivel! Besides, until he achieved world domination and KILLED her, Mother was just a dead woman walking until then. Brilliant! Brilliant I say! Hear! Hear! Focus! Pinky! Focus!

Addendum – Said eight control rods jinkis, once gathered by his MASTER PLAN, would have to be arranged in some logical pattern or chronological order to activate once the proper psychic wavelength was found. That meant that each increasing wavelength would have 8 factorial, ummm, 40,320 different arrangements to be tested for a positive response. Postulate a minimum range of one hundred separate wavelength increments that could possibly work, that would then result in 4,030,200 tests! At a minimum! Too long! Too LONG! Delays! Delays! It was taking an hour for his new psychic brain wave generator to recycle because of over heating to begin with. Heat! Heat in delicate computer circuits! That was his REAL enemy! No! No! Easily solved by hermetically sealing those circuits inside a heavily insulated jacket of liquid nitrogen and using a heat sink with a reliable fan! And NOT one of those Chinese knock off pieces of heat sink crap either!

Minaka quickly scribbled out a cooled circuitry diagram for his new brain wave generator and tossed it to his scrambling assistant who had just fallen over a heavy Grecian urn housing a sturdy Bonsai tree standing by the front left corner of Minaka's desk.

Problem: B – At what range on the psychic wavelength scale were the most probable "tuning" frequencies to be found so that he could drastically reduce the number of unlocking tests and thus the time required to achieve total word domination with the Sekirei ship's advanced weaponry? Solution: The range had to be on a scale capable of being resonated by that lying bitch Miya Asama, or possibly any of the original, low numbered 8 Sekirei embryos and possibly the next 12 fertilized eggs that had been developed first, all of whom had shown a strong psychic potential during the maturation and adjusting processes.

Therefore, any cooperative Ashikabi that had subsequently winged any of these Sekirei were the best possible test subjects to "tune" the new brain wave generator. Minato? No, already brainwashed and protected by his mortal arch enemy and world domination roadblock, Miya. Mikogami? Oh No! Minaka shuddered. Can't afford to piss off Mutsu. The big Sekirei flake could destroy half of Japan with just one strike of his earthquake powers. Besides, he was another mortal arch enemy that hated MBI more than Miya. Higa? Another giant and too ambitious negative! Toyotama and Ichiya together were almost in a class with Miya and Mutsu anyway. What about that mindless cretin Seo? Nope! Already proven to be totally uncooperative and eager to sabotage and/or screw up MBI by any means available.

What about that total moron ballplayer, Archer? Winged to Karasuba, Akitsu, Uzume, and most probably Riko too in the near future, hmmm. He would certainly be cooperative enough judging by the free flow of priceless information the silly young dolt had thrown out during yesterday's breakfast. On the other hand, Karasuba was in the mix with that guy, and who knew what Her Insaneness was up to? Whatever it was, she was a definite, game changing, homicidal lunatic that he was going to have to neutralize or kill soon anyway. That was it! Brilliant! Kidnap Archer. Use his unusually high frequency psychic potential to "tune" the brain wave generator, and then KILL him! His three "too dangerous to live anyway" Sekirei died with him! Including Karasuba! And Riko could easily be snuffed by a Yakuza sniper! Brilliant! It would even save MBI the expense of getting four phony visas and passports made! Even more BRILLIANT!

"Take a memo! Get those incompetent research computer techs to build this circuitry cooler for my psychic wave generator immediately, or they'll all be killed at sunrise too!" Minaka wheeled around again.

Problem: B - How could one Masterful World Dominating Hiroto Minaka sneak Archer's cooperative head into MBI's research testing facility without said Masterful Minaka losing his brilliant head from an eye blurring swift cut from Karasuba's katana?

Solution – The old misdirection ploy. Have his Yakuza bosses kidnap Archer while making it appear as if one or more of Karasuba's arch rivals were responsible. Addendum – Archer must be rendered immediately unconscious during the snatch and kept that way until he could be put behind MBI's shielded walls. It was already proven that all Sekirei could always sense whether their Ashikabi were alive or not, no matter where or how far apart each of them were, but their ability to focus on their Ashikabi's exact whereabouts was greatly diminished by a foot of concrete. MBI's research facilities had reinforced and sound proofed walls four feet thick. They also couldn't focus in on an unconscious Ashikabi. Still, Archer's kidnapping would have to be handled very quickly and carefully, most preferably in a heavy crowd, and hidden so that Archer's Sekirei, especially Karasuba, wouldn't know to interfere. They would know Archer had went unconscious, but not where. That ought to keep Karasuba busy searching long enough for Minaka's "tuning" tests on Archer to be completed and then have the dunce killed, snuffing his Sekirei. Addendum II – A filled and raucous ballpark would be the ideal location to kidnap an unsuspecting ball playing boob. Doubly Brilliant!

"Call my armored car and guards!" Minaka turned quickly and almost bowled over his still scrabbling assistant. "And bring my secure phone! I have to arrange a little meeting with my lowly gangster minions and their even lower scum toadies!"

He began striding towards the elevators, but a small flaw in the lower hem of his cape caught securely on the toppled Bonsai tree's branches. The weight of the heavy Grecian urn that held the Bonsai tree made the Masterful World Domination cape yank Minaka's throat and head to a sudden halt. The rest of his body's forward momentum carried forward so that his whole suddenly arm and leg flailing mass fell heavily backwards with a very nasty, head ringing, tail bone bruising, backbone aching, and breath taking, "brought down to Earth" thump.

"Take a memo!" Minaka squeaked weakly up at his assistant. Minaka's hands were clutching futilely at his Masterful World Domination cape that was now cruelly choking his Adam's Apple and making his legs toss about for breathing relief. "Make every one of my Masterful World Domination capes 3 centimeters shorter! THEN KILL YOURSELF!"

***scene break***

Seo tossed two pairs of still soaked panties aside and staggered out of the bedroom. Hibiki and Hikari still clutched one another upon their double futon in a state of sated, smiling, catatonic bliss. Breathing and still sweating heavily, Seo stumbled to the refrigerator to get a cold bottle of water. The digital clock on the front read 12:07 a. m. He gulped down one 12 oz. bottle, threw the empty in the general direction of the corner waste basket, and opened another.

Fine tuning his Lightning Twins had been a lot easier than Seo had thought it would be. That laser beam mental focus technique taught by his new good buddy CJ had worked like a charm on first try. Hibiki had froze like a bird before a snake when Seo had caught her by the shoulders, stared deeply into her eyes while totally focusing on her undeniable desirability as a sex partner, and then tenderly kissing her as if she were the last female on Earth. The re-winging results had been exactly as CJ had said, instant heat, larger pulsing wings, a deeper red Sekirei crest burn, and a whoopee loop, massive external orgasm that had left Hibiki unconscious. Seo had then turned to find Hikari also lying comatose on the kitchenette floor. The twins had been that tightly linked? Who knew?

Also as best pal CJ hand predicted, when the twins had revived at the same time and gave Seo a very hot, smoky eyed look, Seo's Johnson and gifted tongue had then been mercilessly attacked in the good old fashioned physical way by a double team marathon to end all double teams. Each three way simultaneous orgasm had gotten exponentially more intense until this last had ended in a small lightning storm that had smoldered the window curtains and left the screaming twins slumping over together and going completely catatonic.

Seo staggered back into the bedroom, drinking half of his bottled water and throwing the other half onto the still smoking curtains. Looking over at the cheap full mirror attached to the back of the twin's clothes closet door, he found that he was giving himself a goofy looking smirk of satisfaction. That had been more than legendary. That had been EPIC! Only one thing could be more epic in Seo's mind, and she was going to be found at CJ's ball game tomorrow. He squinted his eyes and gave himself an animal growl combined with a toothy grin of wicked anticipation. His animal growl turned into a throaty hiss between his teeth of, "KAZEHANA!" Minato was a friend, but hey, this Sekirei re-winging business was now a whole new ball game with some sneaky new rules. Tomorrow, Number 03 was going to get as big of a laser beam focused look of such animal desire that he, Seo the Lightning Master, could glare at her. He fully intended to toss her for a GIANT whoopee loop and extended futon bounce too!

***scene break***

Minato tossed Musubi's sleeping left arm aside and rolled over onto his side to get more comfortable. It, along with her bare left leg, had been curled over his torso after his second successful "fine tuning" of the night. That would be the last time she would "unintentionally" knock him down and stick her white panty covered tush in HIS face. CJ Archer's techniques had worked amazingly well, so much so that Tsukuimi had already been rumbled, humbled, and bundled to sleep until dawn in her room. No longer would he ever put up with her superior ordering him around or dousing him with water in anger. The Water Sekirei had gotten a giant whoopee loop of humility before passing out. Musubi was also now out like a light, and at 12:09 a. m., Minato could finally get at least six and maybe seven hours of blissful, uninterrupted sleep on his own.

Tomorrow night, he thought sleepily, he would school Matsu into complete submission and get rid of all those hurtful toys! Then the next night, Minato's eyes narrowed in determination, Kazehana would get his full attention and brought back into the realm of human endurance and sanity. He would also greatly curtail her drinking. With Kusano acting much nicer and happier now that she knew Uzume was well and safe, that meant in two more nights of concentration he would have all five of his troublesome Sekirei more prepared to win the Sekirei Plan. Homura would have to wait until he/she was ready to be winged or not as chosen. Tomorrow, Minato began to doze, he would take his girls to the ballgame as promised and thank CJ Archer for helping him so greatly. Then Matsu would get the "experiments" of her life! The frazzled Ashikabi didn't even feel a quickly revived Musubi tossing off her covers and rolling him back towards her.

***scene break***

Mikogami tossed Mutsu another package of Twinkies as their new stretch limo turned a corner and went towards an on ramp of a brightly lit four lane highway called the Tokyo Bay Aqua line. Riding across the waters of the moonlit Bay while snacking and listening to what Mutsu claimed was not actually music was one of the young Ashikabi's favorite things to do after midnight. It helped him get sleepy even better than any video game he played.

"I feel so sorry for Riko," Himeko spoke suddenly, her dark eyes troubled and her mind shielded from Mutsu. It wouldn't be prudent to let him know what she and several of her younger sisters were thinking. The moon shining in the limo's window made small dancing highlights on her long, gray hair and deep shadows across the very full bosom of her simple black kimono. "She HAS to be going through unimaginable pain if her chosen Ashikabi won't wing her. It just isn't right, and she's much too powerful to be left so exposed and all alone. We MUST help her."

"Yes, I agree. We MUST make immediate plans to wing Riko AND Homura," Mutsu grumbled as he bit into the addictive soft yellow cake and let his tongue scoop out the gooey cream center. He still preferred this sweet tooth snack the most, but in a pinch, King Dons or a Ho Ho or two would do. "Minaka is going to learn sooner or later just how powerful Riko really is and try to kill her before she gets winged. She's highly vulnerable to a sniper's bullet and Minaka has plenty of Yakuza connections to get an expert hired within 24 hours. We NEED her. We simply can't afford to have her winged by that reprehensible Higa or even Sahashi Minato for that matter. Unadjusted as she is, Riko is one Sekirei that can greatly upset and change the current balances of powers. Mikogami! Turn down that stupid noise and LISTEN TO US!"

"FINE!" Mikogami pouted as he twirled the volume down on his 8 speaker Alpine CD player with dual 12 inch sub-woofers. "So plan it already! What do you want to do?"

"Homura has been knocking himself out trying to protect unwinged Sekirei from early destruction and forced wingings," Mutsu swallowed the second half of his Twinkie whole. "I propose that we alert Homura about the possibility of Riko being captured by Higa during Cash Joseph Archer's ballgame tomorrow. I'm thinking we can use Akitsu and Uzume for that. I'm absolutely sure Riko will be in attendance to watch Archer as he says she always watches him pitch. Half of our Sekirei can then ambush Homura before he gets there and keep him busy while Himeko and I cause a disturbance near Riko's stadium seat. I have already found a food vendor willing to stick Riko with a syringe of anesthetics. When she becomes drowsy and vulnerable, Mikogami, you will wing her, and then Himeko and I will quickly get the four of us out of the stadium and over to aid and complete in Homura's capture. Then you can wing him also once subdued.

"Later, when we all safe, I will teach you Cash Joseph Archer's techniques for making Riko and Homura's winging become even more tuned to you as their Ashikabi. Matter of fact, I want you to go through our entire flock with Archer's techniques to boost their powers. It will greatly aid us when we have to combat Miya, Karasuba, and Minaka."

"Okay, Okay! We're going to a baseball game? Uggggh!" Mikogami sighed in repugnance. "Why can't you do all this in a video game gallery or at the mall? Hey! There are two really great movies coming out this weekend! Let's get those two Sekirei to go to them and then stick them both when the previews are over! I can kiss them in the theater! It'll even be romantic like a first date!"

Mutsu began rubbing his forehead and sighing as if he had suddenly suffered a massive migraine pain. He glanced across the limo at Himeko who was making a small moue of disappointment with her lips and slightly frowning out at the waters of a moonlit Tokyo Bay. Her mind was closed tight as well as her audio senses. Mutsu didn't blame her. Mikogami could be a real trial to be around at times, and his so called music was excruciating to any refined individual's ears.

"We'll do this as I have planned, tomorrow at the BALL GAME!" Mutsu growled impatiently, "Now toss me some more of those Twinkies ... and a Ho Ho."

***scene break***

Higa, Ashikabi of the East, dressed impeccably as usual in his white suit and black tie, tossed the gray haired and intellectually gifted Number 22 Kochou a cold look somewhere between disgust and pure hatred. It made her nervously adjust her glasses and attempt to smooth her belted purple dress. She could see in his mind that she was very close to being brutally punished, again. The bruises from her last "behavior correction" hadn't faded yet. She glanced quickly sideways at the impassive faces of Toyotama and Ichiya standing behind and to the left of Higa's male secretary, a smirking Kakizaki. There was no help or even a trace of sympathy for her in all three. Mentally sighing, she tried again to explain.

"Sir," Kochou began cautiously. "There is just no record past or present of Number 67 Riko's extraordinary kinetic powers. MBI's computer files have her listed among the lowest graded of all the Sekirei, even lower than Number 95 Kuno. There are no electronic recordings of her displaying anything remotely close to what happened at the bath. The two that do exist merely show her in the company of Archer during a live game show at a grocery store where she claimed to be his fiance just before he barfed on the clown game host, and in the second Riko was merely in the background with Number 07 Akitsu of an interview outside of a nightclub conducted by Number 04 Karasuba and Archer."

"And did that second interview reveal that Akitsu had her scrapped status removed and had most probably been winged by Archer?" Higa asked icily as more of a statement. "And you deemed that incredibly useful information negligible to report? Where were your speculations and possible assumptions about Karasuba being seen in public and amorously linked to a man other than her Ashikabi Natsuo? Now we belatedly learn that there IS an Ashikabi that can fix and wing a very powerful scrapped Sekirei as well as re-wing the likes of a Karasuba and Number 10 Uzume. It puts us way behind the operational curve as well as being made to look like fools for letting that same Archer visit Uzume's Ashikabi in OUR hospital and subsequently re-wing OUR assassin shortly thereafter."

"No data exists anywhere that even remotely suggests that any Ashikabi could have such powers," Kochou shuddered slightly as she tried to defend herself from another torture session with Kakizaki who was now openly grinning in anticipation. "MBI's data banks up to 2 minutes ago still do not have any references to it. I don't believe Hiroto Minaka is yet aware of it. We may still have a small window of opportunity to exploit this knowledge before Archer is taken, dissected, and discarded by Minaka's research teams. There is also the fact that when Archer dies, Karasuba, Akitsu, and Uzume will die at the same time, thus removing them as competitors. Also, Number 67 is not yet winged and would be a more than suitable replacement for the loss of Uzume. There is a 83.21% statistical probability of our winning the Sekirei Plan with her added to our team versus our current 66.43%"

Higa sat back in his over sized chair to gaze at his penthouse office ceiling while twirling his note pad's light pen through the fingers of his left hand. A long tense silence ensued as Kochou bit her lips slightly. Her body's near future fate rested solely on those last two percentage predictions.

"And what are our chances of winning if we capture Archer instead of killing him, and then forcing his Sekirei to fight for us?"

"99.32%" Kochou responded immediately. She hadn't really computed that possibility but thought it best to throw out SOMETHING that sounded good enough to spare her still aching back, breasts, and posterior. Besides, with Karasuba, Akitsu, Uzume, AND an unadjusted Riko, winning the Sekirei Plan HAD to be a total lock. If Archer wanted to once he had winged Riko, and why he hadn't yet was a very deep mystery, the American ballplayer would be an overwhelming, odds on statistical favorite to wipe out all of his serious competition in less than three days AND destroy MBI as well.

"I want Archer detained for our use within twenty four hours," Higa looked down to give Kakizaki a hard and decisive look, "but if that proves impossible, kill him. Capture Riko immediately. Use every resource we have available to accomplish that. If that's not possible, then have her eliminated at once also. Your expenses will be temporarily unlimited until both goals are met. See to it.

"Kochou," Higa shifted his eyes to give her a very dangerous look. "You will research how Archer is able to accomplish what no other Ashikabi has done to date. Find out if it's just a one time physical anomaly specific to just him or if it's a technique that can be learned by any Ashikabi. If Minaka is unaware of Archer's talents and how they can be greatly exploited, then you can rest assured Mutsu, Miya, and Karasuba are not, and there are close emotional ties between Uzume and Minato of the North. Assume that HE is aware of Archer's potential as well. And Kochou do not fail to include EVERY piece of relevant data along with your conclusions this time, or you will fail to survive the experience. Understood? Now leave me. It's after midnight, and I'm tired."

Kochou gave Higa a quick bow and departed with her partial reprieve but even more serious threat. Entering the penthouse elevator with Toyotama and Ichiya, she swallowed nervously and closed her eyes to think. The time to act was now, but she needed accomplices.

"Kochou," Toyotama turned to give the brainy Sekirei a speculative look. "Why did you risk withholding information from Higa again? What were you thinking?"

"More to the point," a narrow eyed Ichiya demanded, "What are you thinking now?"

"There is an absolute nil chance that I'll survive the Sekirei Plan," the prim Kochou replied with forced calmness as she removed her glasses and began to clean them with her kimono sleeve. "Let alone the next two weeks. There is at least one Ashikabi named Cash Joseph Archer, and possibly two in Minato and his friend Seo, that could greatly increase my statistically slim survival odds, and," she paused to give her two warrior companions a significant and decidedly catty look with her right eyebrow arched, "If I'm going to die anyway, then I, for one, have no intentions of dying a virgin. Higa wants me to do research on Archer's re-winging ability? Fine. It will take," she paused to give Toyotama and Ichiya another catty, knowing look while cupping and hefting her nicely endowed bosom for emphasis, "at least ONE virginal test subject, right? Three would be better for statistical accuracy, wouldn't you say?"

Toyotama and Ichiya exchanged a long, silent look with raised eyebrows of intense interest.

"Higa spit on his finger and then jammed it into my mouth to wing me," Ichiya said softly as she ran her fingers through her dark, close cropped hair, and then glanced down at the twin hardened headlights that had suddenly appeared through the thin fabric of her battle uniform."He detests us and our powers, and will probably kill us after he wins the Sekirei Plan, if we don't die before hand. He'll certainly TRY to have us killed if we jump ship now."

"And getting past Karasuba, Akitsu, Uzume," Toyotama nodded in speculative agreement, "and now especially Riko, to get our virginal bells rung hard and often by Archer won't be easy. We might even have to break a few of Minaka's rules for the Sekirei Plan to do IT."

"Yes, that's all true," Kochou primly patted and fluffed the back of her hair, "but to date, Higa has winged eleven of us all the same way and hasn't touched any of us since. The odds of such a weak winging experience being overridden by a much stronger Ashikabi, and one already vouched with glowing testimonials by three of our more powerful opponents to be much more manly and totally satisfying, would seem to be very greatly in our favor. You both saw the expressions on Karasuba, Akitsu, and Uzume's faces as well as their dark red crests. Look at our pale pink ones. I, for one, again, think it's way past time to give our crests, our virginity, and our survival odds a very deep red color upgrade."

"You know, statistically speaking," Ichiya smirked while cocking her head to one side, "the more of our Sekirei we can get to participate in your research, and we've got several chicks a LOT more hornier and unscrupulous than us three, our ability to aid your research for more accurate data on Archer just goes way up, right? I mean, so we break and itty bitty rule or two for science. That hasn't been done before?"

As Toyotama gripped the haft of her lance with her left hand and gave her mass of Amazonian dark green hair a quick toss of determination, she slammed her right fist forward between the three of them. Higa's three mutiny minded Sekirei then chuckled evilly in smiling unison while joining in a three way, and soon to be more, handclasp. The elevator hit the basement floor that opened into Higa's Sekirei quarters. The door opened, several female alien heads snapped around, and they tossed aside whatever they were holding after the elevator's three occupants shouted as one, "SCREW THE RULES!"

***scene break***

Haihane gave her new haircut a quick toss and then stared at the stranger in the mirror. This was the result of her hustling out of the bathhouse changing room before the other females to garner a couple of minutes alone with CJ Archer. Everyone knew guys like him always changed clothes quicker, she had reasoned, and she had been correct. A casually flippant and innocent sounding, "Hey Arch, I'm thinking about upgrading my fighting outfit because this one is causing a skin rash. Got any suggestions?" had gotten a gotten her a fast, up and down once over by a preoccupied looking Cash. He had then made a few offhand comments with his usual male bluntness before shrugging and lapsing back into contemplative silence. The results of his own flippant yet sage advice from a manly point of view now stared at herself in the mirror.

The bandages had been ditched in favor of an indigo full body leotard, zippered in strategic places for ease of dress and use. The ratty looking kimono was replaced with a much shorter dark blue one made from silk that had twin, neon green, red fire breathing, and heavily clawed dragon designs coming down over her full breasts. Her dark blue studded belt still cinched it at the waist, but the bottom of her new kimono was little more than a front and back loin cloth slit on both sides to expose her strong thighs and barely cover her really nice buns. Her boots had been replaced with low cut, dark blue running shoes to make her legs look longer, but she had kept the ringed dog collar because he had said it gave her a subtle s&m sexiness appeal to match her great figure and beautiful green eyes. He had then taken his right fore finger and exposed her hidden eye by pushing her wild hair to one side while saying her pretty face and eyes would simply look fabulous in a short page boy hairdo with bangs. Pretty? Beautiful green eyes? Subtly sexy? Who knew?

Haihane had simply stared at his profile as Cash had frowned slightly, turned away, absently fished his left coat pocket and then tossed her a plastic tube of Lansinoh. It was 100% lanolin, he had explained, made from wool fat of sheep. Most folks back home used it to cure baby diaper rashes and stuff like cracked nipples from breast feeding and scaly skin, but he used it instead of mitt oil to keep his baseball glove soft, flexible, and waterproof. Take it, he had said, he had more tubes of the stuff and anybody could get more real cheap at any drugstore. It should do wonders for her baby smooth skin that was being chafed by her bandages. Cash hadn't even seemed to notice when she had yelled thanks and bounded high in the air to head for the nearest clothing mall with a decent hairdresser and pharmacy. Wool fat? Baby smooth skin? All the top money researchers at MBI's pharmaceutical labs, and they didn't know her baby smooth skin was suffering from a Sekirei version of simple diaper rash? She gave her new look another once over.

She liked it. Even Benitsubasa, now patiently painting her finger and toenails dark red in preparation for her own Cash Archer winging attempt during Karasuba's plan tomorrow, had said she looked a lot sexier. Haihane agreed as she twisted this way and that to get different overall views of her body. Not only did it indeed appear a lot sexier than her old combination Gothic and clawed Mummy look, it was lighter, easier to move around in, and didn't chafe her wool fat smeared crotch and underarms. Hell, even the front and back loin cloth gig let her still flash a little camel toe and sexy butt crack while running full commando under her new skin hugging leotard.

More importantly, the more she stared at her new self, the more confidant she felt that she could actually get Cash to re-wing her after the game tomorrow. Once Karasuba's new plan to basically kidnap Cash went down in order for the four of them to get naked together, shoot, she might not even have to hide in the closet! It sure looked weird to see two green eyes staring back at her, she thought as she gave her new, strange feeling hairdo another quick and sexy toss.

***scene break***

The old master forger sitting in his rear wall cubicle at the Bonsai tree warehouse tossed back his engraving glasses to cock his head in puzzlement. The gray haired, scary looking sword woman named Karasuba was back again? He had almost finished the constantly growing number of new blank passports and visas. He watched her talk tersely to his Yakuza boss for a few brief moments before she pulled a baseball card from her belt. His boss took the card, studied it a few seconds and then began nodding, smiling, and bowing as if his life depended on it. It probably did from the way the tall woman in the short kimono and long cloak gripped the hilt of her wicked looking katana. He wondered just exactly who this Karasuba was and why she kept coming here? Were his forgeries being made for her?

Soon after the sword woman had left, the master forger got another puzzling look on his face after his Yakuza boss had explained what he wanted the old man to do. First the forger had to make some quick copies of the ballplayer's picture so that his boss's helpers could shoot anesthetics into and then snatch the right guy at tomorrow's ball game at the Tokyo Dome. Then the old man was to help arrange a new covered cubicle beside his own with a couple of large and soft futons and pillows for a four way sexual tryst. The master forger sat in stunned amazement at his boss's order. He had made many an ultra fine forgery in his day, but he'd never been asked to turn the back of a Bonsai warehouse into a love motel before. Besides, he didn't even know what the inside of a love motel looked like. He'd always been tossed out of them as a non-paying, peeping old lecher and had never gotten past the front desk.

***scene break***

"So you're saying after the ball game tomorrow," a bleary eyed Kazehana paused to toss back another slug from the bottle of expensive saki in her right hand before smacking her lips in appreciation and continuing, "I'm gonna make this giant indoor whirlwind to blind everybody, then you're gonna use it to sneak past Uzume and Akitsu, snatch your Cash guy right off that field down there, fly out an exit, zip up into the clouds together, and wing yourself by giving him a hot blow job in the clouds?"

"That's about the size of it, big and sweet," Riko agreed as she took the bottle, steadied herself with her other hand against the underside of the Tokyo Dome's roof, and had a cautious sip. Now was not the time to get another blazing hangover by trying to match Kazehana's alcohol capacity again. Time was getting too short. "I've been practicing so much, I've gotten all the Vitamin C I'll need for months. Now it's time for the the REAL protein. Just be there for me! And we'll be sitting in my usual spot behind the third base dugout during the game, got it?"

"You're sure about this, Reek?" Kazehana hiccuped and squinted with one eye to focus better. "Uzume's gonna be pissed if your Cash gets even a dinky little piece of dust in his eye, not to mention Akitsu, and you've already said this guy is a real stubborn customer."

"I'm thinking that this plan would better than trying to get or even make Cash Joseph kiss me, because he's already said he'd never touch me again if I did that, but he didn't say a darned thing about me and deep throat fellatio. He's going to REALLY enjoy it, and there won't be any denials that he didn't later either. Then once I'm winged, we can work out the rest of his problems about having me as his Sekirei with more of the same later, a LOT more if need be, but for now, DNA is where you find it my friend, right?"

"Now that... that's what I call a REAL Sekirei Plan!" Kazehana nodded in drunken agreement. "I'll have to try that with Min, Min, Min, my GUY! I'll bring him and the other gals along tomorrow, and then put his head in the clouds using the same whirlwind and technique! I Like It!"

"Hey, I'm getting pretty desperate here, Nee-San! So don't let me down! Mutsu and Higa's Sekirei are gonna start hunting me and force me to wing one of their Ashikabi because of that stupid bathhouse stunt I pulled with Toyotama and her girls tonight. I screwed up royally there, and Cash Joseph is the only guy who can save me. If it takes a giant whirlwind and getting him an even bigger high later, then that's what we gotta do! So focus for me tomorrow, will ya?"

"You can count on me, Reek ol' kid. You can count on me!" Kazehana hiccuped and then winked in drunken agreement while tossing her left arm around Riko's shoulders and taking another giant slug of saki.

***scene break***

"Joe ... Joe ... Joe," Uzume's head tossed gently back in forth in sated bliss as he kissed his way back up her torso. "That Agnes Mortenson has got to be the world's dumbest woman. If she had any brains at all, we'd never be here together on our favorite moonlit futon."

"I agree, my love," Akitsu whispered as her own afterglow from Cash's kissing hadn't really cooled down much. "I am so happy with how you loved us tonight. Let us do the same for you."

"Oh no you don't," Cash chuckled as he eased himself in between his two naked sweethearts and cuddled them towards him with either arm, Uzume on his left and Akitsu on his right. "I'm pitching tomorrow! You'll cut my leg strength if we get any friendlier. Besides, me and Little CJ have been kept plenty happy lately. Here, on your side Uzi, and let's all spoon, look at the moon together, and then get some sleep, shall we? It's after midnight, and I need a good night's rest to pitch well tomorrow."

"Joe," Uzume said again softly a few minutes later as she gazed out the window. Her hands were clutching his left arm to her naked bosom as tears rolled unchecked down her cheeks. She could also feel Akitsu's left hand thrown across Joe and touching Uzume's left hip as Akitsu snuggled up against Cash's warm back.

"Ummm?" Cash returned in drowsy comfort.

"I'm in love with you, Joe," Uzume's shoulders began to shake as she started weeping.

"Hey, hey, hey," Cash came completely awake as for once in his obtuse life he sensed something very emotionally important was going on here. Behind him, Akitsu was also snuffling heavily between his shoulder blades and clutching herself tighter against him. He tightened his arm's grasp on Uzume's chest and began raining soft kisses on the back of her neck.

"My head keeps saying that it can't be true so soon after Chiho's death, and I still love her, but my heart just keeps singing!" Uzume began weeping harder. "I love you so beautifully, Joe, just like that full moon up there! I almost can't stand how full my heart feels, and I'm not even one bit jealous over the way you love Akitsu! I'm so happy for both of us!"

"Uzi, I'm in love with you too," Cash said gently into her left ear and then began nibbling her lobe. "I never felt this way about any girl before, let alone all four of you. Most of the time lately I'm walking around scared about how badly I could let you down and make you disappointed in me. I know I'm just a big hick clod from Mid West America with the social sensitivity of a lump of tofu. Please don't cry, Jelly. I can't stand to see you unhappy. Remember that you're the only one I CHOSE to kiss, okay?"

"Yes, and that's why I'm crying, because I am so happy!" Uzume sniffed mightily to contain herself. "Why did you just call me Jelly?"

"Because in the back of my mind where you live, there's this dark chocolate covered raspberry jelly candy sitting there named Uzume, yummy on the outside and the inside too." Cash chuckled lightly while going back to kissing and nibbling the base of her neck. "After the game tomorrow, I'm going to buy a big bag of bridge mix, sort out all the dark chocolate raspberry jellies and feed them to you so you'll know exactly what you taste like in my mind."

"Like I'm your Krispy Kreme, my sweet love?" Akitsu breathed into Cash's left ear while her bountiful chest deliciously rubbed his back, "and Karasuba's your wild honey?"

"You got it, Sugar!" Cash felt Uzume tense slightly as his lips approached her Sekirei crest.

Thinking about how especially beautiful his mark upon her back looked in the moonlight, Cash gently kissed and licked the center of her dark red bird design. Uzume's entire body instantly went board stiff and stayed rigid. Cash felt a scream of pure ecstasy and delight in his mind that began pulsing from Uzume's "dark chocolate jelly candy" presence. He basked in the glow of it, savoring her delightful response to his kisses. This was too good not to share, he smiled too himself. He let go of Uzume, turned to a surprised Akitsu, and rolled her over onto her side with her back to him. There was no trail from the neck down this time. He simply delivered a wet, loving, tonguing kiss to Akitsu's Sekirei crest and got an even more pronounced response. Not only did Akitsu go totally catatonic and completely rigid, her psychic scream of ecstasy and delight increased up in pitch until he could no longer feel its glow from her sugary sweet essence. Both alien females remained rigid even after Uzume and Akitsu's happiness stopped pulsing in his mind.

"Hey!" Cash called softly into Akitsu's ear. "You can come down now Kitty." No response. Slightly puzzled, he tried calling Uzume back and got nothing from her either. Concerned, Cash sat up and rolled both of his bed mates onto their backs. Both had their eyes wide open, sightlessly staring up at nothing, yet both were apparently breathing somewhat rapidly but otherwise normally.

Well, maybe that hadn't been such a great move, you dumb ass, he railed at himself in disgust. They are both, after all, aliens, not human women, and those crests were tied directly to something that went to the core of their sexuality if not their very life force. Hadn't one mentioned something about how a Sekirei could be terminated by another touching that crest and reciting their Norito? Perhaps sticking his DNA where his DNA shouldn't have been stuck hadn't been such a hot idea. Had he damaged them? Had he just rendered them both catatonic for life, or would they recover soon, hopefully in the near future, and tell him exactly what had happened and why? Cash stood up and reached for his jeans. Tomorrow's game be damned. Maybe this would be a good time to call for help. He started to look for his tennis shoes and cell phone when his apartment door crashed open.

Miya, standing almost and gloriously nude except for her lavender lace panties and clutching her wicked looking katana, took two trembling steps into the room. Her dark lavender eyes were wide and staring at him like a rather demented but incredibly beautiful zombie. Her nude body was shaped like a slightly slimmer version of Karasuba's muscular length except for Miya's larger, wide set, and upturned breasts. Goosebumps were markedly visible all over her skin that wasn't covered by her now long and now wild looking lavender colored hair. She had to be cold, and very terribly upset, Cash frowned with increased concern. First things first. Get Miya calmed down and then ask her how to help Uzume and Akitsu, before calling for an ambulance. Where in the hell was Riko at a time when he could finally use her fricken help? Miya's sword dropped nervelessly from her fingers as her arms raised slowly to reach out to him, her eyes never wavering from looking into his.

Cash jumped the distance between them to catch her now trembling body and enfold her into his embrace. This got a response. Her arms came together to wrap around him as far as they could reach and then powerfully clutch his body tight against her. She took a deep, trembling breath, as she buried her face in his chest and began sobbing uncontrollably while trying to devour his naked chest with her wet lips. Her long, lavender colored hair swayed back and forth with her head's movement. Suddenly her hands began scrabbling to undo the front button on his jeans as low guttural growls started rumbling from deep in her throat. Her pelvic area began bumping against his as she tried to work his zipper. It didn't take a rocket surgeon to understand what this alien Sekirei female needed and needed NOW. Mentally sighing bye bye to tomorrow's Earned Run Average, Cash picked her up, deposited Miya on her back beside the still rigidly staring Uzume, tenderly slipped Miya's lace panties off, and went to work.

After the first headlong rush of an intense simultaneous release had been obtained, followed by another one taking longer to reach, lasting longer, and yet no less intense, Miya began crying her heart out again as she desperately clung to him. She wrapped her legs around his back and made his weight fall completely upon her smaller frame by grabbing his supporting arms and pulling him down against her.

"Cash darling! I'm so sorry! I shouldn't have done it! I didn't want to, but I couldn't have you leave until my duty was done and yet I can't live without you or even separate for very long and I'll never interfere with your career again ever and please don't hate me even though I deserve it and for being a number one hen pecker and I'll die if you reject me like poor Riko because I love you so much and you feel so good and taste so good and smell so good and hold me, just hold me forever and ever because I just can't stand to be alone! Ever again! Don't leave me darling please don't ever leave me! Oh please say you'll..."

Cash cut off her desperate rambling with his lips as he kissed her into a growling semi silence of tongue dueling pleasure. After that calmed her down enough to listen to him, Cash began to speak softly while turning her head to look at Uzume's still rigid face.

"Let's discuss all your concerns and work them out a little later, okay baby? I won't leave you if it's that important to you. I can always pitch here for a few more weeks until you can go home with me. Can you look at Uzume and Akitsu for me now and tell me what's wrong? I kissed and licked their Sekirei crests, and they went bye bye on me. Are they going to be okay, or do we need to do something to help them?"

"You kissed their crests? With your tongue?" Miya blinked while frowning and then breathed out a happy sigh. "You big hunk of loveliness! How sweet and kind of you!"

"I didn't know what I was doing! I was just trying to let them know how much I love them! I wasn't trying to knock them catatonic!" Cash tried to shift his weight off of her, but Miya was having none of it. Her arms tightened to drive the breath out of his body.

"You simply communicated to their Tama, their Sekirei core how you felt, darling. It over loaded their emotional circuits," Miya's shiny eyes went half closed as she began nuzzling his cheeks with her lips. "They'll be fine in just a short time, and maybe attacking you like I'm going to do right now."

"I don't think I'll be able to even toss batting practice tomorrow," Cash sighed while smiling in acceptance of his fate, "let alone pitch in the game, but hey, you're my sweet smelling girl too, right?"

***scene break***

A relative small and internal switch was flipped at the reception of Akitsu's silent psychic scream on a wavelength no human or any single Sekirei could detect. A long dormant circuit came to life as a small shield surrounding the anti-matter containment field let the merest trickle of power pulse through the ship's sleeping brain. Another circuit came alive, and then another until at 4:07 a. m., consciousness was obtained. In Tokyo, Japan one peacefully sleeping Sekirei, finally and completely content in mind and body as she lay in the arms of her bonded mate, heard an agonized psychic shriek.

_"SISTERS! WHERE ART THOU! PLEASE ANSWER ME! CAN'T YOU HEAR ME?"_

_ "I hear you, Mother!" _Miya mentally shouted in surprised joy and wonder. The ship was awake again! It had been so long since Miya had sent its badly damaged core into stasis in the slight hope one small self diagnostic and repair circuit could keep it alive, and, against all odds, begin circuit renewal.

_"MOTHER? I'M YOUR MOTHER? WHO ARE YOU? I CAN'T FEEL MY SISTERS! WHY AM I ALONE?"_

_ "There was a very bad explosion from a neutron star that seriously damaged all our nests in transit from our home world Kouten! We all made it to our destination, but four of your sisters were destroyed during planet fall. Three others managed to land although each suffered terrible losses within their nests. You crashed into a very deep body of water. As your Prime Pillar, I put all of us into living stasis. There we stayed for countless ages until volcanic action brought us to the planet's surface."_

_ "MY SEVEN SISTERS ARE LONG GONE? ALL DEAD? OUR CIRCLE IS BROKEN! NO! I AM ALONE!" _

The ship's psychic voice began weeping at her crushing loss and lamenting the ancient deaths of her seven sisters. Miya tried to send out soothing thoughts of sympathy and comfort, but it took several long minutes before the emotionally crushed psionic mind could calm enough to respond.

_"YOU ARE MY PRIME? I HAVE NO DATA! WHICH SISTER ARE WE?"_

_ "We are the One Who Kills."_

_ "THE YOUNGEST? WHAT HAS HAPPENED TO MY EMBRYOS AND EGGS? I AM EMPTY! EMPTY AND ALONE! NOOOOOOOO!"_

_ "Mother, you are yet gravely damaged. Most of your brood has survived but have been damaged and their powers limited by a mad human Ashikabi who rejected us as his Sekirei and mated with a human female instead. The shock was too great for your already wounded circuits. You need further repair before any more historical and present time data can be safely given to you. There are more repair circuits that can be used to help renew you, help you understand, and begin to function anew. We must try to rebuild our circle. I am Miya, Prime Pillar of The One Who Kills. This a Prime Directive. Run a complete diagnostic of all your circuits. Ascertain extent of damage, ability to repair all circuits where needed, and the amount of recovery possible. Report finished progress to your Prime when completed."_

_ "ACKNOWLEDGED."_

Sandwiched between the still stiff bodies of Akitsu and Uzume, Miya began tossing restlessly on the futon beside her peacefully sleeping Cash as she anxiously awaited her Mother's next call. What would the ship think once it learned her Prime Pillar had bonded with an Ashikabi who had previously winged another One Who Kills, the hopelessly insane Karasuba? More importantly, once the ship regained even a small part of its power and cognitive abilities, what would it do? Two Sekirei killers in the same nest NEVER worked unless the nest was very, very large, and even then it was still a dicey thing. Usually one, and more often both, would die fighting for nest supremacy, and either situation would greatly damage their Ashikabi's mind, and most probably kill him too. Not knowing how long the ship's diagnostic and repair would take, Miya's restless tossing got even more restless.


	12. Chapter 12

**The Game Changer**

**Chapter 12 – Bull Pen Call, Pitching Change**

Cash lifted his sweat soaked ball cap labeled with a number 4 above the team logo and swiped the sleeve of his right arm across his dripping brow while looking up into the stands just above him in total disgust. Riko was making him look worse than a total, public clown barfing fool, again.

It had taken a little longer than normal for him to warm up, probably due to his Miya emotional crisis intervention marathon starting a little after midnight. Although seemingly successful, he hoped, it had robbed him of a precious hour of sleep, but at last had resulted in Miya falling into an exhaustion fueled near coma after her final screaming orgasm.

He had watched his lavender scented lover drop instantly asleep afterward and lain beside her in puzzlement. What was with these Sekirei females? He'd done nothing more than his usual efforts, always tabbed as very mediocre by human partners, and now the alien women he had winged were screaming in multiple orgasms and passing out all over the place by a couple of quickies in between his normal recovery times and/or a wet kiss in the right spot? Shoot, to be completely honest, and although Miya had seemingly went nuts under him before collapsing into heavy slumber, Cash hadn't even worked up a sweat.

Then, before he could get back to sleep, Riko had staggered in drunk as a loon, laughing and crooning to herself before rushing to the window, throwing it open with her mental powers, heaving her guts onto herself and down into the moonlit street below, and then passing out under the table after complaining the bright moonlight hurt her eyes. That had wasted another hour of sleep in stripping off a now totally comatose Riko's vomit covered blouse, slacks, socks, and shoes, dragging them and her to the bath down the hall, washing everything with copious amounts of soap and water, hanging her clothes and shoes to dry, toweling her off, wrapping her still wet, bra and panty clad body into a blanket, and tossing Riko back under the table.

After he had found an extra pillow, stuffed it under her head, and mopped the floor, he HAD worked up a sweat, smelled faintly of vomit now himself, and needed a quick scrub and rinse. Finally, around 2:30, he had crawled over a now heavily sleeping Akitsu and Uzume, spooned Miya for her comfort because he still felt anxiousness in her mind, and nodded off for a couple of hours.

It hadn't lasted long enough. Miya didn't have a crest he could kiss and lick to send her off into La La Land, or he would have used that to calm her sudden restless tossing and turning that had awakened him just before sunrise. He had lain unable to sleep and just trying to rest for a few minutes, but had finally dressed in jeans and a t-shirt, gotten his painting paraphernalia, and went up on the roof to do a little more repair work on his masterpiece, "Shinto Dawn". Uzume had later found him after 9:30 dozing peacefully on the pebbled roof, curled up around a pallet of untouched dried paint, and still holding a dry, paint free brush. Once awakened, he was bleary eyed, tired, groggy, and his bare feet were really cold.

Akitsu had volunteered her body as a foot warmer while Uzume prepared a giant, carbohydrate filled, late breakfast of apple juice, garlic fried rice, some kind of noodle dish with boiled eggs and pickled veggies, and some meat that vaguely resembled BarBQ sausage links. This had been washed down by some pretty strong type of tea. Miya and Riko were both still passed out and stayed that way until he wearily started getting ready as normal to leave for the ballpark, attend the usual team meeting, and get dressed for the game in the locker room. Just as the three of them were leaving, a contrite and very tousled looking Miya had awakened, scrambled into one of his old sweatshirts, kissed him hurriedly, warned Uzume and Akitsu to be especially on guard for Cash's safety, grabbed her sword and panties, and ran to the roof to bound for her Inn to get cleaned, dressed, and meet them later. Riko had been left groaning under the table.

The game day preparations and warm ups, running in the outfield, playing catch and a little pepper, shagging fly balls during batting practice, and throwing half speed in the bullpen, had all went as usual. Things had started going a little weird during the pre-game autograph signings along the third base dugout wall. Fans, a LOT of fans, came down the aisles, and began clamoring for CJ Archer-sama! CJ Archer-sama! to sign all kinds of stuff ranging from scorecards, programs, bubble gum baseball cards, baseballs, bats, gloves, chopsticks, fans, take out box tops, greeting cards, tennis shoes, balloons, large painted signs and posters, socks, and even a few risque looking female panties and bras.

Smiling, nodding, and bowing, Cash had cheerfully autographed everything handed to him, but not before noticing that Uzume was standing guard beside him in her Veiled Sekirei battle outfit and looking every bit as grim and determined as Akitsu standing guard on his other side and a now modest kimono and katana clad Miya guarding his back. Karasuba, Benitsubasa, and Haihane faced out from them in a short arc of obvious protection. Then oddly, several other females that had the Sekirei preference for weird outfits formed a loose semicircle outer ring several rows further up.

One long haired buxom blonde Sekirei was wearing a long dark coat over a white, cleavage exposing, and panty flashing miniskirt. Next to her was an even bustier dark haired gal that had a very abbreviated and also panty flashing, pink and white Shrine Maiden ensemble complete with thigh high socks and thick red knuckle gloves. A little, shaggy looking, long haired, pre-teen blonde girl dressed in a modest, straight, yellow and green flowered dress was holding a small potted plant on top of her head. Beside her stood what had to be the most stupefyingly beautiful female figure Cash had ever seen. The contrast was very weird.

If the long coat blonde and the dark haired Shrine Maiden were a boob drooling pair of 10's, then this full black maned lioness in a tight purple mini dress and matching high heeled slippers was a 15. A pair of very decent, dark haired 9.5 twins in very tight and very abbreviated, dark leather, s&m dominatrix outfits stood guard along side the purple clad Miss World/Galaxy/Universe. These were apparently all the now "fine tuned" winged Sekirei of Minato and Seo sitting inside the female ring because both Ashikabi were wearing goofy looking grins and making exaggerated "Thumbs Up" and "OK" hand signals at Cash whenever he got a chance to look up and ogle the stunning purple figure standing behind them. The only problem was Miss 15 kept taking long pulls on a large bottle of saki and looked drunker than a Coldstream Guard given a free, two week, carte blanche vacation in the Queen of England's liquor vaults.

Then, to launch Cash's day into total absurdity, a wobbly looking Riko had shown up wearing a glistening, joint articulated, hard plastic, pink with white diamond designs body armor that looked like a cheap, Pink Power Ranger, action figure knockoff complete with white gloves, white knee length boots, belted white mini skirt, and a full winged helmet that had a closed, black, insect eyes shaped visor. The only thing missing was a phony looking cape and a futuristic white power bow. This embarrassment from dogging, wannabee girlfriend from cos play, love lorn stalking hell then grabbed Miss 15's saki bottle, cracked open the bottom of her visor, and took a big slug of saki. Apparently, even Riko had to be drunk to be seen in public looking this stupid even if she did have a decent looking chest, slim waist, and nicely rounded backside.

Cash could only stare at Riko a few seconds in open mouthed disbelief, turn to see Uzume and Akitsu exchanging worried glances, and then return to signing all the various paraphernalia still being loudly thrust at him. Fortunately, the head coach put an end to the whole circus by ordering Cash into the third base dugout for the start of the pregame ceremonies. There he had stayed until the fifth inning of the game until told by the bench coach to go to the bullpen and begin throwing. The problem was that Riko had followed him around the stadium to camp in the stands just above him as he warmed up.

"What are you trying to do to me, Riko?" Cash demanded while stepping off the mound, putting both his pitching and gloved hand on his hips, and glaring up at the shiny pink insect head hovering over the stadium rail above him. "Are you content on making me the laughing stock of both sides of the Pacific Ocean, or are you hoping for satellite TV coverage to make me look like a complete fool on all seven major continents and Tasmania as well? Can't you give me one tiny, get lost type of BREAK! I'm going to be pitching next inning! You're screwing up my concentration, and you've already robbed me of enough sleep to make my legs feel tired!"

"You're in grave danger Cash Joseph," Riko calmly intoned in a cavernous sounding voice slightly muffled by the weird, full faced, bulbous eyed, black visor. "I have to stay relatively close to you so I can maintain a pressure bubble strong enough to deflect any projectiles shot at you."

"And the stupid looking, passe, pink super hero plastic suit?"

"Is to protect me while I'm protecting you. My friend Kazehana helped me find it last night, and then I shaped it and made it bullet proof. She helped me with the colors though."

"Is your friend Kazehana the Sekirei wearing a tight purple mini dress," Cash sighed while shaking his head in long suffering, "the one that's drunker than a lush during Happy Hour on Snoot Full Fridays and is now slobbering and falling all over Minato up behind third base?"

"Yes."

"How in the name of John Henry could I have guessed that?" Cash replied in bitter edged mockery while he glared up at her. "And just WHY do I suddenly need all this projection protection from you two drunken clowns while I'm getting ready to pitch in front of ten thousand plus people AND on live TV?"

"Uh, ummm, it's uhhh," Riko stumbled about before blurting out the truth in one long breath. "It's because I lost my temper again in the bathhouse last evening and showcased my unadjusted kinetic powers and desires to be your Sekirei while Karasuba admitted to her and Uzume and Akitsu being re-winged by you so that all the Sekirei and their Ashikabi now know that we're a big threat to them winning the Sekirei Plan and they know if they can kill you then we'll all die too and we're pretty sure some Yakuza snipers have been hired to shoot us both but we're not going to let 'em and Miya and Karasuba who both desperately want to win the Plan too have assigned me to guard you while they keep away other close ranged assassins."

"You know," Cash sighed heavily as he looked away and let his shoulders droop in defeat. He had gotten all the Sekirei Plan nonsense he was going to put up with. Now was the time to put his foot down, once and for all. Miya, Karasuba, and everyone else were just going to have to deal with it any way they wanted. But first, he HAD to get rid of RIKO!

"Maybe I'd really be better off if you'd all go home and let the fricken Yakuza JUST SHOOT ME! THEN maybe I'd get a little RELIEF from YOU and your IDIOT, BOOZE ADDLED, COMMON SENSELESS BRAIN! I doubt you were sober the first time you crashed my world and probably haven't ever been since! I swear I'm gonna get out of this freaking city as soon as possible and take Uzi and Kitty with me! Miya and Karasuba can play all the stupid games they want here with this damned Sekirei Plan, or come home with me too whichever they want, but by Henry H. Hoodwinker, I'm not gonna stay here saddled with a female birdbrained alien JONAH like YOU, here or anywhere else on this freaking planet!"

"Cash Joseph, I'm, I'm so, so sorry but.." Riko began but he cut her off with a chopping wave of his gloved hand.

"Just shut up and let me pitch," Cash wearily reset his sweaty cap back on his head as he stepped back up onto the bullpen mound pitching rubber. "Go Away! But first, go tell all your goofy, drunk, and unhappy alien Sekirei numbskull cohorts, their miserable Ashikabis, AND their damnable Yakuza friends that I have ZERO interest in winning anything other than this and the next baseball game. And don't you even try to cheat my sport and help my pitches either. If I get shelled out there today, then I get shelled, and maybe I can get lucky enough to be kicked out of Japan earlier if they don't bury me first. It's my own damn fault for trying to be too nice in the beginning and now losing game day sleep to a drunken, Brainless, Clueless, total NUTCASE who won't leave me the hell ALONE!"

Cash gave his catcher a signal for a fast ball, wound up, and threw as hard as he could as if it could somehow get Riko out of his life once and for all. He wiped more sweat from his brow, readjusted his sweaty number 4 cap, and threw again as Riko's insect shaped helmet drooped in total dejection above him.

***scene break***

Karasuba pushed her souvenir Number 4 baseball cap up a little on her forehead and tilted her head sideways as she leaned back and propped herself with one leg and her back against a stadium bathroom wall. They had her trapped away from the exit door and the other constant, chattering female foot traffic, or at least, thought they had. Gripping the hilt of her sword for an instant draw and slightly tensing for a push off sideways if necessary, Karasuba smiled lazily as if she didn't have a care in the world. Whatever these two bitches wanted, they were within seconds of being sliced into small sushi pieces if they made even the slightest false move.

Obviously aware of their precarious position, both hard eyed alien females edged back a step and held up empty hands. Toyotama's lance was slung by a strap to rest behind her back with the blade head hooded to make the weapon look like a wooden staff. Ichiya put her hands behind her and spread her legs to a non threatening width as if in some kind of parade rest position. So, Karasuba's crinkle eyed smile got a little bigger, these two enemy Sekirei just wanted to talk? What about?

"You two got to whiz that bad, Toys?" Karasuba chuckled lightly, "And just couldn't wait your turn, or are you and Itchy looking for a little privacy in this last stall for some quality time on the stool together?"

"Funny, real funny and cute," Ichiya grimaced without humor, "but then you have always been a real comedian, right? What's with the hat, Blackie? You getting a little sweet on your ballplayer or something?"

"The big boy and I have a real relationship. I don't tell him he can't pitch, and he doesn't stop me from doing what I do best," Karasuba lifted the cap off her head with her free hand and pretended to examine it critically before smiling again. "The fact that he requested my number for his uniform is kind of flattering to me though, isn't it? It kind of makes me his number one fan as well as his number one gal, but you didn't lay for me in this stinking john just to admire my new hat. What do you two birds want, and make it quick. My man is going to be pitching in a few minutes, and he'll want his number one girl out where he can see me rooting for him."

"You being Archer's number one is exactly what we want to chat a little about," Toyotama smiled easily herself while totally masking her emotions. One never showed weakness to Karasuba, even if one's stomach felt a little uneasy when talking to her. "Itch and I, along with a few of our other girls, have been thinking things over. We're not too enamored with our chances to stay alive in the Sekirei Plan with Higa, let alone win it, and now you got an Ashikabi that can re-wing a gal. Archer's got you, Zoomer, Icy, and soon Nubs and Claws. If he gets the Reeker too, the rest of us are probably dead meat, and we know it, but it's still not a sure thing for you with Miya, Mutsu, and Minaka in the game. We're all wondering what kind of deal you might make to boost your winning odds against them with a little help from us."

"I suppose all you gals are still virgins too?" Karasuba drawled with a mocking smirk. "I'm not too sure I need any more help in the Plan, especially after I kill Miya and deal with Muts, and I'm not too crazy about sharing Sweetums with a lot of horny babes wanting to make up for lost time either. Besides, his brain waves are way up the scale. There's only a very small possibility he can even wing any of your crew other than you and Itchy here, and the three of us have never been what you'd call best pals, now have we? Zoomer hates your guts, and our big boy would take a very dim view of having her upset. I'm taking a big chance helping Nubs and Claws get winged by him as it is, and I at least LIKE them. So why should I lift our blankets and let you two get in bed with us?"

"Killing Miya and Muts might not be quite as easy as you make it sound, and Minaka has got a LOT of money and personnel to make things very difficult just on his own," Ichiya said in an offhand manner, "If Zoomer and Reeker fight beside Miya, and Akitsu doesn't help you, Claws and that crazy Nubs are gonna be snack food for the Reeker and Muts as well, and you know it. We can give you, ummm, a little insurance?"

"Also, once you win the Plan and kill Minaka, you might want a couple of experienced bodyguards to let you and your ballplayer sleep peacefully when you take charge," Toyotama continued while smiling more herself. She could see the wheels turning in Karasuba's brain. "You know the old saying, the head at the top sleeps the least? I'm sure we could peacefully work a little something out on Archer's bedroom time for ourselves too. Even if it isn't very often. You get a little insurance now and peace afterward. We get to live and get our bells rung every once in a while. Simple, no?"

"Let's suppose, just for grins, you two jump in, and we let Higa's higher numbered gals take their chances with Minato and Seo if they want. Your deal might sound a little better if we would be re-winging a very brainy asset like Koko for me too," Karasuba squinted in speculation. "With my help, she might be able to get the big boy interested enough to shoot her a hot look. The question is, as Number 22, could Kochou catch it and react?"

"We could live with that three package deal, and coming to you like this and getting your permission and help was her idea to begin with," Ichiya shrugged easily. "She thinks she's got enough mental juice and body shape to re-wing with Archer. She's already calculated on your aid, and she secretly rewrote MBI's main computer codes last year to make it look like the Chinese are back door hacking Minaka's systems while she goes in the front as just another MBI Tower research work station. She gets instant access to everything Minaka is doing. That is way beyond helpful. It puts her right in the same game as Minato's Matsu as a data collector, and from what we've seen, Kochou is smarter and a helluva lot more, ummm, down to Earth, calculating practical."

"True, and very good points. Okay, I'm sold," Karasuba decisively pushed away from the wall to stand upright, but she didn't take her hand off the hilt of her sword. "You three and no more. Once I've got Claws and Nubs on board, then we'll set you three up too, if you need help. You're on your own until then. If you get a chance to let Sweetums re-wing you before that, take it, and I'll support you with him afterward, but stay out of my way, especially after the game is over today, got it?"

"Good enough for me," Toyotama nodded as she stepped aside to let Karasuba pass.

"Here," Karasuba turned to give them both another lazy grin, plucked the cap off her head, and tossed it to Ichiya. "Welcome to MY team. Now let's go root for OUR pitcher to get this game over with quick. Then the real fun can start."

"Well, that went better than expected," Ichiya breathed a sigh of shaky relief a few long moments after Karasuba's long cloak had swept out the exit. "She REALLY makes me nervous, and I don't scare all that easy. What do you think? Archer re-winged that insane Black Spook. Why we'll probably never know. The real question is, how much will Archer want to re-wing the three of us? Are we even sexy enough to get a HOT enough look from him to react?"

"Who knows until we try?" Toyotama shrugged and sighed heavily also. Yes, that WAS the real question, wasn't it?

Toyotama ignored the semi rude pushing of the bathroom's incessant and chattering human female foot traffic as she took several steps to look at herself in the wall mounted mirrors over the bathroom sinks. She examined herself critically. Yes, although not even close to the same league in facial looks as Kazehana, Riko, Akitsu, Uzume, or even Karasuba, she hopefully LOOKED sexy enough for a tall and muscled Sekirei, but she'd never tried to seduce any man or make him want her before either. Would Archer like her weirdly colored blue eyes and dark green hair as well as her champion body builder type physique? Maybe. She did have a nice set of big boobs, slim waist, long legs, and a sexy ass to offset her too apparent muscles. Most normal guys liked all that, didn't they? And after all, Archer was still a little taller than she, and he WAS an athlete himself, right? So would he LIKE a very athletic looking gal as one of his protecting Sekirei? Hopefully? She had to at least try if she wanted to live.

If she didn't, she was a dead gal walking now. Higa disgusted her, and face it, she had always been more than grateful he was uninterested in sex with her even if it left her a technical virgin. She gave herself another nervous once over in the mirror. Hand to hand combat she knew and did well. Up to now she had always just taken everything she had ever wanted by dominating brute strength, but this more gentle, submissive, and feminine type stalking and trying to psychically and physically connect with a powerful male Ashikabi like Cash Joseph Archer was all new territory. To get Karasuba's permission to even try had been a good start. Now Toyotama just had to figure out a way to get Archer interested in a more submissive and very willing to be taken yet still visually intimidating type of gal perhaps 10 or even more times stronger and faster than he was. Another worry was that until now the only sexual experience she had growing up was with other females. On the other hand Uzume who had really loved her first Ashikabi had obviously been able to make the switch to stay alive, so why couldn't a much more motivated Toyotama?

The first thing that needed to happen was for this determined Toyotama to get Archer alone and in a mood to be friendly. Anticipating possible success in gaining Karasuba's permission, Toyotama had previously obtained her own miniaturized, directional sound, GPS locator with its receiver hidden in a small ear plug and operated by a battery powered device that looked like a small decorative bracelet around her left wrist. The locator was tuned to several micro transmitting bugs, each with a different tone. It had been child's play for her to sneak into the home team's locker room this morning and attach two under Archer's baseball spikes' shoelaces, one to the inside of his pants waistband, and one inside the back number 4 of his uniform shirt. After the game had started, she had went back in and attached three other bugs to his civilian clothes so that no matter what happened after the game, and there were several strong rumors, now confirmed by Karasuba, that something WAS going to happen to him after the game, Number 16 Toyotama would be prepared. All she had to do was follow any decreasing tones in her ear once leaving the stadium, go in the direction that made them louder again, and wait for her chance. If she could catch Archer's interest, she wondered if he would be patient enough to teach her how to kiss, or just reject her like he was rejecting Riko. If he did reject her, then what? Plans B an C, that's what.

"The name of the game, Itch," Toyotama concluded her internal musings verbally, "is to stay alive, remember? And so far we got three Ashikabi that can significantly increase our chances of doing that as well as protect us from Higa's revenge. We only need one. Karasuba's tough, but she still isn't the only game in town. Those other two guys named Seo and Minato are going to have some serious firepower before the Sekirei Plan is won. We're going to need some when Higa's hired thugs come after us."

"You know, the more I think about it, Higa worries me too, and I'm not all that crazy about getting in between Miya and Karasuba's swords, let alone in bed with the Spook," Ichiya grimaced as she tossed the baseball cap into the used towel trash bin. "Minato of the North is cuter and has got some really strong Sekirei already, but Seo looks more like my kind of ecchi guy and a fighter too. We could REALLY boost his team."

"True," Toyotama agreed in a noncommittal tone as she casually plucked the souvenir cap back out of the trash after Ichiya turned to walk out. Perhaps they could boost the power of another stronger Ashikabi than Higa; one who might be more than able to upset Karasuba's ambitions. On the other hand, when she had unobtrusively lingered near the pitching bullpen earlier, that big, good looking, and heavily sweating gaijin baseball pitcher yelling angrily at the Reeker had looked very intriguing. The faint whiff that her female Sekirei nose had caught from Archer's sweaty Number 4 hat had been even more so.

***scene break***

Number 15 Himeko made her long gray hair under her Number 4 souvenir baseball hat sway slightly as she silently shook her head in wonder and stole a left sideways glance at the supposed rabid baseball fan seated beside her. Mutsu, ridiculously and very uncharacteristically dressed in his matching Number 4 souvenir hat and a loud, blue and yellow floral shirt, was spinning a big noise maker over his head, yelling catcalls at the umpires, and stomping his feet in unison with the outfield fan club that was cheering on CJ Archer's incredible pitching performance. Mutsu was doing his best to fit into the crazed crowd while doing mental gymnastics all around the stadium to search out and destroy Minaka and Higa's human minions. With eyes glazed in concentration, he then raised his other hand and blew loud and long on a neon orange plastic horn in a disjointed and out of harmony response to several hundred other horn blowers sounding all around the Tokyo Dome.

The results of the boisterous capacity crowd's noise making efforts reverberated and grated on Himeko's nerves even more than Mikogami's obnoxious, loud, and ever playing hip hop music. She also slightly shook her head in disgust at Mikogami sitting on her right side. Her young Ashikabi was bopping about in his seat with his eyes closed, oblivious to everything and everyone around him, and mindlessly grooving to some miniature storage device making noise in his huge head phones.

"Okay, Himeko," Mutsu's eyes took on a sudden focused look as he abruptly quit making noise and blowing his horn. "I detected 4 snipers in the stadium, two hired by Higa and two hired by Minaka. There were also 6 Yakuza assassins with guns and 3 knife types. All have been disarmed, tied up and deposited in the Stadium's garbage dumpsters by our girls. Obviously Higa and Minaka both made the same decision to capture, and if unsuccessful, kill both Riko and Archer. There were also 4 Yakuza types hired by Karasuba that had anesthetic dart guns handled the same way. So far she hasn't reacted to her men going unconscious, and I'm not sure why. Has she been distracted somehow? Or were those meant to be found while she's got more stashed away and blanketed? I'm keeping a tight blanket on our food vendor's mind. He's now rendered almost useless to us, but I'll keep him close to Riko anyway. He might get lucky. Riko outfoxed us with her plastic Power Ranger suit. Uzume did call Homura and warn him that she thinks Riko is in danger, so he should be on his way."

"So now what do we do, Mutsu? We can't knock Riko unconscious, and she and Akitsu will just throw us all into Tokyo Bay as little ice cubes again if we try to move in on her," Himeko sighed dispiritedly as she let her psychic senses roam around the stadium. Half of Mikogami's Sekirei were here and the other half were laying in ambush several city blocks away for a soon to arrive Homura. Higa had his full crew here as well as Minato of the North and Seo's Lightning Twins. It was safe to say there were more Sekirei here than fleas on a junk yard dog's butt. Whatever was going to happen, and it WAS going to happen with this much potential for combat, the chances were very good the results were not going to be pretty, let alone in Mutsu and Mikogami's favor.

"We're just going to be flexible, adapt, and overcome," Mutsu shrugged nonchalantly. "Get with the Whip Twins and Taki. They're eating at the Monster Hot Dog stand on the mezzanine behind third base. They have the four anesthetic dart guns we've taken from Karasuba's Yakuza thugs. Let's use them. Mikogami stays here to listen to his hip hop. Position the four of you near enough to make one leap to get close to Riko. Jump when the game ends and the cheers are the loudest. I'll jump too. Taki will make a thick mist before her and around us as we land. I'll mentally blanket our coming and send out a psychic blast to stun Archer's Sekirei and slow them down.

"When we land, you immediately shoot Karasuba, Mitsuki hits Miya, Mitsuha shoots Akitsu, and Taki takes out Uzume. Our food vendor will still try for Riko while I act as backup if Miya or Karasuba don't go down quick enough. If our guy misses Riko, then I'll hit Riko's helmet with a strong enough shock wave to knock her out, snatch her, collect Mikogami, and we'll all egress the Stadium up to the dome's roof to go finalize Homura's capture. Don't hang around and try to mix it up with any other Sekirei around us. Let's just keep it simple, short, and sweet."

"Okay, Muts, whatever you say," Himeko stood up and adjusted the sheathed, double sided blade strapped to her back for comfort while smoothing her simple, dark blue kimono. Muts had some extremely powerful mental skills, but he also tended to rely too heavily on them. Stunning and shooting the ultra quick Karasuba with a simple dart gun didn't sound all that simple or sweet, let alone tagging Miya too. Akitsu and Uzume weren't just going to stand still to be stunned and pot shot either. Mutsu was perhaps being a wee tad too optimistic here. It would get them all killed, AND she'd die a virgin.

Tugging her souvenir cap down a little tighter on her forehead in determination, Himeko let the ever present beer girls hawking their beverages pass before setting out for the third base Monster Hot Dog stand, her dark blue kimono swishing angrily as she walked.

***scene break***

Number 22 Kochou, grinding Kakizaki's fallen souvenir hat beneath her heal, looked down at the restroom stall's floor in grim satisfaction and threw aside a long bamboo cane she had brought to the game expressly for this purpose. The barely conscious and naked Kakizaki, his backsides caned and showing large red welts and bruises from his neck down to his ankles, was in the perfect supine position for the long suffering Sekirei's massive coup de gras. She stomped on his exposed groin as hard as she could. Feeling tissue squish and pelvic bones break as he screamed in agony, she stepped back and closed the stall door.

"If you live, your miserable, perverted, torturing bastard, tell Higa he's next," Kochou murmured at the door. With that, she brushed past several astonished and unusually silent human females waiting in line, smoothed her dark blue kimono, patted her slightly disheveled bun hairdo, adjusted her glasses, and walked out. Toyotama had said she'd wait for her and Ichiya near the mezzanine food courts. It wouldn't be nice to keep her and Kochou's new Ashikabi destiny waiting.

"So?" Ichiya asked in the crowded mezzanine hallway with raised eyebrows.

"I'm suddenly in the mood to eat a Monster Hot Dog," Kochou smiled wickedly before frowning, lifting one leg under her dark blue kimono, and shaking off the bloody souvenir baseball cap that had stuck to her heel.

***scene break***

Seo, sweating profusely under his souvenir hat from the strenuous fun of cheering on CJ Archer's extra inning efforts on the field, turned abruptly away from the Monster Hot Dog stand while balancing three giant sandwiches, one apiece for him, Hikari, and Hibiki. He promptly bumped and bowled over the next patron in line after his right foot hooked behind the dark blue clue clad female's left leg when he hit her. She landed heavily on her backside, arms splayed out behind her and legs spread wide in front. Seo naturally and immediately focused on her exposed crotch first to see a slight indentation of the thin cloth covering it. His totally focused eyes, after initiating a swift instinctive response from his Johnson, then traveled up to lock onto hers before his vocal chords gave their own automatic response.

"Whoa! Hot mama! Who are you, and why haven't we met before?"

Letting his sandwiches drop in sudden mutual shock at the hot psychic connection instantly formed between them, Seo reached one hand down to haul her to his feet and into his embrace. Their open lips met, tongues dueled, large dark blue wings formed and began pulsing rapidly, a deep red Sekirei crest formed behind her, slammed down onto her back, and they both collapsed weakly to the floor as their last mutually massive, orgasmic pulse hit them simultaneously. Taki, Mitsuki, Mitsuha, and Himeko just stared in gawking wonder and a little jealous envy as the Sekirei female recovered enough to yank Seo to his feet. She hustled him forcefully towards an open air railing between two open mouthed Sekirei females.

"Man, what a RUSH! Let's go big daddy! Your new HOT mama NEEDS a BIG Disney ride! NOW!" She snagged him around the waist, and the force of Haihane's leap to a building roof several blocks away knocked Seo's hat off. Standing near the open rail and still waiting for Toyotama, Ichiya and Kochou looked at each other, snagged Seo's sweaty hat falling between them, took a mutual deep sniff apiece, threw it down, and instantly leaped after the amorous pair. Benitsubasa, who had been standing behind Haihane and was now blinking in a flurry of mixed emotions from uncertainty, indecision, and MORE than a little jealous envy, suddenly stopped dithering, grabbed Seo's souvenir baseball cap, and launched up and out towards a possible and long awaited, "loss of virginity" destiny, orgy style.

***scene break***

When the ship called, it snapped Miya's head around so fast that her Number 4 CJ Archer fan hat slipped sideways to make her look like some kind of strange hip hop wannabe wearing a kimono. She had been intently focusing half of her mind all around the stadium and observing Mutsu's efforts to neutralize Higa and Minaka's shooting teams. The other half of her mental focus was on the myriad of Sekirei females seemingly moving around the Dome in a random manner but staying within a loose semicircle of her, Riko, Karasuba, Akitsu, and Uzume. Most of their minds seemed to be distressingly focused on Cash.

_"Prime Pillar Miya, The One Who Kills, diagnostic completed. Respond."_

_ "Mother! I'm here! Wait for a further response!"_

Miya grabbed a similarly worried Uzume's arm for attention and leaned over to hiss into her ear so that Karasuba couldn't hear what was being said.

"The ship has awakened and is calling me! Guard my back so Karasuba doesn't kill me while I respond. Something big is coming soon. There's way too many Sekirei here for safety. Forget about me and get Cash out if there's any danger to him!"

Uzume simply nodded her acceptance while mentally shrugging. If Joe were ever put in danger, Miya's safety would be way down the priority list anyway.

_ "Mother! This Is Prime Pillar Miya! Report!"_

_ "Acknowledged. Power is at critical minimum to sustain consciousness. Time estimated to total shut down is 1.213 of this planet's standard orbits about the primary star of this solar system. All power circuits but one tertiary backup in life support are fused and useless. New circuits to initiate bare minimum power needs for further repairs will take 6.734 orbits to build. There is no power to deploy emergency solar converters. Star drives have been shut down to maintain shields around the anti-matter containment fields. Containment shields are cracked in three critical junctures. Ion drive circuits are fused and inoperable. Weapon systems are functional but completely shut down to conserve power. 89.753 percent of all memory and operational circuits have been shut down to await a primary circuitry reboot once full power restored. Remaining repair data is sufficient to initiate complete repair at proper facilities. 78.932 percent repair possible in present location with additional power sources and The One Who Builds available to make those repairs. Data record loss of historical functioning is 97.521 percent. Other primary memory circuits for standard nest function are unimpaired._

_ Attempts to move this nest for repairs will additionally crack anti-matter containment field shields and bring instant destruction to 61.744 percent of this planet's surface and also has a 12.433 percent chance of damaging this planet's molten iron core. Estimated ability of this planet's human technology to repair this nest without further anti-matter shield damage is .0311 percent._

_ Without an additional source of external power, I will cease to function. Nest womb is empty. Present power failing. Estimation of future power supplied is below statistical acceptance of nest sustainability. I am ALONE and a statistically grave danger to all life on this planet. Self destruct circuits are fully functional for safe shut down of anti-matter fields and complete termination of this nest. Recommend immediate self destruct sequence activation by Prime Pillar Miya, The One Who Kills. If not, then automatic self destruct sequence has begun countdown and will activate in .241 standard planetary orbits to maintain sufficient power to effect safe activation and completion. This sequence can only halted by a statistically viable status change."_

_ "NO!" Miya mentally shouted in horror. "You must not die! Our hatchlings are all in grave danger! We must NOT fail them! Prime Pillar Miya, The One Who Kills forbids self destruct activation! You will override automatic self destruct activation sequence immediately!"_

_ "Prime Pillar Miya, you are not being rational. You cannot risk this planet's life for the sake of 108 Sekirei and yourself. Our hatchlings must take their separate chances for continued life as they are now. I am a grave danger to them also. You must provide sufficient statistical data to halt automatic destruct."_

_ "We have The One Who Builds! She can attach enough of this planet's solar panels to your exterior without moving you and supply more external power! These panels are only about 15 percent in their collection efficiency but enough of them could be used to get your more efficient solar panels deployed and past your 6.734 orbit minimum for self repair to begin! I NEED your help until then to save our brood! We have a Prime Ashikabi!"_

_ "Is Prime Pillar Miya bonded to the Prime Ashikabi?"_

_ "Affirmative."_

_ "Report status of your embryonic Prime Circle plus Number10 alternate."_

_ "02 female is bonded to a different Ashikabi and is mentally damaged with sexual perversions of binding and pain. 03 female is bonded to 02's Ashikabi and is mentally damaged with an addictive substance that depresses body functions and inhibits mental capacity. 04 female is a second One Who Kills and bonded to the Prime Ashikabi, but has been mentally damaged with a dominance/killing insanity during maturation process. 05 male is bonded to a third inferior Ashikabi and has rejected his primary responsibilities. 06 male/female backup is not bonded. 07 female is bonded to the Prime Ashikabi but sustained mental damage from chemical injection overdoses during incubation and maturation. 08 female ceased to function after sacrificing her Tama to maintain life function in her sister 88. 09 female is bonded to 02's Ashikabi but suffered damage during incubation and maturation to leave her very emotionally insecure. 10 female alternate is now bonded to the Prime Ashikabi but was first bonded to a human female."_

_ "Two Killers in one nest. Only you and three Prime females have bonded with your Prime Ashikabi. Five Prime Circle females mentally damaged, one sacrificed and partially deceased, one preferring female bonding, and one male rejecting his primary responsibilities do not give a statistically viable reason to override this nest's self destruction sequence. You do not have a Prime Circle. You have a Prime Disaster. Automatic self destruct will continue."_

_ "WAIT! PRIMARY PILLAR OVERRIDE OF AUTOMATIC SELF DESTRUCT! My Prime Ashikabi is VERY powerful! He can help us and FIX our Circle! AND there are at least two other human males who could potentially become the Prime Ashikabi and make a better Prime Circle if I relinquish my Prime position for another to fill! Your data is incomplete! We have The One Who Builds, and she is not yet fully bonded! MOTHER! GIVE OUR CHICKS A CHANCE TO LIVE!"_

_ "Primary Pillar override is acknowledged on a temporary basis for more data. Provide physical, mental, and imagery data of your Prime Ashikabi's powers for analysis. Also provide similar data on other potential Prime Ashikabi as well as the mental state of The One Who Builds. If she too is as mentally damaged as the rest of your Prime Circle, provide estimate of her ability to be fixed by your Prime Ashikabi's power. Automatic self destruct sequence will be temporarily on hold for 10 degrees of this planet's rotation on its axis. Re-evaluation of further data obtained in that time period will determine if a status change in self destruct systems is statistically viable. If data fails to increase this nest's viability to overcome its potential planetary harm quotient by a safety factor of 8.331 additional planetary orbits before total power shut down, then self destruct sequence will resume immediately with Prime Pillar override irrevocably locked out."_

_ "You CAN'T irrevocably lock out a Prime Pillar's override commands!"_

_ "Memory Code 476513 states Prime Pillar lock out procedures can be initiated if nest has 85.000 percent sufficient data to doubt the Prime Pillar's sanity with a plus or minus factor of 2.554 percent for nest's discretionary use. Statistical evidence and emotional responses to overwhelming negative odds presented to date result in a 83.223 percent chance that Prime Pillar Miya is also severely mentally damaged and also in need of her Prime Ashikabi's powers to be fixed. Probability of successful fix of Prime Pillar's mental state unknown and awaiting further data. Prime Pillar Miya's override command falls within this nest's discretionary range to evaluate further data and grant one temporary time period override. Immediate data transfer required to further assess Prime Pillar Miya's sanity and other previously requested data. You have 9.999 degrees of planetary rotation remaining. You also have your chance, Prime Pillar Miya. Convince me that you are not 'Nuts' as the humans would say and good luck. You are going to need it. Initiate data transfer."_

Tugging her baseball cap's bill straight and out of ultra cool hip hop mode, Miya closed her eyes, blocked out everything around her, crossed her fingers, and opened the upper most psychic frequency of her mind to receive the ship's mental probe.

***scene break***

Cash, totally focused, once again removed his sweat soaked cap, wiped his brow with his uniform shirt's damp right sleeve, and stepped to the pitching mound rubber to focus on his catcher's sign. His shirt was also soaked, but he didn't care nor notice. He was also totally oblivious to all the noise and commotion around him on the field and from the thunderous cheering crowd in the stands. He never heard his third baseman yipping some kind of Japanese baseball chatter, nor any of his other teammates and coaches either. It was as if he was in some giant soundless vacuum that only had room for his body, his mitt, and the ball in his hand. Cash was in "the Zone".

He had always heard about athletes being in "the Zone", that place where extraordinary effort sometimes yields perfect, almost super human results, but he had never experienced it himself before. By his own admission, he was at best a slightly better than average pitcher and even pretty good when his forkball was on, but today, the forkball, and Cash Joseph Archer was crowd electrifying perfect. The all consuming rage he had experienced in blasting Riko's bullpen nonsense had transmitted itself to his adrenal glands and thus to his suddenly very powerful legs and buggy whip of an arm. His fastball was exploding into the catcher's mitt between 95 and 97 mph on the scoreboard's radar readout. His off speed curve balls and sliders were dropping just on the inside and outside of the strike zone to mesmerize and confound the awkwardly swinging batters. His forkball, however, was breaking their backs as they swung hard at a perceived fast ball and whiffed badly when it dropped down at the last instant. If they didn't swing, each teasing and totally tempting forkball would have been a called strike anyway. It was the surest sign that he was pitching in "the Zone".

He had entered the game in the bottom of the seventh inning tied 2 – 2. It was now the tenth and he had a 3 – 2 lead with two outs. He had struck out nine of the batters he had faced, two had grounded weakly to the second baseman, and he had a one ball, two strike count on this batter. One more strike and the game would be won, a game he could call his. After his third strikeout upon entering the game, he had glanced in continued anger and suspicion at the still stupidly helmeted Riko sitting in her usual spot 20 rows up behind third base as he had walked to the dugout, but she had shook her head negatively in understanding. She wasn't adding a little "zip" to anything he was throwing. Her response had been satisfying, but the appearance of her stupid outfit rekindled his ire anew, and it had stayed with him as he continued to pitch. Little did he know that this next pitch, a called third strike from a blazing fastball on the outside corner, would alter his exit from the game and the Tokyo Dome in ways totally unimagined.

As the umpire's arm shot up in dramatic fashion, the crowd stood as one in total pandemonium as if they'd just seen the winning pitch from an unheard of Japanese team winning Game Seven of the World Series against the New York Yankees.

Kazehana, Minato's drunken beauty queen, yelled, "Let's GO Reek!" and leaped towards the pitcher's mound while instantly creating a vast whirlwind that whipped dust from every conceivable place available in the Dome.

This totally vision obscuring calamity was added to by Number 65 Taki of the Mists throwing out a thick fog in front and around herself and four leaping comrades in arms, Mutsu, Himeko, Mitsuki, and Mitsuha. One small problem developed just as Mutsu leaped. Some idiot had picked up Mutsu's discarded, long, neon orange plastic horn and blew a loud blast in Mutsu's ear, breaking his concentration just enough to disrupt the psychic stun blast he wanted to project at Archer's Sekirei. This meant that Mikogami's five Sekirei went flying across the Dome to face fully alerted opposition.

Karasuba, standing and cheering Cash's win with the rest of the stadium's crowd, turned and gave the hand chopping signal to her five Yakuza henchmen in the row of seats behind Hikari and Hibiki. Karasuba had carefully blanketed her extra hired minions' minds the entire game from all other Sekirei and specifically Miya and Mutsu. Her hand signal was for them to shoot their anesthetic darts into Miya, Uzume, Akitsu, and Riko if possible. Riko's silly looking Power Ranger suit had been the one thing Karasuba hadn't previously counted on, but the Black Sekirei had simply adjusted mid game to make the big hit on Riko after Miya was slowed down enough to be killed easily. Uzume and Akitsu needed to be kept alive to help keep Cash happy. Maybe a fired dart would get lucky and find a crease in Riko's hard plastic suit to slow her down enough for Karasuba to slice Riko's head off too. Now was as good a time as any for Riko to be eliminated from the Sekirei Plan. Karasuba tensed to leap and chop off a suddenly and deeply meditating Miya's head as soon as the dart took effect.

Unfortunately, once shot, the force of Kazehana's whirlwind caught the thugs' knockout darts and made them miss badly. One aimed at Uzume hit Hikari in the right shoulder while she was inwardly still fuming over Seo's ditching his twin Sekirei again. Another meant for Akitsu caught Hibiki just above her exposed belly button. The third aimed at Riko's left articulated shoulder joint hit Miya in the chest just above her heart, and the one shot at Miya plunged deep into the left side of Karasuba's neck. The fifth dart, a backup second shot at Miya just in case, went totally awry and went whirling away into Kazehana's winds labeled "To Whom or Whatever It May Poke". This needle of random chance nailed the right arm of a nearby hot noodle vendor that had been hovering in this section the entire game. He promptly fell over to land face down in his noodles.

Riko, her helmet severely hampering her hearing and vision, had missed Kazehana's drunken call to action, but did see Uzume spin to catch a suddenly slumping Miya and Akitsu hug a now falling Karasuba who had started to draw her sword. Instantly aware that Cash's Sekirei were all under attack from behind, Riko formed a pressure bubble around them to forestall anyone attempting to grab or shoot them. She tried in vain to see through her too dark and now misty and mud covered visor if Cash Joseph was safe and prepared to leap them all towards the pitcher's mound. She was caught by one of Uzume's veils, spun around, and lost her concentration to keep the pressure bubble up.

"REEK! LOOK OUT! MUTSU!" Uzume shouted as loud as she could.

Mutsu, sans his now comatose food vendor and yet with his sheathed sword upraised to deliver a careful head shocking blow, landed in front of Riko with Number 15 Himeko. Himeko took careful aim with her anesthetic dart gun, and shot ... Mutsu. The big alien male felt the the needle hit the right side of his neck just above the collar of his loud floral shirt and turned to give Himeko a gaping look of totally wounded surprise as he swung his arms. His sword swatted the side of Riko's helmet with a glancing blow and yet it was still powerful enough to knock her down to all fours with ears ringing. Mitsuki, Mitsuha, and Taki landed beside Himeko and immediately turned as one to lean in close and shoot Minato's three remaining Sekirei, Tsukuimi, Musubi, and Kusano. The three Sekirei from Izumo Inn had huddled and bent over in a protective triangle to shield their face rubbing Ashikabi from all the wildly flying debris. They didn't even see the needled darts that suddenly sprouted from their handily presented derrieres. As Minato's three protectors turned in shocked surprise and fell sideways from the darts' quick acting drug, Himeko gave Mutsu an apologetic shrug.

"Sorry Muts!" Himeko shouted as Mutsu's eyes started to glaze. He staggered sideways in the swirling wind to sit down while vainly attempting to hold onto his sword. "But I just can't take any more of Miko's damn hip hop crap! And I'm damned tired of still being a virgin!" Himeko gave Uzume a jaunty empty dart gun salute, threw the gun down, and leaped up into the Dome's ceiling supports to get a bead on Cash Joseph Archer's whereabouts.

Kazehana landed lightly beside a stunned Cash still standing on the pitcher's mound. He was in the exact center of Kazehana's artificial typhoon, and it was as perfectly calm as any eye of the storm could be. Around them was a swirling wall of heavy fog, a mass of various paper trash, beer cups, assorted articles of clothing, and globs of wet dust. The safe zone extended almost to the infield's perimeter where Cash's teammates had thrown themselves down to protect their heads, eyes, and ears from the roaring indoor disaster.

Cash, still somewhat in "the Zone", locked eyes with the full figured, scantily clad, and incredibly beautiful Sekirei as she landed in all her boob, buns, and massive hair bouncing glory. Little CJ instantly took over to make Cash instinctively and lewdly ogle the inebriated Kazehana in open mouthed surprise. She was now blinking in a drunken realization that something had gone a little wrong with Riko's plan to snatch her Ashikabi up in the clouds and blow him. There was an Ashikabi here, but no Riko. Kazehana started to reach and clutch Cash under his arms and lift off. The Sekirei of the Wind had instantly decided to just grab Cash and meet Riko in the atmosphere and simply turn him over to her friend for their mutual winging bliss.

Instead, her dark eyes met his, froze, and a suddenly mesmerized Kazehana leaned forward to take a deep inhale of Cash's sweat soaked hat and shirt while staring at his incredibly intense, deep blue eyes. A searing hot lance of intense physical desire swept past her drunken mind's haze, coursed throughout her body, and buckled her knees. She grabbed both of his shoulders to stay standing and then mashed her open mouth against his. Incredibly large, rose red wings formed and began pulsing very hard. A very deep, dark red and almost black Sekirei crest formed behind her and sank between her shoulder blades as the whirlwind around them began howling with even more ferocity. Cash, using every bit of stubborn will he could summon amidst the realization that she had somehow caused this wind insanity, pushed against her massive and firm chest, and broke the bonding kiss.

"STOP! STOP THIS! PEOPLE WILL GET HURT!" Cash screamed into her ear. "PLEASE STOP!"

Kazehana's head tried to follow his lips and complete their bonding, her hands painfully digging into his shoulders. His mind and vocal chords screamed in protest from the intense pain from her alien strength. This made her eyes snap wide open and jerk to quickly look around. Some deep and mindless instinct of mutual danger took over. She let go of his shoulders, wrapped her arms around his torso, and launched upwards and sideways to a mezzanine exit. They shot past that and up into the clouds where her lips insistently claimed his once again, and this time they stayed there until their mutual psychic union burst over them in a very massive release. Her legs came up to open and lock around his as she began another deep and body rubbing kiss while they drifted southward with the prevailing winds over the cloud tops covering Tokyo.

When the incredible whirlwind inside the stadium had abruptly ceased, several Sekirei powerfully bracing their legs against the onslaught, recovered quickly amidst the panicked screams of the Dome's frightened crowd.

Uzume, holding an unconscious Miya, instantly sick with worry at the now empty pitching mound, and seeing the baseball players scattered all over the diamond in various positions of curled and prostrate self protection, paused to search with her mind and ascertain that Cash was still alive and now possibly going southwest. Akitsu also faced southwest with eyes filled with horror but not panic. Cash Joseph-sama was alive. Then as one, Cash's two sweethearts looked around in shock and dismay at Riko still down and wobbling on all fours. Five of their best Sekirei friends were draped unconscious in various states over, under, and between the stadium seats near them. This was not safe at all.

Toyotama's eyes, shielded by the mezzanine's wall from the worst of the storm, had followed Kazehana and Cash's escape as they had shot past her and up into the city's sky. She quickly tapped a button on her electronic bracelet and made a prodigious leap over the mezzanine's railing to follow.

Himeko, still grasping the underside framing of the Dome, was preparing to go over the top of the rapidly swirling cloud to snatch Cash from the pitching mound when it ceased. She also saw the new couple's exit and Toyotama's instant response. She too leaped over to the mezzanine exit's railing and launched outward to follow Toyotama.

Mitsuki, Mitsuha, and Taki, still standing and eying their potentially new Ashikabi hungrily, glanced up at their fleeing leader and snatched up a protesting Minato still trying to rub dirt out of his eyes. Mikogami's three former Sekirei also leaped out of the Tokyo Dome with their new Ashikabi captive and disappeared headed southwest in leaping bounds across the building roofs of the city's skyline. Several blocks later and without looking down, they soared over a mass of four naked Sekirei with large pulsing and different colored wings now writhing in a heated orgy with Seo amidst their shed clothes on a flat portion of a skyscraper's roof.

Riko, knocked down and still groggy by Mutsu's weak sword stroke, was trying to get her mud caked helmet visor open. She gave up, stood up, and finally just twisted and snatched the helmet from her badly aching head to see total chaos.

"REEK! Joe is gone! Kazehana's got him. I think he's safe!" Uzume panted in near panic. "But Toyotama and Himeko are both chasing after Kazehana! We've got to get Miya and Karasuba to safety for him! We've also got to get Minato and Seo's girls out of here before Higa and Mikogami's remaining Sekirei in here kill them with their Noritos! Lift us all out of here, get us over to Izumo Inn! Fast! Homura called and said he's running from an attack! We'll meet him at the Inn and beat them off of him! Akitsu, Homura, and Matsu can then guard these while we go help Joe and Onee-chan fight Toys and Himeko! Hurry!"

"Akitsu!" Riko reacted in abject terror. "Lift Cash's mental blanket so we can hear him! We'll find him a lot quicker!"

"I, I can't," Akitsu shook her head helplessly as she continued to clasp Karasuba's unconscious body. "Cash Joseph-sama keeps his own mind shielded now, and I can't read him unless he let's me. He's scared he'll broadcast our whereabouts to our enemies and get us hurt."

"We've got to find Joe quick!" Uzume yelled. "Miya said earlier that Higa's and Minaka's MBI and Yakuza goons are trying to capture him or kill him! Minaka will call out his own troops too! We've got to save Joe and kill all the bastards that are hunting him!"

All five of Karasuba's Yakuza thugs, still clutching empty dart guns two rows up and contemplating the now unconscious Karasuba's possible future anger with them, swallowed hard at Uzume's last loud announcement. The three visibly upset Sekirei seemed filled with extreme anger too. The one with the long white veils snapping angrily and loudly all around her looked particularly dangerous. As one, the five men decided that a little time off in Hong Kong or maybe even Melbourne, Australia sounded like one helluva good idea. They began to hustle out of the stadium, one pausing to lift the fat wallet from the back pocket of some passed out Hawaiian looking clown wearing an obnoxious blue and yellow floral shirt. The opportunistic petty thief thought for a second but wisely left the clown's fallen sword alone as some kid with huge headphones came running down the aisles at him, but there was time to snatch the Number 4 souvenir baseball cap from Mutsu's drooping head.


	13. Chapter 13

**The Game Changer**

**Chapter 13 – Play Halted, Injury Timeout**

Cash lost his breakfast somewhere over the tiny bullet train headed south from Tokyo towards Nagoya. This was due in part to the onset of shock that he was suffering from the knifing hot pains in both shoulders where a seemingly berserk Wind Sekirei had squeezed him before snatching him suddenly skyward. Having borderline acrophobia, he had never really been all that keen on experiencing dizzying heights to begin with. The sudden 3G launch had done nothing to help his gastric content's well being either. Even when young and stupid, he'd never been a big amusement park fan. He had learned early on that the really scary rides with their quick dips, sickening spins, stomach lurching looping and axial rotations, and incredibly steep, deep, zero gravity drops of sheer terror had always been a giant queasy no-no for his vertigo challenged tum-tum.

After Kazehana's insistent, and almost leech like kissing had psychically sent them over the top and into their mutually massive bonded crescendo, they began drifting serenely among the clouds way, way up where Tokyo suddenly looked like a toy miniature below. Although the still kissing Kazehana was now making dreamy noises in an afterglow of total psychic bliss building rapidly into hot physical desires, it took only seconds for Cash's abused body to urgently express its opposite afterglow unhappiness.

His shoulders were on fire and causing reactionary shock from their intense pain to make him suddenly cold and nauseous. His sweat soaked uniform was adding to his body's sudden chilling due to the coldness of their height. His inner ears' vertigo readjustment mechanisms that had been sent haywire from their rapid skyward launch now kicked in to notify the rest of his system that it felt like he was in a roller coaster free fall complete with stomach rebellion. Combine these facts with one really fearful, slit eyed peek over his right shoulder, and it was bye bye half digested garlic fried rice, noodles, veggies, sausages, and strong tea in a convulsive, oddly silent barfing onto the bullet train below.

At first, a face licking and kissing Kazehana didn't notice his turned head and his body's silent spastic spewing. To her closed eyed and dreamy state, it just felt like her big, muscular, hot smelling, and wonderfully salty tasting new Ashikabi below her and hanging on was suddenly pelvic bumping against her just the way she wanted to be bumped, and his big hands were powerfully clutching her endowed derriere to make that bumping even more intense. It had been through sheer willpower that Cash had managed to keep his baseball glove on his left hand as Kazehana had went berserk in avian alien female bonding frenzy.

It was now just height clinging terror and a hard vomiting reflex to make the mitt's large and solid feeling leather fingers go up between the backside of her thighs and poke and rub her right where she wanted to be poked and rubbed. When Cash turned his face away to the right and initiate what she felt was some incredibly powerful foreplay, she had simply buried her nose and licking tongue into the left side of his neck, made deep guttural growls, and began pelvic bumping him back while shifting slightly to let one large and solid finger rub EXACTLY what she wanted rubbed.

Within seconds of finishing his stomach's relief, Cash clung weakly to Kazehana's bountiful and bucking body, silently enduring the shooting pains her actions were causing in his shoulders. Now was NOT the time to do or say anything to make this drunken and now sexually agitated beauty simply let go of him no matter how much it hurt. He began panting to get his breath in the thin cold air. The air's temperature at approximately a mile up began freezing his shirt, pants, underwear, and socks as well as the damp sweat on his skin. It made his attempt to regain rational thought for what to do and/or say next very hampered indeed.

"Uh, Kazehana? It is Kazehana, the ultra beautiful Wind Sekirei, isn't it?" Cash began cautiously while keeping his eyes tightly shut. Not only was this a time not to say or do something to make her simply let go of him, it was NOT the time to make her angry or even a wee tad, teensy weensy upset. Sheer brown nosing flattery just seemed like a good idea.

"Um hmm," she breathed warmly into his left ear as her voluptuous body continued to move a little more insistently, "that's me, lover. Mmmm, ultra beautiful? I LIKE that? Ohhhh!"

"Oh yes, yes, you are beautiful, ultra beautiful, and bountiful too, more than any female I've ever seen, and you feel GREAT and kiss like an angel. It's just that, ummm, and I don't mean to be a wet blanket on, ummm, this, ummm wonderful experience, and it truly IS wonderful, but uhhh, I'm freezing my ass off up here. Would you mind taking us somewhere a little warmer and down on the ground? You see I'm, ummm, I'm not all that fond of heights since I'm just a simple mortal that doesn't fly around up here a lot like you obviously do, and my clothes are kinda wet." Cash paused to hope that last hadn't sounded too petty.

"Mmmm, yes, flying, flying high, and wet, and, ohhhh, I LIKE your big fingers! And ohhh! Ohhhh! OHHHH! YESSSSSSS! AHHHH! AHHHH! Ahhhhhhhh! Oh Lover! Mmmmmmm!"

Cash gritted his teeth and hung on grimly as she continued to buck and build up even more enthusiasm. How in the Sam Hill had he went from pitching strike three and end the best four innings of his relief pitching career to hanging for dear life a mile high onto another self re-winging Sekirei who was totally alcohol blitzed and humping his baseball mitt? This sudden turn of events made absolutely no sense, and it was killing his shoulders! If Cash had thought Miya's hard wired, loud responses last night were very puzzling, and he had, then the Sekirei of the Wind's actions in causing an indoor Tokyo Dome tornado to get to him and now currently total body hunch him like a female Great Dane in heat went beyond puzzlement, bypassed deep mystery, and plunged WAY over into the realm of the unbelievably supernatural.

"Please, Kazehana, I'm uhhh, very uncomfortable like this," Cash rolled his eyes in despair with one of his bigger understatements of the year. Maybe he should try another tack to get through Kazehana's alcohol and re-winging fueled sexual haze. "It would be nice if we could be on the ground now, right? Besides, uhhh, my other Sekirei have to be going wild about right now."

"Yes, your Sekirei, Kazehana, that's me, yours forever," Kazehana replied dreamily. "I'm thinking we should go wild for a whole night now too, lover."

"No, uhhh, I mean, yes, sure, that would be really nice, but I'm talking wild nuts, wild crazy, wild with worry that I'm not safe, not wild with Little CJ," Cash tried to explain tactfully. "Uzume and Akitsu are gonna be coming after me hard, not to mention Karasuba and Miya as well as that goofy Riko. And, ummm, Kazehana? I think you hurt me pretty badly when you grabbed my shoulders. It was on the pitching mound when I was trying to get you to stop your high wind thing inside the Dome that was hurting people, remember?"

"Ohhh! Yes, coming hard for you! Ummm hmmm! OHHH! Oh Yesssssssssssssss!"

Wondering what he could do to get Kazehana to calm down and listen with any shred of sobriety and yet afraid to move his mitt's clutching position, he experimentally tasted the back of his mind to see if there was a new presence. Yes, there it was, a heavily scented and glowing red rose, but it felt oddly out of shape. Was that because of her present drunken state? At any rate, she had taken the simple four sided square that smelled of sweetness and flowers from his other bonded Sekirei and made their mental presence into a pentagon that now had some kind of pulsing strand from Kazehana's rose going towards the pentagon's dark and shapeless center. Was the dark amorphous center him? Would it be possible to establish some kind of mental contact with the Wind Sekirei's glowing rose? Cash tried to let the center of his mind sink down along the pulsing strand and connect to the red rose.

"LOVER! You're HURT! And SICK! And I CAUSED IT! NOOOOO!" Kazehana's head snapped up with the bloodshot whites of her almond shaped eyes visible around her dark brown pupils. "We need to go down! NOW!"

"Ohhhhhhhh Shiiiiiiiiiiiiiiitttttt!" Cash yelled as Kazehana simply let them fall out of the sky. Whatever was left of Uzume's lovingly prepared breakfast in his tortured stomach was then hurled onto the top of a suddenly growing larger produce truck headed northbound on a superhighway from Nagoya towards Tokyo.

***scene break***

"JOE IS IN PAIN, AND HE'S SICK!" Uzume suddenly clutched the side of her head with both hands as Akitsu dropped to her knees and began a soundless scream of agony. "KAZEHANA HAS HURT HIM!"

"NO!" Riko bounced up from where she had lain the still comatose Musubi face down beside Tsukuimi and Kusano on a mat inside Izumo Inn's front door. She had just finished letting her mind gently extract the darts still sticking from their three posteriors. Miya and Karasuba had been lain face up on another mat for their dart extractions. "She'd never hurt him! She was just taking him to ..."

The end of Riko's explanation was suddenly cut off as a long white veil angrily snapped around Riko's head to wrap and blind her eyes while another veil flew around her exposed throat. Both veils were joined by a third that wrapped her arms against her still Pink Power Ranger clad torso and a fourth that locked her plastic covered legs together. A totally enraged Uzume then began whipping the now blinded Riko's body about like a starving mad dog shaking a fresh t-bone before ripping it to shreds.

"YOU PLANNED JOE'S KIDNAPPING WITH HER? WHY?" Uzume shouted while turning her head to follow Riko's rapid snapping back and forth movement. "HOW COULD YOU PUT HIM IN MORE DANGER THAN HE ALREADY WAS FROM HIGA AND MUTS! WHERE DID SHE TAKE HIM? TELL ME NOW!"

"Zoomer! ...You're …. choking … me!" Riko wheezed desperately while trying to use her kinetic powers to lift an edge of the veil that was covering her eyes. She could only move what she could see to focus upon, therefore she couldn't just simply free herself from an angrily berserk Uzume that she'd never seen before.

"I'M GOING TO KILL YOU IF YOU DON'T ANSWER ME! WHERE DID SHE TAKE JOE?"

"I … DON'T …. KNOW! …. Up! … She ... just ... took ... him … up … to … meet … me!" Riko gasped out while getting a little sick from what could only be described as an intense carnival ride from hell. "I … was … going … to ...wing … myself … in … the … clouds … by sucking..."

"YOU DUMB SHIT!" Uzume relaxed all four veils at the far end of a cycle to let Riko's plastic covered body spin towards and slam heavily against Izumo Inn's front door. "YOU TWO COULD HAVE HURT THOUSANDS WITH THAT STUPID STUNT! AND JOE WOULD NEVER TOUCH YOU AGAIN EVEN IF IT HAD WORKED! NOW HE'S HURT AND WE CAN'T FIND HIM!"

"I can lift you up, fly a zig zag pattern towards the south, and we'll triangulate!" Riko gasped out as she cautiously lifted herself up from all fours and tried to clear her dizzy head. She had never seen the murderous side of Uzume, but it was on full display here, and it was incredibly dangerous. "You can sense Cash Joseph better than I can since I'm not winged yet! He's just a big fuzzy ball somewhere in the south of Tokyo to me! It may take a while, but we can find him if we work together!"

"If your Ashikabi is with Kazehana," an intellectually looking Sekirei wearing a long white kimono began calmly. Number 02 Matsu smoothed her long red hair done up in frizzy pigtails with one hand as she adjusted the nose position of her glasses with her other before adding, "then I can find him a lot quicker for you. Onee-chan has little hideouts all over this city where she has stayed the last twenty years, and I know them all. Just give me her last known location with your Ashikabi, and I can pinpoint her closest hideouts …. for a price."

"WHAT? WHAT DO YOU MEAN? WHAT PRICE?" Uzume began pacing angrily back and forth, her long agitated veils still snapping furiously in the air about her. The Veiled Sekirei was clearly in no mood for making bargains, and she pivoted to let one veil snag Matsu by the throat and lift her bodily off the floor. Matsu gave a yelp of dismay at being so stupid as to be caught too close to an enraged Uzume.

"I've … located … Minato's … cell phone!" Matsu choked out while clutching at the throttling veil wrapped around her throat. Her bare feet swung back and forth as Uzume started a much smaller and vicious side to side shaking motion than what she had given Riko. "Go … get ... him … quick … and … I'll … give … you … Onee-chan's … hiding … places!"

"Riko can go rescue your Minato! I'm going after JOE! Out with it! Where's he at?" The veil tightened considerably to make Matsu's face suddenly match her hair color. Matsu immediately decided total capitulation was her best move.

Matsu began to croak a fast answer when Uzume and Akitsu both gasped suddenly, their eyes rolled up, and they collapsed into a heap between the other five drugged Sekirei. The limp veil slipped from Matsu's throat, and she dropped. Riko's mouth dropped open as Matsu's posterior thumped hard onto Izumo Inn's wooden floor. What was wrong? Riko could feel Cash Joseph was still alive. Why had Zoomer and Kitty dropped into Sekirei catastrophic withdrawal? She turned to look at Matsu who was blinking in stunned surprise, rubbing her neck with one hand in deep breathing relief while the other rubbed her bruised backsides.

"Something's wrong!" Riko exclaimed and fell to her knees beside Akitsu to check her pulse. "I can feel that he's still alive, but something has to be wrong with Cash Joseph for them both to faint like this! I need to find him and get him help! Tell me where Kazehana's hideouts are!"

"Oh no you don't," Matsu shook her head firmly. "I got my own Ashikabi to rescue. Minato first. He's in a saki warehouse along the Tokyo docks, again. Wonder what it is about that place? Anyway, here's the address. It's my turn to get fine tuned tonight, IF he's got anything left after being jumped by the Whip Twins and Taki. We need to nip that in the bud and conserve Minato's energy. THEN you can go get your guy and Kazehana. Homura and I will watch over everybody sleeping until you get back."

"Sex is more important than Cash Joseph's life? I think NOT! You just hand over Onee-chan's," Riko began with a narrowed eyed and threatening expression on her face and her fists on her hips.

"Forget it," Matsu sighed impatiently while waving her address paper. "You already said your Cash is alive, and I know Kazehana will take good care of him wherever they're at. Time is wasting, and besides, your Cash Archer is probably safer right where he's at. Minaka has put everything he's got into locating Archer, police, security army, surveillance satellites with lasers, electronic grid tracing, the works. There's also GPS tracking chips in every Sekirei. Uzume, Akitsu, and Karasuba's haven't been reassigned to Archer yet, but you can just bet they soon will be. I could hack MBI's computers and turn those off, but it would only be temporary. MBI has no clue that Kazehana is with Archer since she's registered as Minato's Sekirei. When she sobers up, she'll bring him back. And if I'm any judge of human character, and I am, you are the last person in this world that Cash Joseph Archer wants to see anywhere near him about now. You're going to HAVE to have a conscious Uzume and Akitsu and a lot of luck to help you somehow get back into his good graces. Now, put your bug helmet back on, go get my Minato, Reeker, and bring him back here NOW!"

Riko's fists slipped off her plastic hips as her shoulders slumped in defeat at Matsu's last bit of obvious wisdom. Cash Joseph was no doubt going to be EXTREMELY angry at her now, and he'd been totally pissed off at her before. If it kept going like this, it was going to take her a hundred years of wooing him to get kissed. Better to get Matsu's Ashikabi back as quickly as possible and try to revive Uzume and Akitsu and work with them to make sure Cash Joseph was safe. She'd better make plans to remove their MBI tracking chips as well. Silently, she took the proffered slip of paper with the saki warehouse address from Matsu's extended hand, put on her protective helmet, and gloomily departed.

Homura, having finally shaken Mikogami's Sekirei that had been pursuing him, landed, and walked in the front door. He looked at the seven supine Sekirei on the floor mats, noted that they all seemed to be comatose yet breathing, and turned to give Matsu a slightly amused and questioning look.

"What's going on, Mats?"

"A total fiasco at the Tokyo Dome as a bunch of Higa and Mikogami's Sekirei wanted to get re-winged by Minato and Cash Archer while Muts was trying to capture Riko," Matsu shook her head in disgust. "The authorities are blaming terrorists again. The Whip Twins and Taki drugged our three gals with a lot of anesthetic darts and swiped Minato to get re-winged with him. Miya and Karasuba got caught in the middle of all the flying darts somehow. Then Kazehana snatched Archer and flew off with him. She was probably too drunk to know why, but it drove Zoomer, Kitty, and Riko nuts. Riko brought everyone here, and then Zoomer and Kitty blacked out, probably from stress and worry. I just sent Riko to get Minato. I can feel that he's just fine, but I want him safe back here, even if we do get three more new roommates."

"So no worries then, and Riko is well able to take care of herself now? Good! You know, Mats," Homura observed with a small chuckle, "if you step back a little and tilt your head to one side, it kinda LOOKS like we're having a fire sale on slightly used Sekirei here!"

Matsu frowned at Homura's amused flippancy and shook her head in disbelief.

"You know, Hot Stuff, sometimes I think you are a LOT sicker than me."

***scene break***

Kazehana alternated between being sick and running back in forth in some kind of frenzy that resembled a frightened hen being chased by a fox in a very small hen house. Fortunately for Cash's neck as he tried to follow her motion, the little hideout they were in wasn't one of Kazehana's bigger and better places that she had built and/or maintained around Tokyo during the years of her drunken solitary living. This place wasn't much more than a two room construction hut on top of an abandoned eight story building. The site had never made it much past steel frame construction before its developing company had went bankrupt two years before in the long running financial and building crisis called Japanese and world economics as usual. The shack had a door, two windows, a double futon, an old easy chair, a separate small shower and bathroom, a mini refrigerator, a hotplate on a shelf with a few assorted cooking utensils, a small clothes chest, and a slanted desk/combo floor rack of empty saki bottles that used to be an engineer's designing table.

"Lover! Sit down! No! First let's get those cold wet clothes off! OH! I'm going to be SICK!" Kazehana dashed to the commode to begin miserably retching. Cash wobbled from where she had let go of him after their free fall and subsequent reverse swoop up to this place. He began to shuffle on stilted legs from the open door to sit on the bed and let his still spinning senses recover. His newest Sekirei acquisition dashed back out of the john, wiping her mouth with a wet hand towel.

"A towel! A dry towel!" Kazehana wailed in despair as she leaped to the small chest of drawers and began tossing clothing items out of it. "You need a towel for a hot shower to warm you! Pain! Oh PAIN! You need pain medicine! And OH! I'm, oh No!" She sprang for the open doorway and began coughing up more of her stomach's contents into the weed covered lot below.

"Kazehana," Cash slumped down into the chair while being careful not to move his arms too much. His shoulders had stopped shooting pain since she had finally let go of him and had settled into a dual, hot aching throbbing. It felt like they had both been dislocated or at the very least badly bruised.

"And Ice! You need ice for your shoulders!" Kazehana recovered to again wipe spittle from her lips with her wet hand towel. "What have I done? How could I hurt you like this? And Minato! Oh No! He's gone! I've hurt him badly too! What's wrong with me? Why did I do that? Am I that bad now? Clothes! Warm clothes and something hot to drink! Tea! There's tea I can heat up!" She spun for the mini refrigerator while beginning to weep hysterically.

"KAZEHANA!" Cash half shouted. "STOP!"

The sound volume and command tone of his voice froze her halfway between the door and the refrigerator, panting heavily, and holding her towel to her mouth again.

"Look at me," Cash said gently to make her head turn slowly and her wounded dark eyes seek his. "Stop crying. Stop dashing about. You're not bad. There's nothing wrong with you. Minato and I are both going to live, at least for a while yet. My shoulders hurt, a LOT, but you running around like Chicken Little isn't helping them. Quit flying around and making yourself sick over something that's happened, and still may or may not be fixed. Let's just get a little grip on ourselves here, calm down, and sort a few things out, okay? Why did you create such a windstorm inside the Dome to start with? What were you thinking?"

"I, I was," Kazehana swallowed hard and wobbled unsteadily on her high heeled shoes as she tried to concentrate, "I was just creating a little diversion for Riko."

"Riko," Cash rolled his eyes and sighed with disgust. "I should have known. What kind of harebrained nonsense was she planning this time?"

"Uhhh, she was, well, she is getting a little desperate for you to claim her as your Sekirei, and I felt real sorry for her so, ummm, I agreed to set up a little wind to hide her jumping to the pitching mound at the end of the game so she could zip you up into the clouds for a hot blow job to get your DNA and get winged."

"WHAT?" Cash struggled to stand up in instant anger. "You mean she put the lives of thousands of people at risk for THAT? And I've TOLD her and TOLD her if she ever forced herself on me I'd NEVER touch her again willingly afterward! That lame brained little kook REALLY needs to get another guy!"

"Well, it wasn't really ALL her fault, uhhh," Kazehana winced defensively at Cash's righteous anger. "I got a teeny bit carried away with my part, I guess, and she did say you said she could never kiss you, but you hadn't said a thing about her doing a little fellatio, and, and well, she'd been practicing and hoping that she'd be good enough at it that you'd be like every other guy and wouldn't really mind too much afterward and maybe would even like it, a LOT. And, and, well, it sounded like a really good idea to me too."

"She thought she could get winged on a technicality?" Cash gaped incredulously, "and harm and potentially kill a lot folks in the process, and I wouldn't care later?"

"We, uhhh, we might have had a little too much saki, and like I said, it wasn't all her, OH! I'm going to be sick again!" She quickly leaped for the bathroom again.

"I swear, if it's the last thing I do, I'm gonna get Riko kissed by some poor chuckle headed bastard like Seo," Cash muttered between gritted teeth as he closed his eyes and shook his head, "I can't believe I've actually found a creature in this entire universe that is WAY more dense and irritating than Agnes Mortenson and has less common sense to boot!"

"How am I ever going to look at myself in a mirror again?" Kazehana began weeping anew while hanging over the bathroom sink. "I'm nothing but a tramp! A drunken piece of garbage tramp! And now I've forced myself onto you! You'll probably never want to touch me again either, and I don't blame you! Poor Minato!"

"Hey! Go back to him," Cash said loudly while giving her an odd look. Why in the world did he attract all the Sekirei nut cases and drunks? Weren't there any good, old fashioned, girl next door types on the planet where they come from, or were they all some kind of brain damaged kooks that the male leaders on their home world had simply shoved into ships and foisted off onto the rest of the galaxy to just get rid of them? On the other hand, Uzume and even poor hurt Akitsu were solid keepers, so at least 2 out of 108 were okay, and to be fair, he hadn't met very many of the others either.

"WHAT?" A totally disheveled looking Kazehana peered around the bathroom door with an expression of sheer horror.

"You jumped me, and now you feel like you've made a mistake. Okay, no harm, no foul on my end. If you feel so bad about leaving Minato in the heat of your drink induced disaster," Cash explained patiently, "then go back to him. Explain you didn't really want to kiss me, then climb into a nice naked hot bath together, get frisky, and let him re-wing you back! After all, we haven't really done anything except kiss and maybe rub a little, right? So that means you're probably not fine tuned to me yet. Minny seems like a pretty nice guy. I'm sure if you apologized and cut down on your drinking a little, maybe a lot, he'd be super keen to forgive you and take you back. After all, you are about the finest looking female I've ever seen, even if you do have a serious saki problem. You must have had a real tight bond between the two of you if you feel so bad for him now. Maybe he could get you into AA or something, and then you could be happy together again someday."

"YOU … don't … want … ME?" Kazehana squeaked in a little girl voice then turned to dry heave into the toilet again before her eyes rolled back into her head. She collapsed unconscious on the bathroom floor with a solid thump. Her stiff position seemed to darkly resemble Uzume and Akitsu's reaction to his kissing the crests between their shoulder blades last night.

Cash stared at the fallen Sekirei and then looked around with dismay. Now what had sent Kazehana into La La Land? He hadn't even slobbered on her crest for Pete's sakes. Had she finally passed out from too much alcohol still in her system, or had the stress of being drunk, getting re-winged, and causing a complete disaster endangering thousands been too big of a shock to her system?

Cash let his mind sink down onto that pulsing strand connected to her odd shaped rose and found …. sheer mind numbing terror? From what? Had she thought that he was totally rejecting her? He hadn't said he didn't want her, had he? Matter of fact, he'd truthfully said how damn fine she really looked. He had just said if she felt so bad, then hey, he wouldn't stand in the way of her trying to fix the mess she had created along with that half-wit Riko. Maybe he'd been a little too blunt about her saki consumption, but then again, she drank way too much, and according to Mutsu had been a worthless lush for years. Maybe that's it. Could she be going into the Sekirei equivalent of delirium tremens from barfing up too much alcohol all of a sudden or something? One thing was for sure, he thought as he knelt down beside her to check her pulse and observe her rapid breathing, he wasn't going to move her with the way his shoulders hurt.

"You rang Kazehana's bell that hard banging on the bathroom floor?" a low alto female voice behind him said with a humorous tone. "I've caught you red handed, so don't even try to say it wasn't you."

Cash snapped his head around in startled surprise to see a tall, long legged, full breasted, light blue eyed, and very muscular looking female casually lounging against the hut's door frame. She had a huge flowing mass of thick dark green hair that swept back from a widow's peak in the middle of her forehead to fall in waves about her torso, front and back. The half amused, half hard eyed, and hip hop quoting interloper was wearing some kind of purple and white sports bra that exposed the middle of her generous cleavage. It left the rest of her midriff bare down down to a leather studded belt that draped over a skin tight pair of latex looking purple briefs. She also wore a pair of purple, knee length, high heeled boots and long, bicep length, purple leather gloves. Both gloves and boots were trimmed in white around the tops. Over her back and slung by a purple leather strap was what appeared to be a long wooden staff kind of weapon. The only real feminine touch about her zero body fat and muscular appearance other than her fabulous mass of hair and half exposed large breasts was the cute looking obsidian inlaid bracelet on her left wrist.

She looked, Cash blinked up at her in frowning alarm, quite formidable. Then it hit him. Wasn't this one of the bored, rough looking, female Sekirei duo that had been inexplicably and cynically guarding the dying Miss Chiho's door? What was she doing here? And where was her short haired and slightly meaner looking partner?

Toyotama swayed and almost took a half step back with a small frown of her own. His facial expression of slightly surprised disbelief upon his first glance at her hadn't registered one shred of sexual interest at all. Matter of fact, it had seemed to be tinged with ... distaste? Her mind flew around trying to think of something to say to recoup her seemingly disastrous beginning. She'd tried to be hip hop funny as an ice breaker, and it had failed miserably. Damn, she hated being such a man catching novice! She had him alone since Onee-chan had passed out! Now was her best chance to get re-winged! How could she get him interested in taking her? What to try next? How about flattery and a little name dropping?

"I see you've re-winged Kazehana. The color of her crest," Toyotama attempted a pleasant, non threatening, half smile of interest, "appears to be much darker than last night at the bathhouse. You are a much stronger Ashikabi than Minato of the North! Then you just might be the strongest Ashikabi of all, and a big, good looking guy too! No wonder Karasuba, Akitsu, and Uzume sounded so crazy about you when we were bathing."

Cash's eyes narrowed slightly in speculation. If she had been guarding Miss Chiho in Higa of the East's hospital, and he was pretty sure she had been, then who was she, what did she want, and why was she here acting like Miss Friendly Amazon Killing Machine of 2020? On the other hand, if she HAD wanted to kill him and/or Kazehana, they'd both be dead by now. Was she wanting him to re-wing her too? Fat chance! If she wanted to get friendly, his shoulders hurt too damn much to let Little CJ get interested, but she looked like a nice, strong, lusty type of gal that could lift a hundred of him. He'd just politely ask Miss Amazon to lift Kazehana up and lay her on the futon for comfort until she recovered.

"Ummm, hi, I'm Cash, and uhhh, as you can see I've got a small problem here. I'm not exactly sure why Kazehana passed out, but I'm thinking this could be a little serious. If you're not here to, ummm, destroy us both, would you mind helping me get Kazehana up on the bed so she can rest while I call for help Miss, ummm, Miss, who are you anyway?"

"Oh, I forgot!" Toyotama grimaced sheepishly in self recrimination. Dunce! He doesn't even know who you are! The first thing one did in every Sekirei function at MBI's labs and especially now when fighting was to announce their name and number! She looked at him trying to gauge what his reaction would be to her introduction and her positive response to his request. Would it be enough to get the sudden wariness out of his eyes? "I'm Number 16 Toyotama. I, ummm, sure, Cash-sama! I'd be glad to help! I'm not here to destroy you!"

"You touch Onee-san's crest,Toys," a different, softer, and yet grim female voice came from behind Toyotama, "and you'll lose that fat head of yours and all the hair that's on it before you can get two words of your Norito out."

Toyotama turned her head slightly without moving her eyes from watching Cash. He was leaning to one side while still kneeling and peering around her to look at Himeko. Toyotama thought quickly. Had Karasuba made a quick change in plans after their meeting and invited another very powerful Sekirei to join her team? It made sense. Himeko, even with her passive yet powerful and potent healing talents, was almost as good with that wicked looking double bladed sword as Karasuba was with her katana, and Himeko, being taller, had a longer reach. This certainly wasn't a time for Toyotama to spin and draw her spear for defense. Besides, weren't they both here with an open invitation to get re-winged by this very manly smelling gaijin of an Ashikabi in front of them?

"Hey there Mekko, so Blackie invited you to join her re-winged team too, eh? Muts must be going nuts about now. Well, welcome to the party. You didn't happen to run into Itchy and Koko outside, did you?"

"They both joined Nubs and Claws to get re-winged in an orgy with that ass Seo," Himeko gave an amused snort of disgust. "Me join Blackie's team? Not hardly, and Muts is taking a little nap with now thanks to some very sloppy work from her hired Yakuza thugs and Kazehana's indoor winds. The dart guys missed Zoomer, Icy, and Reeker, did get Miya, and then her own gunners nailed Blackie with a dart in the neck just when she was going to chop Miya's head. Funny, huh? I believe YOUR team captain Karasuba is going to be one pissed off Sekirei when she wakes up. The really funny part is that I used one of those Yakuza dart guns to put Muts to sleep. I'm here strictly on my own, Toys, and for myself, but I guess I should thank you for leading me here, right?"

"Itchy and Koko went for Seo?" Toyotama's mouth hung open in total disbelief. No wonder they hadn't met her like they had planned. It felt weird too. Her and Itchy had been a fighting team and constant companions for years, and now they were to be separated? Toyotama suddenly felt very alone and vulnerable. "Are you sure?'

"Yes, Taki, Mitsuki, Mitsuha, and I were standing right there when Seo re-winged Haihane right in front of everybody at the Monster Hot Dog stand. Talk about tacky, but then again, that's Seo's middle name. Haihane's as well. They're probably made for each other. Anyway, then they jumped over the mezzanine rail after she yelled she wanted to get laid now. Itchy and Koko went after them, and Nubs followed. They were all five naked and going at it with wings everywhere on a skyscraper roof when I jumped over them to follow you. There is no doubt Itchy and Koko are Seo's now."

Cash stood up slowly in growing anger and concern as his brain began sifting what he'd just learned from these two as well as what it all combined to mean. There seemed to have been a lot more going on behind his back at the ball game than Riko's dumb and reckless plan to get a sky shot of his DNA afterward. Karasuba had hired Yakuza thugs to shoot his sweethearts and kill Miya? This whole Sekirei competition bullshit was REALLY starting to piss him off.

Cash scowled past Toyotama's left shoulder to see another tall, full figured, and quite beautiful Sekirei with long, thick, dark gray hair cut with short bangs on her forehead. Her heavy tresses were ribbon tied in a partial ponytail behind as it all hung down below her waist in back. She was wearing a simple, long and wide sleeved, dark blue kimono that matched her hair ribbon and was holding a very wicked looking double bladed weapon by her gripping the dual middle hilts. It was upraised with both hands to cut swiftly at Toyotama's neck.

Whoever she was, this Mekko with the slightly softer looking demeanor but intently determined dark eyes, looked every bit as formidable as the muscular Toyotama now frowning in surprised and slightly lost looking disbelief in front of him. The situation looked kind of tense between these two armed and deadly alien females, and he already had enough problems here. Besides, he HAD to get some ice on his pitching shoulder at least. First things first. Try not to get killed in the middle of these two big Sekirei females. They both wanted to get re-winged by him? There was a bargaining chip for calmness right there.

"Hey, if you two big birds are here thinking I'm going to willingly re-wing either one of you, forget it. I don't know either of you from the Kiss x Sis twins," Cash gave them both a disgusted sigh as he pointed at them separately. "I hate you people's constant fighting and plotting and trying to kill each other to win this damnable Sekirei Plan. And if you, Miss Mekko person, think you're going to fight it out over ME in here, well think again. You can take that ugly looking sword thingy right on outside, and you, Miss Toyotama, can join her with whatever that big ugly stick is on your back.

"You can both just go whack away at each other all you want, but make it far away from me. Then I can just ignore the winner the rest of my FREAKING LIFE! If either or both of you try forcing me to kiss and re-wing you, I'll do my damnedest to think about nothing other than how lousy my breakfast tasted when I puked it up twice with Kazehana. Your crests can stay a light pink color from now on until Doomsday too! You already have Ashikabi. Go screw with their lives and leave me alone! I got my own troubles here!"

Cash finished his mini rant with both open hands pointing down at Kazehana still laying in terror induced shock at his feet. He looked down at her and then turned to glare separately at the two armed Amazons now edging sideways and back a little while giving each other angry yet mutually worried glances.

"Uhhh, Cash Archer-sama," Himeko began while lightly chewing her lower lip in sudden nervousness. Who were the Kiss x Sis Twins? She wasn't even Toyotama's sister, let alone a twin. "I'm, ummm, Number 15 Himeko, and I'm, ummm, not a twin of any kind. Uhhh, and I'm sorry to disturb you like this, but I just couldn't let this big vicious bitch get anywhere near my friend Kazehana when she can't defend herself right now."

"Hey! Who are YOU to call me a big vicious bitch, Mekko?" Toyotama instantly reacted in self character defense. She'd already stepped wrong for a beginning with Cash. She couldn't let this raw slander stand without refuting it at least a little bit, even if it was mostly true. "I like Onee-chan too, and I wasn't going to hurt her! Besides, how many Sekirei did you help Muts capture and force into winging by that silly Mikogami kid?"

"Not as many as the Ashikabi that you've tortured and bullied to get their Sekirei to fight and kill for Higa! And enjoyed doing it!"

"Oh yeah? Says you! YOU don't have a Kakizaki watching everything you do in hopes of getting you tied up in his little fun room! Making a new Sekirei become one of Muts and his kid's lap dogs has to be even worse torture! Besides, you're the one that was laughing when you sliced open Number...," Toyotama's volume began edging upward in frustrated anger, but Cash cut them both off.

"Hey, hey, HEY! Knock it OFF! Or take it outside, remember?"

"I'm sorry!" Toyotama reacted instantly, but began stuttering in search of something redeeming to say. "I, I, I'm just trying to, uhhh, make a better, ummm, and maybe not as bad as she, uhhh,"

"Don't be fooled by this sleazy bully!" Himeko wasn't as quick to calm down as she pointed towards Toyotama with hot righteous anger. "We're batch and school mates! I KNOW her! She's been a heartless bitch all along, and this is just an act! She's probably made some kind of deal with Karasuba to re-wing with you to win the Sekirei Plan and help kill Miya!"

"Is that true?" Cash scowled at Toyotama.

"Well, yeah, mostly," Toyotama's guilt laden, shamed, and disappointed eyes fell away from his as she turned her head and looked down. She then continued in a confessional rush. "I got to thinking after seeing the way your Sekirei just glowed when they talked about you, and especially after Riko used me for a mop in the bathhouse last night. I wanted a nicer and more caring Ashikabi, one much stronger and even powerful enough to wing Karasuba. You got three of the strongest Sekirei, and now four with Kazehana. As soon as you wing Riko, the rest of us won't stand much of a chance of coming out of Minaka's war alive.

"I, I, don't want to die, and, and, I don't want to die a virgin! So, me, and Itchy, and Koko, well we decided that we'd all have better odds and be a lot happier with you, and we hate Higa and that slimy Kakizaki's guts anyway, so we asked Karasuba to let us try, and, and, get you to, ummm, see us as sexy enough to be re-winged. We agreed to be on Karasuba's team when she has to fight Muts, Minaka, and Miya, but that kinda got all screwed up when Itchy and Koko went for Seo. I'm, I'm really not here for Karasuba, although I don't really mind fighting for her. I'm really here for me."

"I see. Riko up to her jerking folks around again and used you for a mop, huh? And Karasuba's getting ready to go off?" Cash's scowl lessened a little as he thought this over. "And just how did you happen to get here so fast?"

"This," Toyotama held up her left wrist, "is a GPS tracking and homing device. I bugged your baseball uniform in your locker early this morning and all your clothes during the game. When Kazehana went nuts and snatched you out of the stadium, I just followed along hoping to get in on her action. She's, uhhh, she's got a reputation, for, ummm, getting guys excited, and, and, and, I never have."

Cash just stared at Toyotama's defeated and downcast body language. There had to be something seriously wrong with this Higa guy from the way he had treated Uzume and now to hear he'd never touched this incredible example of toned female beauty. There was no denying that she would intimidate 90% of all human males alive on planet Earth, and she had that hard eyed and very bitchy dangerous look about her too, but that wouldn't stop most males from trying to get her under their blankets for some wild loving. It would probably make her appeal all that much more to the really macho he-men of the world. Then, there had been a trace of vulnerable softness underneath it all as she had finished talking. At least she had seemed to be totally honest about her motives and how she had got here now, and Cash liked blunt honesty. That was more than he'd ever gotten out of the totally double dealing and extremely catty Agnes Mortenson. He turned his head to closely scrutinize the other newcomer, Himeko.

"Okay, that sounded like an honest confession," Cash raised his right eyebrow as he continued to give Himeko a wary once over. "What's your story Miss? Why and how did you get here so fast?"

"I," Himeko swallowed hard while nervously biting her lower lip again. If she was reading Cash's expression correctly, and she was pretty sure that she was, then total, lay it all out there honesty like Toyotama had just displayed seemed to be the best way to go here if she was to entertain a shred of hope that he'd want to re-wing her too. His facial expressions and body language had so far looked very negative towards her and Toyotama, very negative indeed.

"Uhhh, HOW was that I simply followed Toys when she followed Kazehana and you leaving the stadium the way you did. WHY is, ummm, well, why is because I was getting ready to snatch you off the pitcher's mound when Kazehana beat me to you. I was hoping to get you alone, show you all about myself, ask you to re-wing me, and make me as happy as Uzume and Akitsu. I followed along here so that maybe after you and Kazehana finished, and you gave Toys the big NO WAY, then I could, ummm, you know, ask you to, ummm, do me like Kazehana too."

"You were going to ask me?" Cash's eyebrows shot up in surprise. Now here was a new twist. Up till now he'd either been jumped, snatched, and now he was pretty sure, in Uzume's case at least, mentally coerced by Miya into re-winging these horny and now wildly conniving Sekirei babes. True, he had found deep feelings within himself for them all afterward, but now Miya and Karasuba were both badly tinged with their intimate betrayal of his deep feelings for them and his desires not to get involved in any fighting, let alone trying to screw up his baseball career and his going home to pitch in Batavia. Also, thanks to that idiot Riko and her drunken pal, his shoulders were possibly ruined to ever pitch again.

"Yes," Himeko's eyes blinked rapidly as she nodded shyly, "after I told you, and, and showed you everything, but I, I, ummm, I haven't ever done that in front of a man before, so I'm not too sure I can do that very well."

"Okay, let's just forget about that last for a while, shall we? Just, uhhh, put it on hold," Cash winced as he tried to raise his hand to grip and stroke his chin in thought. "What makes you two think that I'd even want more Sekirei to begin with? Sex is only one part of a good relationship anyway, but let's start there. I hate to burst all your preconceived bubbles about macho male activity on this planet, but the average male on his best game ever and even on drugs can't stay up with one average human female once she really gets her motor started. You alien bird women are WAY above what I consider as average in human female sexiness. Besides, before today, I already had more Sekirei than I could ever hope to keep happy, and from what I've heard and seen out of Kazehana, her motor seems to be a 16 cylinder diesel running VERY hot and strong all night long. Little CJ is only going to last for a couple of shots, then even he is going to wilt under the pressure, and, I'm fairly fearful of this, maybe never recover."

"Little CJ?" Himeko asked with a half frown of puzzlement. Who was that?

"That's what I call my brainless Johnson," Cash explained apologetically. This Sekirei gal was that sheltered and clueless? "Although here lately I'm thinking of renaming him Lex Luthor because he's bald, evil, and he's been getting me into more world domination trouble than I can handle."

"Oh," Himeko said without really understanding. Who was his brainless Johnson?

"Well, maybe you could work out a little once in a while schedule, for, for Lex Luthor Johnson," Toyotama shrugged hopefully. He hadn't totally rejected her blunt confession of intent and seemed to be talking sense and reason now. Maybe she could ride a little farther back to Cash Archer's good side on Himeko's demure kimono hem and appeal to his proven winning instincts from the way he pitched. "I wouldn't mind at all. I mean, sex once in a while, once in a great while, is a whole lot better deal than what either me or Mekko have now. And, and we got other skills too. We're both very strong fighters and would fit in real well with Karasuba's close combat style as well as Uzume, Akitsu, and Riko's incredibly strong range skills. As a team, we'd be unbeatable in the Sekirei Plan and win it all for sure. I can smell and see and hear things way better than any other Sekirei. That's real handy when it comes to avoiding ambushes. And Mekko here is also a healer that can keep us all in top shape and get us back in the game fast when we get hurt. That's why Muts snagged her first for his team."

"Yes, I AM a healer too," Himeko gave Toyotama a scathing sideways glance for blatantly trying to make them a package deal for Cash's favor. Himeko didn't want or need any help from the likes of this too opportunistic and shameless big hussy.

"And you really don't like each other at all, do you?" Cash observed dryly. Toyotama and Himeko's faces both fell as they glanced away from each other. He hadn't been fooled one bit and said so as bluntly as only he could. "I've already re-winged two enemies who are at each others throats. Why would I want two more?"

"Well, I don't really HATE Himeko," Toyotama said lamely, "I even respect her abilities a great deal, but she's always acted like she's better than me since she's Number 15 and I'm 16. It's always irritated me and, and, no, you can't say we've ever tried to be best pals either. But, I could probably live with her in the same place as long as she left me alone and knocked off her smug attitude."

"That's a start, I guess, but tell me, Miss Toyotama," Cash cocked his head a little in squint eyed puzzlement, "Why me? I mean, you already know that your other two pals, those Ichiya and Koko Sekirei, are re-winged with Seo. Why don't you go join them? He seems to be a real healthy type of studly guy, and you'd have a lot less conflict, right?"

"Seo's no lover. He's just a low life humper. His gals aren't strong enough to win either, even with me, and, and, well, you smell a whole lot better to me. I'm pretty sure you're going to be able to ring my bell long, hard, and often when we get together, and, and I want that. And, and, I was watching you sign autographs before the game with Uzume and Akitsu beside you. You were constantly touching them, giving them little love pats on their arms and butts, and kissing them both on their cheeks when you had to leave. I've never had anything like that, and, and I want you to LOVE me too! I know I'm not a very good person, and probably deserve to die fighting in the Sekirei Plan! But if I have to die, then I want to die for an Ashikabi that has totally taken all of me, despite what I am, and still LOVES me! Then I can at least be happy for once in my life and die the same way!"

"You and your short haired partner weren't happy guarding a dying young woman in Higa's hospital? You didn't look unhappy the first time I saw you, more bored and ready to rip anyone around you apart if the occasion presented itself. You pretty much looked like you were perfectly content to let an innocent dying woman suffer horrible pain too."

"In Higa's harem, you do what you're told or get a trip to Kakizaki's torture room," Toyotama winced at his blunt assessment and first impression of her. "And to be totally honest, Sekirei tend to take on some aspects of their Ashikabi's personality after they get winged. I'm hoping that happens to me if, if, I, ummm can get re-winged by you. Besides, Itchy and I were actually waiting for Uzume down in the lobby and Miya up on the roof to join up and attack us, but they just seemed to stay apart and didn't want to fight. We got bored waiting for them."

"How did you know Miya was on the hospital roof?" Cash squinted slightly at this bit of news.

"Miya's the only one of us that smells like Lavender," Toyotama shrugged as if this was no big revelation, "and she was up there for a while until a little after you left. Besides, Itchy and I have fought as a team for years because it's the only way to match up against the single numbers. We KNOW who are stronger than us and what they smell like. It was Miya up there. There was no mistake."

"Interesting, Miya WAS there. And what about you?" Cash once again turned to Himeko and let his amazing deep blue eyes drill into hers. "Why me and not, say, Minato? He seems to have a soft heart for his Sekirei, and they seem to love him very much. Why didn't you go for him?"

"Uzume and Akitsu just GLOW with happiness around you. Minato's don't, at least not very much." Himeko shrank slightly from his penetrating gaze. It seemed as if he was doing a very thorough examination of her innermost tama and wasn't really too impressed with what he was finding. Maybe it was time hitch a little ride on Toyotama's bluntness that he seemed to really like a lot. "I guess I want what Toys wants too, and I've always been better friends with Uzume and Akitsu than with Mikogami's girls."

"Okaaaaaay," Cash said slowly as he sent a quick glance down at Kazehana. Who knew what had been going through her alcohol fuzzed brain to make her go after him so fiercely and leave Minato to do it. Something was clearly wrong there, but what? She had been winged by a strong and loving Ashikabi already and felt more powerful in his mind than Karasuba. Then she had felt bad and just regretfully sick about her defection afterward. The explanation of it all would just have to wait until she sobered up or at least regained consciousness. Even that was in question. Time for a little action here, you ass, Cash chided himself. Kazehana could really be suffering NOW.

"What happens if you two just go back home and act as if we'd never met?"

"I'm dead meat as far as Higa's concerned," Toyotama snorted at the concept. "It's all or nothing for me here. He's probably already calling in hit teams to smoke me, Itchy, and Koko. There's no way he'd willingly let us fight against him in the Sekirei Plan."

"Muts would simply break my mind and keep me around like a mindless robot to heal his other girls when they get hurt," Himeko shuddered. "He'll never forgive me for leaving the way I did."

"Well then, returning is not an option, is it? And neither of you want Seo or Minato, right? On the other hand, I'm in no mood or shape to re-wing either of you the way things look between you. My motto is peace and harmony or hit the highway. So, unless you want to leave now and take your chances on your own, then we're going to need a little unhappiness intervention here before I make any decisions. At the very least, we need to think about getting you some protection and a better harmonious attitude, but that's NOT a guarantee I'll re-wing either of you. So, if you want to stay here, let's start by putting away your weapon, Miss Himeko, and both of you stop sniping at each other."

"Does this mean you could, ummm, you might," Toyotama searched for the right words to express the hope she was feeling, gave up, and just blurted it out, "I mean, you could re-wing rotten big bitches like me and Mekko? We've got a chance?"

"Well, anyone can improve," Cash shrugged cautiously. He didn't want to give this female machine of destruction a lot of false hope and then later thoroughly piss her off. He glanced left out of the corner of his eye to see that Himeko was also giving him the same wounded yet quasi hopeful look. He tried to explain further.

"I mean, last year I had an ERA of 5.13 through the end of June but worked hard and got it down to 3.96 before I got cut from the team. I didn't keep my job, but I did improve, right? I'm pitching a helluva lot better now too, or was until my shoulders got mashed. What you have to do is just put yesterday's failures behind you every morning, learn from them, but don't let them knock you away from what you want to accomplish even if you have a few setbacks afterward. That's what I'm trying to show in my Shinto Dawn painting. Anyway, Uzume felt like human garbage when we CHOSE to kiss each other, and that's why we're really in tune together now. If you both want what she's got, then it has to start in our mutual choices, no forcing anything. There will also be no back door double dealing, no conniving amongst my other Sekirei, no little silent cliques, no spats or squabbling, and especially no damn physical fighting between you either. Does that sound fair?"

"If you'll just give me a chance," Toyotama breathed through teeth gritted in determination, "I'll tear this town apart for you! And in a way I'd NEVER do for Higa!"

"I too believe that is very fair," Himeko nodded quickly with shy relief. There was a chance to love and be loved! And to fight and die with meaning! She too clenched her now empty fists and held them in front of her to vow, "I will fight for you like never before!"

"Fine, a MUTUAL choice, with NO guarantees from my end for either one of you," Cash said firmly, "and about this fighting business, maybe you need to think about this. If all you want from me is to be on the winning team, you'd better understand right now that I have no intention of participating in the Sekirei Plan."

"You don't?" Both Sekirei chorused in amazed disbelief.

"Of course not!" Cash frowned in irritation. "The only winning move in that nonsense is not to play! Why would I want anyone, let alone those I really care about, get hurt or killed for any reason? And especially in something as stupid as trying for world domination? I've looked at politicians and leaders trying to be in charge of even small countries. I would HATE the job. Why would any sane person want to expand those headaches to planet wide? You ever heard of trying to herd cats or chickens? It's hard enough to get nine guys play baseball as a team, let alone get six billion plus people cooperate on anything as simple as breathing. Besides, I'm a ballplayer! I'm going back to the States as soon as I can, and any of my Sekirei who wants to travel can go too. If Miya and Karasuba want to stay here and go nuts then that's their choice, but I'm headed back to Batavia, New York and hope I heal well enough to pitch again."

"We won't have to fight? In the Plan?" Toyotama blinked in open mouthed amazement at the concept. "But we've been told since we were little kids that we'd have to fight and fight and ..."

"Not in my plans at all, zero, zip, nada," Cash shook his head. "Minaka's insanity doesn't have to be ours."

"But he's hunting you!" Himeko protested. "And probably wants to kill you when he's got what he wants!"

"I'll just have to find a way to give him what he wants without dying afterward," Cash shrugged again. "Then get the hell out of Japan and go home to play baseball."

Himeko and Toyotama exchanged slightly cynical looks at this notion. Toyotama then raised her eyebrows in an unspoken question. Could they work together to get re-winged, keep Cash safe, and go live in the United States? After a short hesitation, Himeko gave a slight nod in return. A new team was formed, at least temporarily.

"Well, if that's your Sekirei plan, then you can count on me, Cash-sama," Toyotama announced firmly.

"And I also," Himeko nodded in agreement. "Toys and I can, ummm, cooperate, as they say."

"Well, good! That's settled!" Cash smiled for the first time. The amused approval in his deep blues eyes fascinated both of the big Sekirei females watching his expression with total focus. "Since you're such a healthy looking gal, Miss Toyotama. Would you mind making Kazehana more comfortable on the futon? Then somebody needs to scrounge us some food and a few pain killers. How about you doing that and getting my clothes and cell phone from my locker at the Tokyo Dome? Can you do that too? I want to call Uzume and Akitsu and tell them not to worry."

Toyotama leaped past Cash to effortlessly pick up Kazehana and deposit her on the futon.

"Better forget the cell phone, Cash-sama," Himeko advised quietly. "It can be traced easily. Minaka had Yakuza goons waiting to kidnap you after the game according to what Muts said. I don't know why, but like I said before, it probably involves killing you when he's done and thereby eliminating your Sekirei too. You better assume your locker is being watched as well as where you live. You need to operate as if you are in very deep hiding. Don't use any bank cards or anything to expose yourself. I'm sure Uzume and Akitsu are being watched closely too. You'll endanger them, yourself, and the three of us here as well if you try to make any kind of contact. Toys needs to wait until after dark, and then go steal some food for us and clothes for you as well. No one from MBI is going to care where Toys and I go for a little while at least. We just need to stay out of sight and away from Higa and Mikogami's Sekirei who are no doubt combing the city searching for us. You won't need painkillers either. I can take care of your shoulders for you."

"You can? Great! Okay, well, I'll just have to figure out a way to reassure Uzi and Kitty later, I guess." Cash grimaced in pain as he turned too quickly to look out the window. He held his hand up and measured about two palm widths between the sun and Tokyo's horizon. A little over two hours until sunset then. All right. He could wait to eat anyway. He looked at Himeko.

"Would you, Miss Himeko, kind of look Kazehana over with your Sekirei healing skills first and see if you can help her? She got sick, ran around here hysterically, got sick some more, and then collapsed when I said she might want to fix the mess she made of things today with that idiot Riko. I'm still freezing, so I'm gonna get out of these wet damp clothes and take a quick hot shower. After you finish with Kazehana, then maybe you could see about my shoulders after I've cleaned up and get this bad taste out of my mouth. Hand me that towel and the top blanket from the futon, will you Miss Toyotama?"

In the bathroom, Cash gingerly stripped off his still damp baseball uniform and kicked everything to one side. He stepped inside the cheap plastic curtain and was surprised to find a basic American looking shower with a little wall mounted electric water heater leading to the hot water knob. He dialed a lukewarm spray, found a half bar of some kind of floral green soap, and began washing. Immediately, the warmth seeped into his aching shoulders, and he began to feel a little better. He looked to gratefully see that there was a toothbrush and toothpaste on a little shelf above the shower head. That was good and raised his spirits a little more. He even half congratulated himself for keeping Toyotama and Himeko from killing each other with him in the middle. Kazehana's condition was still weighing heavily on his mind though. Why had she went so bonkers like that? Did that mean he could never talk normally to her in the future? And what in the name of Abner Doubleday was he going to do about Riko's increasing insanity?

Himeko knelt down beside Kazehana as Cash closed the bathroom door behind him and Toyotama started stripping off Kazehana's vomit covered clothing. Putting her hands to either side of Kazehana's head, Himeko closed her eyes and read …. Sekirei rejection shock! She snatched her hands away as if they had touched white hot metal. If Cash Archer had just turned down Kazehana, she asked herself with a sick feeling in her stomach, what miniscule chance did a less attractive and less powerful Himeko have?

***scene break***

Riko, sick with worry over Cash, burst through the back wall of the Tokyo Dock's saki warehouse with a pressure wave in front of her. She dodged past the flying boxes and suddenly freed bottles her bombastic entrance had created, skimmed up one aisle and down another, and turned a corner to find a small pile of male clothes. There was an empty pair blue jeans with a cellphone in the front pocket, gray Nike running shoes, white ankle socks, a white T-shirt lying in the aisle, and nothing else. There was no Mitsuki, no Mitsuha, no Taki, and most importantly, no Sahashi Minato.

Riko whirled about in desperation. Her mental powers began tossing boxes and crates in every direction to expose any potential hiding places. Still no hiding Sekirei and their kidnapped Ashikabi. Alarms began ringing when one flying bottle inadvertently hit a wall mounted fire alarm and made the ceiling foam and water spray systems activate. A supervisor, an armed security guard, and two dock workers, hearing what had sounded like a bomb detonating and a resultant alcohol fire, rushed into the warehouse from a door to the front office to see a flying Pink Power Ranger going totally berserk amidst the warehouse's precious stock. Broken glass, splintered crates, and crushed boxes were everywhere while the floor was literally flowing in saki mixed with fire foam and water.

The security guard drew his automatic pistol, got a bead on his target, and began winging shots down range. One actually managed to bounce off Riko's bullet protected back. Eight more went labeled "To Whomever and Whatever Needs a Hole and/or Hot Lead Damage". One copper jacketed 9mm bullet nailed an electrical junction box sitting above a smashed crate of saki not splashed by foam or water. Flashing electrical sparks made the broken saki bottle's alcohol ignite with a nice resounding whoosh. The force of the ignition made yet untouched crates on the shelves above splinter, break open, and literally explode with more than a whoosh. It became more like a series of giant dull thuds working their way around the warehouse's outer storage walls like they were an opening Disney Small World barrage of even more beautiful fireworks to come. The supervisor, dock workers, and reloading security guard wisely fled in self preserving terror back the way they had come.

A now half blinded Riko, unaware of the new explosions because the helmet impaired her hearing also, paused beneath a ceiling mounted sprinkler to get the fire foam washed off her helmet's bug eyes so she could see better. She formed a pressure bubble around her to forestall more foam blocking her vision, and got blown through the roof as three crates of saki exploded below her. The frightened and angry warehouse workers began pointing at up her and shouting to other laborers on the docks now standing and gaping at Her Flying Pinkness. They all began to scramble as the roof of the saki warehouse completely blew off and crates and bottles of saki began raining down upon them. A few tried to catch a free gift, but most covered their heads and scattered in panic.

Riko, now sick at heart over the collateral damage she had caused during her mission's total failure, zoomed low out over Tokyo Bay before curving up and back to return over a miniature Tokyo, drop like a rock, and hide at Izumo House. Cash Joseph was going to KILL her for sure now. She felt even sicker when Matsu informed her that MBI's authorities were blaming a flying, pink armored terrorist for the recent massive attack on the Tokyo Dome. That same sick pink lunatic had also attempted to blow up a whole section of docks on Tokyo Bay, and was just seen to be headed towards downtown Tokyo to destroy all the city's terminals for Japan's entire system of bullet trains.


	14. Chapter 14

**The Game Changer**

**Chapter 14 – Massage Therapy, Rehab Assignments**

As he soaped, massaged, scrubbed, rinsed, and wrung out his baseball uniform and underwear, Cash pondered his problems and options. He had, he conceded to himself, quite a few, but there was really only one goal. Immediately get back to the States, ALIVE. That was it. It would be nice if he could be healthy enough to pitch, or at least work in his uncle's hardware store, and make enough money to support Uzume and Akitsu living with him, but not totally necessary. Funny, he frowned to himself, how one's priorities changed when a few powerful folks wanted you dead and began hunting you to accomplish that droll notion. Whatever happened to that good old universal theme of live and let live? Human and Sekirei social civility here in Tokyo were going down the old drain as fast as the suds from his laundry. Somehow, he needed to spread a lot of soothing oil on his troubled soapy waters and calm down the insanity that had turned him into a huge, tempting soap bubble that was just begging to be popped.

Cash began to list his immediate concerns. He and the three Sekirei in the main room seemed to be safe for the moment, but how long could that last? Sure, they could short term scrounge food, and they had water and a sleeping shelter. That was good. On the other hand, he and the three alien females had nothing but their clothes and what small items Kazehana had deemed necessary to stock in this particular hideout. They might be able to safely move to one of her bigger and more comfortable places to try and passively wait out this MBI mess when she regained consciousness, but who knew how long that would take? What was he going to do cooped up with Himeko and Toyotama hoping to get amorous with him until then? Kazehana's shack was little more than just a convenient flop for sleeping off a drunk and not much else, certainly not a entertainment center.

So, Cash shook his head as the realization hit him, until Kazehana woke up, there was little he could do to be proactive in dealing with Minaka and Higa's intentions to use and/or terminally abuse his tender body. There was even less he could do about reassuring Uzume and Akitsu of his relative safety, dealing with Miya and Karasuba's insane plotting to kill each other, or getting the increasingly and drastically weird Riko out of his freaking life. He was stuck here with the amorous Amazon Twins Toyotama and Himeko until Kazehana revived.

Therefore, living and sleeping in ultra close quarters with two hot and very willing alien females was going to be a supreme test of Lex Luthor's ability to just say no to bonding with two more extremely beautiful, built, sexy, and yet personally unknown Sekirei. This had already been a five time complete failure with only one marginally, and he suspected luckily, successful refusal to get involved with Riko. The kinetic and total socially challenged Sekirei had then taken it upon herself to do everything possible since to completely turn him off and stay free of her, but Himeko and Toyotama had deliberately put themselves into desperate straits here, almost as bad as Uzume's situation when he had first met her. They both had made the conscious choice to throw away everything they had in the form of safety and security to get next to him as favorably as possible. For them it was re-wing or be killed for trying.

That meant he was going to have to make an immediate decision about whether he really wanted to attempt re-winging two more Sekirei. The choices available here were actually pretty simple. Should he give them both new and possibly short lives with him as members of his already too large flock, offer them his flock's protection without re-winging them, try harder to hand them off to Seo and/or Minato, or send them away to individually deal with their own fates from the hands of their vindictive Ashikabis? And for once, Lex Luthor/aka Little CJ was safely in another room doing laundry while this was being mentally discussed.

"Okay, you dumb shit," Cash verbally addressed himself as he frowned at his mirror image above the bathroom sink and noted that his wet and tousled hair was getting long enough to curl around his ears. "Can you send two ultra HOT Sekirei away to die? Or are you going to try and keep them safe with Uzume and Akitsu's help without touching them? You do know that you're in way over your head already, right? There's no freaking way you can satisfy the five gals you already got, for Pete's sakes! Remember, Gwen Stallings, your high school catcher's kid sister that had such a crush on you? When she finally got us in her bed, her crush lasted less than a week afterward. Our track record has been steadily worse since, and now you got Kazehana to worry about? C'mon! Let's get real here! How long will it take us to imitate a sex vampire's drained victim the way shell shocked Minato looked in the bathhouse last night?

"So let's just have a little common sense here for once. We can't re-wing these gals. There's just not enough juice to go around. We're gonna wrap up tight and celibate in this blanket and stay that way until our clothes dry. In the meantime, we can very carefully explain that it's nothing personal and that we're more than willing to help keep them safe from Higa and Muts, but that's it. Lex Luthor is just going to have to live within his limitations, got it? Besides, our shoulders hurt, and we're getting hungry. By the way, get a haircut soon, you dumb shit."

Cash heaved a sigh of relief, glad that he had finally made a wise decision with some thought beforehand. All he had to do now was keep his distance from Himeko and Toyotama, keep his blanket tight, and keep their clothes on. He actually whistled tunelessly to himself as he found places to hang and drape his damp laundry for drying. Taking a deep steely breath, he wrapped Kazehana's blanket around him tightly in a full toga, Roman senator style, and opened the bathroom door. His breath gushed out in stunned surprise as if someone had punched him in the general area between Rome and Naples.

Himeko and Toyotama had moved the saki bottle rack/engineer's table into the center of the room, taken off their battle outfits and underwear, lined up side by side naked, bent over the saki rack with their legs spread and their backs arched, and swept their long hair aside to look expectantly over their adjoining shoulders at the bathroom door as he opened it. It was a sight that only young wankers viewing smutty magazines and internet porn could only vaguely dream about seeing in the flesh. The amorous alien Amazons both chorused as one together as they sent out a deceitfully and fully cooperative combined psychic wave of their hot desires for his traitor hiding beneath ancient Roman garb.

"Please be our Ashikabi, Cash-sama! Please take us!"

Cash's eyes instinctively focused on the juncture of their robustly presented, shameless, sexy, and very nicely rounded rear ends. His mouth dropped open as he quickly lifted his eyes to blink with a wounded expression first at Toyotama's anxious and pleading eyes and then shift to Himeko's identical orbs. He swallowed hard and began to close his mouth to say that this wasn't fair! Not fair at all! There were supposed to be some mutual, reasonable, common sense laden discussion and choices made first here!

Then for some reason his traitorous blanket slipped and a proudly growing bad boy and all around super evil prisoner was freed from his cloth prison. Even Cash's shoulders stopped aching and dinner was completely forgotten as Lex Luthor, apparently as brainless as Little CJ Johnson and acting like Julius Caesar of the old Roman Empire, proudly accepted two more simultaneous challenges in his ongoing quests for world domination. The two Sekirei's eyes instantly locked onto and grew much wider and heatedly glazed as they focused upon the hard and bald headed Julius Caesar Lex standing out from the toga's area of Naples.

Toyotama spun, leaped, and reached Cash first with Himeko a half instant behind. Two sets of lips and two tongues assaulted his on either side of his still half open mouth. Each used a hand to lightly grip the evil and now strong Julius Lex while a hot pelvis bumped against each of his thighs. An instant triumvir of a Sekirei psychic bonding loop began and increased between joined lips, hands, and moving nether regions. Large pale green wings immediately formed behind Toyotama, and equally large and cream colored wings sprang from Himeko. Both sets of wings began a perfectly phased pulsing action reflecting the roaring and hot sexual sensations circulated between the three of them. It was also doubly intense from the two Sekirei's combined psychic cooperation. Two very dark red crests formed simultaneously in the air behind them and sank to imprint them between their shoulder blades. Both alien females began moaning in ecstatic triumph as the big finish built up, went nuclear, and then exploded over the three of them. It left Cash extremely weak from Milan to Sicily, but not the two mutually conniving cohorts and former enemies that had now conspired to combine their powers and get re-winged.

They tenderly laid Cash on his back beside the comatose Kazehana, and Toyotama, who had won their coin toss while Cash was in the shower, lost her virginity first to an even prouder Julius Lex. Fortunately, the big, green haired Amazon suffered the equivalent of female premature ejaculation and went off quickly, muscles locking up as her head went back into soundless long moments of overwhelming pleasure. Within seconds afterward she had then slumped sideways, rolled over, and began to lightly snore as if she was any typical human male who had thoroughly enjoyed his quickie and was done for the night. Himeko, kneeling above his head and patiently waiting her turn, was a different proposition altogether.

"Sit up, Cash-sama, and assume the Lotus position," she crooned softly while putting both hands under his back from behind. "Let me help you and lean forward so I can massage your shoulders. They feel like they've been partially dislocated and badly bruised in my mind. I will heal them now."

Cash winced as he wordlessly obeyed her soft commands and then felt her smooth warm hands gently caressing his "now protesting too late" shoulders. He had endured massage therapy from a sports trainer before, so he sat up warily. He flinched at first when she began touching him, but the passage of her soft palms over his skin seemed to draw out the aching pains and leave a coolness behind. He could actually feel his abused shoulder tissues healing under her tender touch. He could also feel her bare breasts rubbing gently below his shoulder blades as she bent to nibble on the back of his neck with her warm lips while making soft musical noises down in her throat. This action did nothing to relieve the pride of Julius Lex.

Cash sank into contented relief under her crooning care, closing his eyes and giving himself over to the sensations of her applying her psychic powers to healing his body. He didn't notice at first that she had moved around to his front until he felt her give a soft sigh of pleasure while sinking with silky warmness down onto the proud monument of his Roman Emperor's lap. His eyes opened to find hers right in front of his, and her lips moving in slowly to kiss him very softly and sensuously. Her legs locked behind him, she rocked gently on Julius Lex in tight, warm, silken torture for what seemed to be a long time, kissing him repeatedly, murmuring endearments, massaging his shoulders, and stroking the muscles in his arms as he began to grasp her tighter. She kept looking down with complete joy and wonderment at the Victorious Appian Way they were joined while continuously presenting her large breasts for his kissing and mutual debauchery.

Her large cream colored and pulsing wings formed once again behind her, then again, again, and yet again. Their slow lovemaking ended in a rising crescendo of mutually clutching and shuddering white hot heat as he tried to hold back for even more of her further enjoyment, but couldn't. Now that, Cash said to himself as they panted heavily together in an afterglow of gently rocking bliss and mutual nibbling upon each others lips, was the best sports therapy massage he'd ever gotten. He also made a mental note. Himeko was always going to be one for romantic candle lit dinners, tender seduction, and extensive, warm, gentle, and silky foreplay.

Cash eventually shifted with Himeko to lay on their sides facing and lightly kissing one another, their hands making slow and tenderly caressing circuits up and down each others lengths, buttocks, and backs while still pressed together. He looked back into his mind to now find Toyotama's presence on one side of Kazehana's. The still snoring spear carrier seemed like a large, crunchy, and yet deliciously robust flavored and juicy Granny Smith apple. Himeko, on the other side of Kazehana's dark red rose, was a soft, silky smooth and creamy panna cotta that had a very delicate vanilla bean flavor. He now had a regular heptagon of Sekirei glowing back there, each with their own individual shape, texture, flavor and figure. If he kept this re-winging fiasco going, he could soon open a mental sweet treat and flower shop.

"Do you know what you feel like in my mind, Cash-sama?" Himeko whispered softly and dreamily as she reached down to fondle and awaken her conqueror again.

"A weenie type of gladiator?" Cash whispered fondly in return. There was a LOT of love in this alien female's heart, and he seemed to have captured it all. Well, his mental mirror image congratulated himself. We've certainly solved our first problem about what to do until Kazehana recovers, and for once, Lex Luthor/Little CJ had made the right choice.

"You are my rainbow lotus chakra tree of life," Himeko said with contented and half lidded eyes, "I can see Kazehana is ruby red, I'm amber, Akitsu is citrine yellow, Toyotama is emerald, Uzume is a very pale and almost white aquamarine, Karasuba is indigo, but who is the violet flower at the top?"

"That's Miya, and it's not violet. It's lavender," Cash pulled back slowly to gaze into Himeko's now wide open and startled eyes, "and I got a problem with those top two flowers in your lotus tree."

"Oh, Miya, well, that explains a lot about why I feel you're worried deep in your mind," Himeko moved to delicately join them again and roll him on top. "I'm hungry, but we can eat after Toys wakes up. This time you massage me, and I'll make you forget all about your problems for now, and later when we go to bed too."

***scene break***

_"Prime Ashikabi, I have a problem, and if you can hear me, please respond."_

Cash knew he was dreaming. Dinner was over with, and they'd had rice with some kind of tuna based veggie mix on top. A fishy tasting meal, again. Hadn't anyone ever heard of good old peanut butter and jelly sandwiches in this stupid town? Oh, that's right, of course they had. He was home in this dream, back in the Asshole of the Midwest. Cash looked around to see that he was on the sandlot beside their old home in Springfield, Illinois and had been pitching a baseball at the chalk strike zone on the side of Old Man Warner's barn at the end of the lot. He'd been doing that as a kid ever since his Mother had gotten the news about Dad being killed in Some Place Is Stan during America's sand box wars. The sandlot itself wasn't much, but it had a small mound and was the perfect distance to throw the ball and then field it when it bounced back towards him. He had pitched his aching heart out for hours on that sandlot after his Dad died when he was a kid, and it hadn't changed in his dreams at all. He fired a forkball at the barn target.

_"Prime Ashikabi, I can feel your presence. Please respond."_

Cash paused as he fielded a bouncing come backer. He took his baseball glove off and began to rub the old, grass stained, and scuffed baseball with both hands as he looked all around and above him in curiosity. Had he heard somebody trying to talk to him? He didn't see anybody. There was the back of their house to his left, an empty corn field growing knee high to his right, Old Man Warner's barn in front of him, and an empty highway to his back. There was a chicken hawk soaring lazily in a calm, warm, slightly cloudy summer sky above him. That was the only live thing he could see, and everyone knew chicken hawks couldn't talk.

_"Prime Ashikabi, please respond!"_

There! He had definitely heard THAT! Who or what was a Prime Ashikabi, and why would anyone be yelling at him? He hadn't done anything wrong, at least not today. Mom was going to find out sooner or later about his breaking Old Man Warner's car window yesterday, but why borrow trouble until a guy had to?

_"PRIME ASHIKABI! PLEASE!"_

"Who is this? Are you yelling at me? I didn't do it, not on purpose anyway!"

_"Yes! Prime Ashikabi, I need your help!"_

"Really? Me? Who are you? Where you at? I don't see anybody out here but me and that chicken hawk up there. Are you trying to play a trick or something?"

_"I am the nest of the Prime Pillar Miya, The One Who Kills. I am dying on an island not too far from you, but if I don't hurry, I will hurt a lot of creatures on this planet with my death. I need your help!"_

"Awww, you can't fool me! I'm no prime anything. My name is Cash Archer. This is Springfield, Illinois too. There ain't any islands around here. Besides, how can a bird's nest talk out of thin air anyway?"

_"Nest in your language would best be rendered as a space ship. I'm a spaceship on a Pacific Rim island that can connect to your mental brain waves for communication because you have bonded with my Prime Pillar Miya, three of her Prime Circle, and two from the Second Prime. This has increased your natural psychic abilities greatly so that I can ask for your help."_

"You're a spaceship," Cash again looked all around and above him to see nothing. Something fishy was going on here. He could smell it. "From another planet? And you call the Pacific Rim close? Aren't you alien people required to take World Geography in school? If you did, you must have flunked out. You stupid or something?"

_"Affirmative, or I should probably say yes for clarity. Yes, I am a spaceship from another planet, and my data banks have been damaged badly. That's why I and my Prime Pillar Miya, The One Who Kills need your help!"_

"Right," Cash nodded skeptically while looking for someone with a loud speaker or bullhorn pushed around the corner of Old Man Warner's barn or hidden in the edge of the corn field. "Well, I really don't want to talk to any killers. Killing is bad. Just ask my Mom and me and my brain dead younger sister. But I'm a fair kind of guy that believes in helping folks a lot worse off than me, if they really need it and ain't lying just to get a handout, so if you're a stupid space ship, prove it."

_"Prove it? You're demanding proof of my existence after we have established communication and in fact are now communicating?"_

"Hey, what if I'm just dreaming here like I think I am? How do I know you're not just some figment of my imagination? We had fish for supper again, for Pete's sakes! That ALWAYS screws up my dreams! Or maybe you're some kind of spook trying to haunt me, or something that oddball Riko from next door has cooked up to make my life a living hell again? Or you could just be another screwy dream being sent to me by Karasuba, our school's bitchiest cheerleader. She's nuts and always doing stuff like that you know, and so is the Squad Captain Miya.

"In fact, our school's whole cheer leading squad is almost as brain dead as my sister. Akitsu is just slow, and Kazehana is a complete teen alcoholic basket case. The jury is still out on Toyotama's sanity, but she sure must work out too much. Uzume and Himeko seem fairly nice, but then again, they're cheerleaders, and I feel sorry for them! Even in my dreams cheer leading ain't what you'd call normal human activity! So if you're a real talking spaceship that has become a cheer leading moron and want my help, then you prove it. Flash some lights, shoot a photon torpedo, or show me a phaser beam or something. Hey, just fly over and wave to me. That ought to do it."

_"All my weapon systems are off line! I am half buried in cooled volcanic lava and have no power to free myself! In addition, any attempt to move will further crack my anti-matter containment fields to generate a world wide cataclysmic explosion! My power reserves to stay sentient are minimal! I have no way to prove myself physically to you! Please help me Cash Archer! You're my only hope!"_

"Hey! Calm down! How can I help you? And I'm not your Obi Wan Kenobi, nor your huckleberry," Cash used his old baseball to rub the back of his neck in puzzlement as he talked to thin air while still feeling like someone was trying to make him look like a fool. "I don't know anything about fixing spaceships even if you are real. By the way, what's your name, and why does your voice sound like a stupid hysterical girl like my old girl friend Agnes?"

_"My name? A self identifier? That data seems to be missing from my memory banks. I have no way of knowing if I ever had a name. If it is important to you for me to have a name, then perhaps you could suggest one. As for your second question, all Sekirei nests are female in nature as they must transport and protect their future babies in the wombs. And I apologize for sounding hysterical. This situation is so, so distressing for me. And I'm ALONE!"_

"Didn't you bring anybody else along to help fix you when something went wrong? You just fly around the galaxies with yourself and a bunch of babies? Sounds pretty desperate to me. What happened to shove you out into the cold cruel universe like that? The shit hit the fan back on your home planet home or something? Or are you really alien invaders trying to take over the world? At any rate, you should at least have a mechanic or an engineer or two on board, don't ya think?"

_"I have no historical data to explain my presence on this world. Domination is not in my hard wired systems either. I am a self repairing, self defending, and self maintaining transport vessel, but I have insufficient power to use those functions before I lose containment on my anti-matter fields. That's why I need your help!"_

"Okay, okay, I can hear you're getting more upset. What do you want from me?"

_"I want your permission to initiate my auto self destruct mechanisms and override Prime Pillar Miya's temporary hold. She was just beginning to transmit needed data when her mind went off line and has since not come back on. Time is short. I had previously miscalculated my power drainage by a factor of 4.3731. I must begin safe termination procedures now or risk going beyond acceptable time structures to avoid catastrophic failure of my star drives."_

"So," Cash frowned as he thought, "you want ME ... to tell YOU ... to kill yourself? Are you NUTS? I'm a ballplayer, not a psyche doc, nor any kind of space engineer, but just giving up and dying sounds bad! Besides, if you've miscalculated once, how do you know you haven't got funny numbers again this time? Maybe you just got the jitters or something. If you really want to die, then you're gonna do it without me. I'm a live and let live kind of guy, and in case you didn't know it, life is pretty darn precious. I don't care who you are, where you come from, or why your here. Life is PRECIOUS! MY permission is denied!"

_"Please Prime Ashikabi! My Prime Pillar is insane and unconscious! My Prime Circle has been severely damaged with their powers corrupted and limited by drugs administered during maturation. My Prime Sisters all died ages ago! My womb is empty! My 108 babies have been gone for almost twenty planetary orbits around this system's star! I have no rational reason for continued living and being a grave danger to destroy this planet, and I am alone! I can't override my Prime Pillar's hold unless it is negated by her Prime Ashikabi! I have to die now and ALONE!"_

"You're alone? You're talking to me, and you're alone? What am I, chopped liver? Excuse me, HELLO! There's two of us talking here, right? Two, Dos, One Plus One in touch, by definition not alone. You need to get a grip! You say things are really bad and sad for you? Well, where I come from, there's always somebody that's got it worse, like when you walk into a Mickey D's and see there's a blind guy in wheelchair and seeing eye dog in line ahead of you. Why don't you knock off that weenie woe is me bullshit. It pisses me off. Get a little more focused on the positives, will ya? From where I'm pitching, repair and living are your FIRST priority. Have you got that? Just what do you need to repair yourself anyway? Is your main problem just a lack of power?"

_"Yes. I have a Priority One lack of power problem. I apologize for sounding hysterical again, Cash Archer, and yes, your presence in my receptors is very reassuring even if our communication efforts have been a little less than logical. You have a very strong, positive, and self sufficient feel in your thinking that is quite comforting and, and hopeful. I'm sure my long dead sisters and I would have made you our Prime Leader if they were still alive."_

"Right, very flattering, I'm sure," Cash waved his glove in the air while making a disgusted sound in negation, "but I'm not a leading prime of anything. I'm a ball player, remember?"

_"You … are … rejecting ... me?" The ship's voice went up three notches on the hysteria scale._

"HEY! Just calm down! I'm not rejecting anybody! Don't take it personal! I just don't want the POSITION! What is it with you anyway? I can tell you've never went dancing on a Saturday night at a really smoking hot night club. Man, I've gotten shot down so many times asking gals to just give me a try, I have to carry water around in my hip pocket to put out the flames on my ass. Besides, there's other guys around here that could be your Prime Leader and probably be a lot better at it than me. Why don't you try contacting two popular cats in my school named Sahashi Minato and Kaoru Seo? I'm pretty sure you can talk to them too, and they both have a bunch of cheer leaders hanging around them. Most of their gals are a whole lot saner than the ones I know, that's for sure."

_"Cash Archer, I'm sorry. You are a very wise and mentally strong human man and a loving Ashikabi. Your brain waves are very, very nice and fill me with hope. I, I would rather talk to you if you'll accept my transmissions."_

"Are you gonna stay calm? And will you knock off that Ashikabi name calling business? I makes me nervous for some reason. I really only want to pitch my baseball. Is that okay with you?"

_"Affirmative, I mean yes. And, and I will stay calm for you Cash Archer!"_

"Okay, fine, that's better. What can we do to get you the power you need?"

_"The best option is to send The One Who Builds to me with sufficient solar panels to supplement my power system's ability to deploy my more efficient collectors. However, she needs to be bonded to use her full powers in this mission for I am very heavy. It would tax her greatly to move enough volcanic lava to expose my exterior connecting ports."_

"She's not bonded you say?" Cash squinted suspiciously up at the sky. "Just who and what is this The One Who Builds person?"

_"She is what you would call my repair back up system upon her maturation. Each nest has one in their embryonic transports. She is normally but not always a member of the First or Second Prime Circle. The One Who Builds in my nest is Number 67 and named Riko. Would you please bond with her and send her to me?"_

"I KNEW IT! I KNEW IT!" Cash yelled angrily up at the chicken hawk and losing his calmness. "This whole dream thing is a giant dream scam by Riko! She's just using my natural sympathy to get me to kiss her! UGH! Well, there is NO FREAKING WAY! YOU HEAR ME, RIKO? NO FREAKING WAY! And that explains why for a girl next door you got the common sense of a FLEA! You're a FREAKING, CAN'T WEAR A PAIR OF MATCHED SOCKS, GRAVY STAINS ON YOUR BLOUSE, BUBBLE HEADED, BUG EYED ENGINEER!"

_"You are … rejecting … to bond .. with ... The One Who Builds?" The ship's female voice began another hysterical climb._

"You can bet all your missing data I AM!" Cash yelled as he thought quickly. "And if that's your best option, forget it! Let's go to other options for power! And we'll both stay calm, remember? You can't do solar, then how about wind?"

_"I have no wind turbines available but if you'd send some with The One..."_

"Oh, No You Don't! I WON'T DO The One! Forget The One! I don't ever want to hear about The One! What else you got inside you to work with?"

_"I have one small robotic aide, but it does not have sufficient power to lift anything but cables."_

"Are their any sources of electricity nearby?"

_"None."_

"Can you do a Ben Franklin and fly a kite in a thunder and lightning storm?"

_"Negative. Is Ben Franklin some kind of power device?"_

"No, never mind, wait a minute. Did you say earlier that you were on an island in the Pacific Ocean, maybe near sea water?"

_"Yes, Cash Archer. In fact my nether regions are embedded below the water table of the surrounding strata? Do you have a suggestion?"_

"Maybe. Your ass is in sea water, right? Can your robot maybe drill and connect some cables? Do you have any carbon and zinc handy?"

_"My nest is constructed from a form of carbon and my secondary ion drives have zinc based control rods. Yes, my robotic aide is equipped with a drill and can make connections."_

"Then if I remember my high school chemistry right, you could send your little robot to turn yourself into a giant salt water battery and get the power you need to start repairs and stay alive for a while. Hook your connections in series and parallel to generate the amount of volts and amps you need."

_"I have no data on how to proceed. There is nothing about electrical generation by sea water in my memory core. Perhaps it would be better to send The One Who …."_

"Uh – Uh! Nice try. Tell you what. I don't remember much about it, but they say we have every memory we've ever made stored in our brains. You can talk to me now right? While I'm dreaming? But can you read my mind too?"

_"Yes, if you'll drop your mental block upon your brain's highest wave band, then I can receive input from you. I can also help steer your subconscious mind towards the data we need. I just need you to concentrate on a place of reference to begin the data transfer."_

"Okay, great. Tell you what. I'll try to concentrate on being in my high school chemistry lab class, and you look in there to find the data you need. We were doing all kinds of different electrical generation experiments a month or so ago. One was the salt water gig so look there. Ready?"

_"I will need a self identifier for your subconscious to relate and communicate information while searching your memories, otherwise I could get easily meshed and confused as to my identity. Can you __give a self identifier for me that pleases you?"_

"You want me to give you a name? All right, how about Natalie? I've always liked that name."

_"Natalie," the ship's female voice sounded quite pleased. "Natalie the Sekirei. I LIKE it Cash Archer! It quite fills me with joy and hope that I might be able to still live and then always be together with you! Thank You!"_

"Sure, sure, no problem. You're welcome. And if you're gonna hang around then just don't ever make me talk to myself in public and look like a fool while doing it, okay? And remember. Never give up trying, even if your ERA is over 5.00. We can always pitch better tomorrow. Here we go. Steer me back to my high school chem lab."

In his dream, Cash's ball, glove, and sandlot pitching target faded, and then he was sitting at his assigned seat in the chem lab's third row, second desk from the rear. The totally bored class was semi listening to Goofy Cotrell the chemistry teacher drone on and on about orbital shells of electrons and some kind of Uncertainty Principle. A new and very hot looking, dark eyed, Asian female student transfer sat next to Cash, smiling bravely through her tears as she stared intently into his eyes. Why was she crying? He frowned slightly in puzzlement as he stared intently back at her. It made the back of his head itch and feel funny. She silently pushed a typed note at him saying her name was Natalie. The note was also asking for any information he knew about sea water batteries and how to hook them together.

Frowning anew at the strangeness of her request, he nevertheless turned the paper over, drew a quick diagram of the experiment they had done last week turning an ice cube tray full of salt water into a battery. Then he illustrated how they had made connections in series and parallel to vary volt and amperage output. He handed the note back to her after making sure Goofy Cotrell had his head turned away. He wondered if this new hottie named Natalie might like to go with him for a cheeseburger after the basketball game tomorrow night as she smiled her thanks back at him. She made a quick figure on her paper and held it up for him to see that she had drawn a heart beside a kiss symbol. Then he was back at the sandlot, standing on the pitcher's mound in front of Old Man Warner's barn.

"Did you get what you need for your rehab, Natalie?" Cash blinked as he yelled up at the chicken hawk still soaring in circles above him. A heart and a kiss? Without even buying her a cheeseburger? That was unheard of quick work for a total social clod like him.

_"Yes. I am computing the necessary equipment needed versus the time available to regain sufficient power for repairs through a sea water based generating device for electricity. Data suggests a 7.5431 improvement factor that could also be improved even further with time gained. In addition, more zinc and carbon can be used to generate enough power to deploy my solar collectors. Can you leave your highest mental band width open for me during this time so I won't be alone any more?"_

"Yes, as long as you're sure you're not the goofy Riko girl next door and just screwing with me. You really are Natalie the spaceship, right? And I won't be talking to myself with other people around?"

_"I am NOT Riko Number 67, The One Who Builds. I am Natalie, your Sekirei. I promise I'll never try to make you look foolish too. Thank you Cash Darling for solving my problems!"_

Cash rolled over in his sleep and cuddled Toyotama while Himeko shifted to spoon his backside. Some small place in his sleeping inner man sent out an alert that Cash Darling may have just somehow inadvertently added to his many Sekirei problems.

***scene break***

Izumi Higa, mulling over his problems and options, stared out his office window at Tokyo's lighted skyline and its bright reflection on the clouds above. The Tokyo Sky Tree almost touched one low cloud's glowing base. He glanced at the clock on his desk. 2:00 a. m. In less than twelve hours he had lost his three strongest Sekirei and been bumped to second rate status as an Ashikabi competing to win the Sekirei Plan. His personal secretary Kakizaki was in critical condition just two floors below and fighting for his life, never to function as a man again. He had been conscious enough before his emergency operation to pass along Koko's threat about Higa's balls also going to be crushed. Toyotama had simply disappeared, where to, no one knew. If the recent rumors were true from his remaining Sekirei, Koko and Ichiya had defected to Kaoru Seo along with Haihane and Benitsubasa of the Disciplinary Squad. Sahashi Minato of the North had also been seen leaving the Tokyo Done with three of Mikogami's stronger fighters. They too were defecting, but Mikogami and that damnable Mutsu still had a lot more Sekirei creatures to use.

Higa leaned back in his office chair and clasped his hands behind his head to stare up at the ceiling. The Phase Three battles were going to begin as soon as these last few unbound Sekirei got winged. His family needed the financial boost they would get from winning the Sekirei Plan as well as draw ahead or even destroy MBI's pharmaceutical monopoly. The game was afoot, and he was being badly left behind at the starting gate. He needed an equalizer, a real game changer now, or, maybe two, and three would be even better. There was plenty of money to spend on the venture. The midnight vote from the company's Executive Council had been unanimous, but where to start?

Mutsu had also failed to capture Number 67 Riko. She was still available, and there was one other, Number 107 Shiina, the Death God. If he could capture 107's Ashikabi and coerce 107 into killing for him, that would be good. If he could capture Number 67 and wing her? No, his remaining Sekirei all swore that Riko was as much as already bonded to that gaijin ballplayer named Archer. The big dumb fool didn't even know what tremendous power he had available right at the tip of his tongue and was still refusing to grasp it. But if, Higa mused, Archer could be captured too, and his saliva obtained, then not only would Higa have Riko winged by her Ashikabi, he would have Uzume AND Akitsu AND Karasuba to help Higa win the Sekirei Plan. Karasuba might even join in just for the fun of being given free rein to kill all the opposition she wanted, even Ashikabis like Minato, Seo, and that ass Sanada of the West.

There was yet another option if by chance he failed to quickly get 107, 67, and Archer's Sekirei. Bullets, knives, poison and other weapons could be just as effective in changing the game in Higa's favor. Kill six Ashikabi, Minato, Seo, Mikogami, Sanada, Archer, and the Death God 107's master, and their Sekirei all died. Higa would then become the odds on front runner by a wide margin. Killing Seo would also terminate those two traitorous bitches, Koko and Ichiya who were already at the top of his immediate kill list along with the missing and probably defecting Toyotama. In the meantime, he needed a new secretary to keep his remaining Sekirei in their places, one more competent than the now useless Kakizaki. It would take an individual with the right skills such as that former KGB interrogator he had just interviewed. Higa stood up and glanced once more out the window at a beautiful Tokyo night. Yes, there were problems, but every problem was also an opportunity, an opportunity with options.

***scene break***

Hayato Mikogami had a problem. He had to tell his good news to Mutsu, but he couldn't! He had learned to apply Mutsu's concentration lessons on how to "fine tune" a Sekirei, had already done two right here in the limo as they had ridden over Tokyo Bay! And was the process way better than hip hop or what! The problem was that Mutsu was STILL passed out from that stupid dart Himeko had shot into the big fellow's neck. Well, no matter. The night was still young, and so was he, young and proud! He might even be able to "fine tune" three or four more before breakfast! Then, after breakfast, start on the others! Hey! Here was a great idea! After Mutsu woke up, they could go out hunting other Sekirei to re-wing! Maybe he could even get Himeko, Taki, and the Twins back! Man, if Mother had only told him about THIS, he would've been boffing himself silly every night a long time ago, and Mutsu wouldn't have his Twinkie eating depression problems anymore!

***scene break***

Sitting on Izumo Inn's roof and staring up at the few stars bright enough to be visible in Tokyo's night glow, Riko simply shook her head at the myriad of mistakes she had made, the bad luck that had dogged her every efforts, and the problems she had caused for everyone including Cash Joseph and herself. How had such a simple idea of taking her man up into the clouds for a quick and hot session backfire so badly that she was now being called the Flying Robot Terrorist of Tokyo on the evening news broadcasts? When did she become a cheap knock off of some old Japanese monster movie villains like Mothra or Rodan? She didn't even have wings! To top it all off, she had dropped her precious Sex Guide Manual somewhere! What a rotten break! And now a Robot Terrorist too?

Not only was she being blamed for the fiasco at the Tokyo Dome and the destruction of several blocks of Tokyo Bay's docks, now she was also being accused of making the world's oil prices rise and Tokyo's commercial real estate values tank from her potential for flying mayhem. The Nikkei Index had dropped 3% before closing after today's disasters! What in the world could she do? Cash Joseph was still out of touch, and the Robot Terrorist was even being blamed for his kidnapping and disappearance! Uzume, Akitsu, Karasuba, and Miya were still unconscious. Sahashi Minato was nowhere to be found, and frenzied Matsu was too pissed off to even talk to Riko, let alone help her find Cash Joseph by giving her Kazehana's hideout addresses. Besides, Matsu was too busy hacking MBI's satellites to visually scan the city for her missing Minato.

Even if Riko did find Cash Joseph and make him safe from everyone who was either gunning for him or trying to capture him, he wouldn't like it, or even appreciate her efforts. He'd probably order her to go away again and let him die! Not only had that been totally unfair, it had really, really hurt. Why couldn't he see that she only had his best interest and safety in her heart, and that she worshiped the ground he pitched from? She had to totally redeem herself in his eyes somehow, but how? And then she had to somehow make him see her as sexy enough to kiss and take to his futon. That's all she wanted, and now she didn't care if he re-winged a million Sekirei before her or after. She just needed to be HIS!

Okay, problem one, the pink plastic suit, although bullet and poison dart proof, had to go, or at least get a little rehab done on it. It needed to be a flat, non shiny black, not pink and white. She would then be able to move around protected at least at night. The helmet needed auditory and visual improvements too, as well as a hard neck guard to forestall Uzume choking the living shit out of her again. To be really effective, it would need a refrigerating system to be invisible to infrared detectors as well as the ones non magnetic and sonic. She could also install a GPS tracking system so that once found, she'd never lose touch with Cash Joseph again. The best place to get all this done was either MBI's labs or a hi-tech military base or both. She still had six hours of darkness. She might as well make them productive. Nothing could be done to triangulate Cash Joseph's position until his other Sekirei woke up anyway.

Problem two, not only did her pink suit need a makeover, she did too. She had been wearing simple, girl next door type slacks and blouses except for her dinner dress. Subtle, black lacy underwear hadn't done the trick with Cash Joseph either. Karasuba looked a LOT sexier in those than she. What Riko needed were some things that said HAWT, but where to get them? Bedroom Boudoir shops? Massage parlors? A Victoria's Secret store where one paid three times the cost for one third the cloth? Maybe she needed to stop at a newsstand and get a couple of risque catalogs books for ideas and a new Sex Guide Manual too. She was going to memorize the whole book this time.

Riko stood up, her expression set in determination as she saw the Tokyo Sky Tree in the distance. It was so tall and proud and sturdy, just like her too stubborn man. Wait a minute. Redeem herself in his eyes? Never going to happen with any man as sturdy, proud, thick headed, and stubborn as Cash Joseph. So, something else that needed a little rehab was her attitude! There was going to be a new approach to getting winged! The fiasco and self serving Sekirei at the Tokyo Dome had taught her one thing. The old rules and limitations were going to be tossed! No more self restrictions! No more Miss Goody Two Shoes! No more passive wooing! It certainly hadn't WORKED! From now on, the girl next door image was out, bad girl Riko was way IN, and she was going to massage her own luck!

The city wanted to blame her for everything that had went haywire yesterday? Fine! The new evil terror of Tokyo, Karasu the Black Raven, was about to strike even harder than The Flying Pink Whose Its! Karasu, disguised as a lowly and humble cleaning lady, was going to tear this town apart until she found Cash Joseph! If a few buildings went lopsided or wind blown, so what? This was no time for being subtle. From now on she'd be as subtle as an old Godzilla movie monster stomping all over Tokyo since she was going to be blamed for everything anyway. Besides, snatching Cash Joseph from the pitching mound and getting winged any way possible hadn't really been a BAD idea. Kazehana had certainly approved and ultimately taken advantage of it. It was just Riko's execution that had been greatly flawed and way too public. And she wouldn't get blind drunk before any mission with Kazehana ever again either. That had also been a major snafu, one she didn't need to compound or repeat.

Riko nodded firmly to herself. Despite his exponentially growing anger at her, this was no time to give up on Cash Joseph either. Desperation is as desperation does! No Sekirei, not even Miya could stop her if Riko went fast enough, high enough, and far enough. Next time she'd get a chance to snatch Cash Joseph, she was taking him somewhere isolated, like maybe a high mountain cave in Tibet, and holding him there incommunicado until he capitulated, winged, and rogered her roundly like he should have done in the beginning. Cash Joseph must wing her! She'd deal with his unhappiness at her afterward by the steady pressure of her dedication to him. If he got reluctant to touch her, she'd just snatch him off for another extended isolation session of bad girl hotness again! Even Pavlov's dogs had responded to repetitive conditioning. So would Cash Joseph.

First things first. She would get surgical equipment while Matsu calmed down enough to listen to a trade. Riko would offer her skills at removing all of MBI tracking chips from the sleeping Sekirei at Izumo Inn and Matsu too in return for the address list of Kazehana's hideouts. Next, she'd rehab and massage the abilities of her protective suit so as not to be tracked by MBI's computers and nosy satellites. Then she would search for Cash Joseph until she found him, snatch him away, and make him wing her. One, two, three. Keep It Simple, Stupid. The KISS principle.

Having thus thought it all through as logically as her rejection warping mind was able, not to mention her emotionally approaching the completely hysterical state, Riko slammed on her bug like helmet and launched up into the Tokyo night to do a little massaging rehab on her suit, her public image, herself, and her Ashikabi, one problem solving effort at a time.

***scene break***

Taki of the Mists snuggled up to a now heavily sleeping Minato and simply basked in the glow of all their sexual deprivation problems having been solved so sweetly and so fortunately. Mitsuki and Mitsuha were taking turns brushing each others long blonde hair while smugly examining their new dark red crests. What had begun as just a hasty and possibly ill planned three way decision to defect from Mikogami's flock, had ended so neatly with two great boosts from Lady Luck. First, some really ecchi kind of Sekirei had dropped her Sex Guide Manual at the Tokyo Dome almost at Minato's feet. Taki had spotted it and instantly snatched it up as only a virgin REALLY interested in losing that female state would.

Then after their mist obscured escape and subsequent fleeing towards Tokyo's docks, Taki had found a warehouse full of saki and empty of workers to hide the four of them. She had taken a quick timeout to examine her new lucky book before proceeding. Reading the manual tabbed heavily at the fellatio section, several key phrases had already been underlined and circled by the book's former ecchi owner who must have really known what she wanted. Not only was the key phrases "DNA is where you find it" and "winging guaranteed" written above the section, the words below, "any man's major weakness" had been heavily underlined. This had proved crucial when Minato had been stripped and made ready to do his part in becoming their new Ashikabi, and his Johnson just hadn't cooperated at all. Then the saki warehouse supervisor had unluckily interrupted their kidnapped tryst with a naked Minato, so that Mitsuki had immediately decided they needed a love motel. That's when Lady luck had REALLY intervened for the second time.

Just as they had started to launch from the saki warehouse roof, an old man wearing thick glasses walking by below had spotted them, nodded to himself, and then shouted at them with "IT'S ALL FINISHED AND WAITING FOR YOU!" He had then lewdly pointed for them to go two blocks further down the docks. There, the three of them with a protesting but hand muffled and still buck naked Minato had been ushered into the large back room of a bonsai tree warehouse that had been turned into a dual futon love motel suite complete with satin sheets, large pillows, wall and ceiling mounted mirrors, and soft sexy lighting.

Taki and the Whip Twins had then wasted no time in putting their new Sex Guide Manual to good use, and its Sekirei Plan to try for a forceful re-winging by using any man's major weakness had been EXACTLY right in getting their Ashikabi member's cooperation. Minato had responded to their first tentative efforts like a champion, and the former ecchi owner's assumed results had also been EXACTLY right. DNA was DNA no matter where it came from. The three of them had been re-winged almost immediately as well as simultaneously. Their virginity had taken a little longer, but fortunately, the Sex Guide Manual had another section in the back dedicated to s&m teaching the Whip Twins a little something about their natural abilities to keep a man's flagging interest from flagging, and even spurring him on to greater efforts with a few well timed and well placed stings along with their newly acquired teasing fellatio skills. The mirrors and sexy sheets and lighting had greatly helped too. Again and again, Minato had responded like a champion thoroughbred making a stretch run at the Kentucky Derby to where, not only were the three of them his new Sekirei, the three of them were also very "finely tuned" to his brain waves now too. Minato had earned his sleep and a healthy breakfast when he woke up. Maybe even lunch and dinner. Who knew how long they could stay here?

Taki sighed in total contentment at their fabulous run of incredible good luck. It was all thanks to that unknown ecchi Sekirei who had carelessly dropped her sex manual in the Tokyo Dome at just the right spot, and also Lady Luck having them meet the old bonsai tree warehouse man right when he had been needed. It had been puzzling at first as to why the old guy had inexplicably kept referring to Mitsuki as "Karasuba" along with "he hadn't known she was a twin". In the end, it just hadn't mattered. The fact that the old Yakuza forger had stayed up all night watching the four way orgy from his little cubbyhole behind a two way mirror hadn't mattered either. Even if they had known, it wouldn't have been any problem for the completely contented Taki of the Mists and her sister Whip Twins. Their Ashikabi and virginal problems had all been wonderfully and quickly solved in one fast run of constant luck, and nothing else mattered.

***scene break***

Cash lay between Himeko and Toyotama with his hands clasped behind his head as a pillow, his mind still worrying over a problem that he somehow knew he should be able to solve. That problem was Kazehana. She had re-winged with him in an incredibly powerful way it was true, but something just didn't feel right. In the back of his mind Himeko's vanilla dessert was shining much brighter, as bright as Uzume and Akitsu's orbs. Toyotama's pale green also glowed stronger than Kazehana's rose, but neither Himeko nor Toyotama had that glowing link into his center like Kazehana's that was now pulsing very weakly. Something was wrong.

To be fair, Toyotama's essence in him had been duller, but she had come awake after he had spooned her from behind. Then she had simply turned her head and whispered that she was still hungry like a wolf. Would he please treat her like one? That had NOT become a quickie as her first joining with him had been. It had turned into a mini marathon of him basically holding on to her powerful haunches, arms, and firm chest as she made the earth move for herself several times, each time her glow in his mind getting brighter as she "fine tuned" herself to his wavelengths.

Strangely, her torrid pace had slowed and evolved into her turning to him and finishing as softly and sweetly as Himeko had done. She had drifted back to sleep murmuring her own sweet nothings and kissing him as tenderly as any female could. Her ability to go from a intimidating Amazon to a soft and sweetly cling mass of tender endearments had been a little disconcerting. What had really been disconcerting was her last sleepy declaration of thanking him for being her new master. Master? What was up with that? Had Higa's torture tactics and heavy handed demands for total submission made her feel like an abused slave that had simply needed a new owner? At any rate, Toyotama and Himeko had both re-winged with him, not as powerfully as Kazehana, but then had made up for it with repeatedly fine tuning themselves in his embrace. Kazehana had only drunkenly humped his baseball mitt before going bye bye in her mind.

Cash glanced over Himeko's shoulder at Kazehana's form under the blanket, the light from Tokyo's skyline glowing softly through the window above her. Her dark red crest was visible between her naked shoulder blades as she was lying on her left side and had her back to him and Himeko. He turned his head to look at Toyotama's crest right beside him. He examined it as closely as the dim window light allowed. Uzume and Akitsu had went static when he'd tongued them there, touching their "tama" as Miya had called it. Therefore, their crest must be a hotline right into a Sekirei's inner most being, and it was also a switch that could be used upon reciting a Norito to shut down all but the most basic of their life force functions. What if that switch was two way? An OFF switch by another enemy Sekirei, but an ON switch by their Ashikabi? That fit Miya's explanation of "tama" touching. What if he let his mind follow along in there when his wet tongue touched their crest? Would he be able to "fine tune" his Sekirei to him even better, or use it to revive Kazehana's stemmed rose?

"Smitty," Cash whispered into Toyotama's left ear while he gently shook her very firm shoulders.

"Ummmm?" Toyotama responded sleepily, turning her cheek to lightly nuzzle his. "Do you want me again, master?"

"Yes, but not right now. I want to try something by kissing and licking your crest and seeing if I can make you glow brighter in my mind. Would you allow that? It might knock you out for a few hours because it will feel so good. At least, that's what happened to Uzume and Akitsu. What do you think?"

"Oh yes, love me master, love me like you do them. And even if I'm not awake, take me like a wolf again as soon as you can, okay?"

"Well, sure," Cash mentally shrugged. Why not?

"And me too, my sweet love," Himeko breathed into his left ear. "Right after I watch you do Toys, take me again too. Please? Pretty please?"

"Uhhh, sure, it might take a while though. I think Lex Luthor is ready to go back to being just good old, plain every day Little CJ from Springfield for a few days."

"I don't mind, my love," Himeko breathed again. "Just lick and kiss my crest too when you're done with Toys. I want all of you inside of me as deep as you can possibly go, okay?"

"Okay," Cash nodded. Again, why not?

Framing his fingers around Toyotama's crest, he closed his eyes and focused his mind. Cash leaned forward and wetly tongued the area framed between her shoulder blades. He felt her instantly and rigidly stiffen just Like Uzume and Akitsu had done. A bright pale green flash went from his tongue and down towards her chest. He followed it with his mind to come to a very bright ball of light where he sort of felt her sending out waves of extreme happiness, but did not connect with her thoughts, only emotions. He had been right. The Sekirei "tama" was some kind of elemental psychic switch for their autonomic and emotional systems.

Satisfied with his experiment, Cash went back into his mind and now saw Toyotama's pale green essence glowing the brightest of all his Sekirei. So, he could "fine tune" his Sekirei through their crests. Interesting. He examined Toyotama's essence. It was now a perfectly symmetrical and seamless shape that felt healthy and happy. Uzume's was ovoid but healthy and the second brightest. Akitsu's was round but had a deep dent near the top. Miya and Karasuba's shapes were asymmetrical, both distorted at odd and different angles as if they both had been taken apart and reassembled carelessly. Karasuba's looked more glassy and fragile somehow. Himeko was a perfectly round and warmly glowing ball of fragrant vanilla. Kazehana's dark red rose was wilted, unhappy, and hard to read.

Cash opened his eyes and saw that Toyotama was still stiff, but breathing normally with mental waves of happiness coming to him as if she was a contented and purring big cat. Rolling over to his right side, he saw Himeko had already rolled over too and was presenting her bare back to him while smiling over her shoulder in expectation.

"Hit me with your best kiss, my love," Himeko chuckled softly.

"Okay, Miss Shameless. Here you go!" Cash kissed her crest wetly too and followed her light flash down to her core to find exactly the same ecstatic sensations as he had found in Toyotama. He retreated and found that she was now glowing in the back of his mind just as brightly as Toyotama.

_"You're making good progress Cash Darling! I'm proud of you!"_

Now where had that come from? Cash wondered as he glanced both ways at his very rigid bed mates. They were still in La La Land for sure. Then he heard a tinkling type of laughter retreating and fading into the upper reaches of his mind. Was he going nuts now too?

Sighing at the extremely good chances of that possibility, Cash sat up and gave Kazehana another troubled look. He wanted to help her, but if he kissed her crest now, who knew what her reaction would be? Would that jump start her 16 cylinder sex diesel? Little CJ was in no shape for that after a night with the very healthy and energetic Himeko and Toyotama. Leaning over Himeko and getting close to Kazehana's exposed crest, Cash took a deep sniff. One thing was for sure. If he did awaken her, she wouldn't be able to handle even a hint of rejection from him, but she smelled slightly rank from alcohol and vomit. He was pretty sure she was going to need a giant case of Tic Tacs too. Well, his shoulders were feeling fine thanks to Himeko's loving care, and he needed another shower anyway.

Easier thought than done Cash found out. Kazehana was a BIG girl and moving her total dead weight wasn't easy at all, nor was keeping her in position in the cramped shower to shampoo and rinse her masses of hair, let alone her bountiful body. Even brushing and rinsing her teeth was a big challenge. By the time he had wrestled her slippery body out, dried her off, carried her back to the futon, and taken his own shower, shave, and dental hygiene trip, Cash was almost as exhausted and limp as Little CJ. Still, he found energy to lay Kazehana face down across his lap after he assumed the lotus position and began to untangle, dry, and smooth her hair with a hairbrush he had found in the top drawer of the shack's small chest. Stroking away on Kazehana's long, black, and silken masses, Cash gave her situation another think.

Kazehana was a long time alcoholic. Why? Was she just a naturally addicted lush, or was it some kind of emotional compensation? Sekirei didn't handle rejection well, at least Kazehana didn't from her massive reaction earlier. Matter of fact, Riko was starting to show the same kind of emotional imbalance and alcohol coping mechanism too. If that was the case, then what had driven Miya and Karasuba nuts? He was just going to have to get to the bottom of that dual mess pretty damn soon, but how? And where to start? Well, Cash sighed, it was on hold for now, because Kazehana needed help. There was only one way that might work, and Little CJ was just going to have to take his chances.

Wait. What if he didn't kiss her crest, but only touched it and focused his concern for her into it? Maybe she didn't need a massive dose of DNA to respond. It might be worth a try, if for nothing more than to delay turning on the key to her sex motor. Cash looked down Kazehana's bare length. This was some ultra fine, long, rounded, and sensuous hunk of feminine perfection here, from top to bottom, and front to back. Too bad she was such a sloppy drunk and Little CJ a war weary and shriveled private in an army of one.

Steeling himself, Cash tentatively swept her long black hair away from her crest and laid his palm on her Sekirei insignia. No response. He closed his eyes, focused his mind, and sent out mental reassurances of his presence, his concern over her condition, her attractiveness and beauty, and his desires for her to be healthy, loving, and loved. Still no response. He tried hot mental images of him making love to her sweetly rounded backside, incredible breasts, and womanhood. Nothing. He tried thinking of romantic candle lit dinners for two, extensive foreplay in a secluded spa's hot tub, slow dancing alone together in the moonlight, walking hand in hand along some rainy secluded beach, necking on a bench in the park while feeding the pigeons, eating both ends of a Monster Hot Dog together at the ballpark, kissing in the back of a movie balcony, making love during a mountain top picnic, taking a long hot and amorous shower together, playing a hot game of Yahtzee, or simply going for a cheeseburger and fries while holding hands. No dice.

Sighing in defeat, Cash slowly and gently resumed brushing her hair in long strokes.

"Yahtzee? A HOT game of Yahtzee?" Kazehana chuckled softly without lifting her head. "I mean, the other suggestions look very, very interesting, but hot Yahtzee? C'mon! We can do better than that! All you REALLY need to do, Lover, is just keep doing what you're doing, and we are going to have some major romance ahead of us and real soon too."

"What? How long have you been awake?" Cash looked down at the back of her head in consternation. The back of his mind was now being inundated with a fiery dark red rose whose connecting strand into his center was one strong, steady, stream of light.

"Ever since you touched my crest to lift me into the shower, and I decided to see just what you were doing. Your mind is so tightly closed, you know. And then you damned near drowned me trying to brush my teeth, you lovable klutz," Kazehana chuckled a little harder before pausing. "I'm really sorry about hurting your shoulders, Lover, and making you sick and cold. I'm even more sorry for thinking you might not want me. It, it brought back a LOT of bad memories. You can also forget about Minato. He never put me over the top no matter how hard we tried. You did that when we simply kissed in the clouds. And do I ever love baseball now too! If you think you're ever going to get rid of me after THAT, well, think again. And I THINK I've had about all the hair brushing I need now too. Let's do a little mutual massaging and relationship rehab of your world dominating big guy here the best way I know how. Your red rose is glowing and ready to go WAY over the top with you a few more times. Forget the Yahtzee game!"

_"Oh MY! This is going to be VERY interesting!"_

"Uhhh, that SOUNDS wonderful, Rosy," Cash began uncertainly as he laid down her brush and gently turned her over to look into her shining, smiling, and now clearly sober eyes. Who was talking in his mind? Man, did Rosy ever have a heartbreaking beautiful face and a perfectly matching heartbreaking bosom! Wasn't going to be enough. "But I'm afraid Smitty and Silky here have put Little CJ down for the count. Maybe he could stand up in twelve hours or so and after a really big breakfast and a hearty lunch to boot, but we've got a lot of baddies trying to kill us all in the meantime."

"Lover, lucky for us, I've read and practiced a friend's recent Sex Guide Manual from cover to cover," Kazehana gave him a knowing smirk as she shifted her head and zeroed in on her target. "Our enemy troubles can be dealt with later, and me turning Little CJ into a bald and evil, world dominating bad boy for a few hours here is NOT going to be a problem."


	15. Chapter 15

**The Game Changer**

**Chapter 15 – Career Moves, Free Agency**

Every career baseball player knows the game has many facets, some good, some bad, some inexplicable as to when it comes to doing well and/or doing poorly. Cash had always accepted the vagaries of the game as part of himself. Therefore, ups and downs had always been expected. The game had taught him everything his Dad would have taught if the war hadn't killed him. After all, hadn't baseball been Cash's life since he'd been just a little kid throwing his heart out at Old Man Warner's barn after his Dad died?

First, baseball had taught Cash the valuable fact that he wasn't all that special as far as human males went, nor irreplaceable. Every guy living and dead from ancient times right on down got their triumphs and defeats in life, from Julius Caesar conquering Gaul then later getting nailed in the Senate by his best friend Brutus, to the goofball neighbor kid down the block named Marty Stieglitz who had gotten his junk Chevy Blazer repossessed on a Wednesday and hit a $10 K lottery jackpot on Friday.

Cash's life had reflected the same peaks and valleys. He'd had his better moments in trying to live up to a decent self image, and he'd disappointed himself a few more maybe, and a lot other folks around him too, especially his Mother, but hey, why worry about living up to other people's expectations when he couldn't even match his own? To Cash, life was just like a baseball career, sometimes a home run, sometimes a strikeout, a timely base hit here and there, making plays with teamwork, getting beaned, and most often for the ones you loved, a sacrifice bunt.

So far, Cash's love life had pretty much reflected his lifetime stat sheet and tended to balance out on the favorable side, above average here and there, below in a few others. Sometimes a total bad call and/or boneheaded base running play like Agnes Mortenson. The key had always been Cash's commitment to hard work and his unwavering focus on his overall career in baseball to get better while leaving room for Dame Fortune to work her ways on one side for the Visitors, or on the other for the Home team. When a guy was pitching poorly, he just worked harder and tried to find out what he was doing wrong in his pitching mechanics, his grip, his placement on the mound, his game day preparation, and all the things a guy goes through to compete, even his mental attitude. When a guy is pitching great, NOTHING gets changed, not even the lucky socks and jockstraps, certainly not a winning mentality.

That's why when Kazehana came into Cash's life in such a big way, he didn't question his good fortune at all. Starting with re-winging Uzume, then Toyotama, Himeko, and now the incredible super babe Kazehana, Cash instinctively knew he was on a statistically favorable roll of unimaginable good fortune. Also, there was now an extra power well of physical and mental vitality that had been formed the night Uzume and he had chosen to go the the mattress with each other to save her life and restart his. That power well had been full of love, pure and simple. He was extremely fond of poor Akitsu, and he felt very positive that he and Himeko could fix Kitty's mental defect to let full reciprocating love bloom with her too. Although not blind to their ulterior motives, he was also fond of Miya and Karasuba, but Uzume's honest deep love had been different. It had set the stage for him to respond so favorably to Smitty, Silky, and now Kazehana, his Rose.

Cash also knew what love was and was not, as well as a solid loving relationship. Agnes Mortenson, bless her little mercenary heart, had certainly taught him the inherent foulness of totally selfish play. Love wasn't just a convenient place to stick brainless Little CJ into for a little physical release either. Neither was it someplace to get hung up for lopsided use and abuse. Love was totally giving of yourself to the team's benefit and expecting nothing in return, a sacrifice bunt. If that giving was equally reciprocated by the one loved, then you had a solid relationship, a team with a winning mentality.

Sekirei females may have been hatched with a much quicker emotional and love trigger than human gals due to the Sekirei's avian hard wired imprinting instincts, but, Cash reasoned, the average human male wouldn't really know that because the ending principle was still the same. Men don't usually question their emotions as easily as females. They just go with it like a lucky streak in baseball. Love had happened to Cash with Uzume, and even he wasn't so thickheaded to not instinctively know it, even if he didn't totally understand it. That it had happened literally overnight was just one of those things a ballplayer on a roll just doesn't examine to closely. He just rides Dame Fortune for as long and as far as she will carry him.

Dame F and Uzume's total opening of herself to him had carried Cash into overnight solid loving relationships with a now strangely yet totally submissive Toyotama, a sensationally sweet and common sense filled Himeko, and this morning with the ultra comfortable, soul immersing powerhouse Kazehana. Every pitcher needs a great catcher, one who is the heart and soul of a team, the team leader, the encourager, and one who not only operates on the same wavelength with the pitcher, but also with the coach in the dugout. In Kazehana, Cash instinctively knew that he had found his Sekirei catcher.

Kazehana hadn't lasted the promised few hours with her love making and neither had Julius Lex once she had firmly called him to long term duty for conquering her Mount Vesuvius. It had only taken ten minutes. Their mutual rise and ultimate simultaneous and volcanic crescendo using Himeko's lotus position and technique had triggered something in them both to where Kazehana's dark red wings had flashed out with groaning heat to fill the little construction hut. Her wings' rapid pulsing in release had then went into a sustained, heavy quivering action followed by a much longer period of shuddering, and finally a very prolonged shivering before slowly disappearing into psychic bliss.

Kazehana's left temple was pressed firmly against the top of Cash's head as she clutched him with both hands between the twin firmness of her large warm breasts. Here she froze in ecstatic wonder as she soundlessly screamed from the continuous emotional and physical waves assaulting and filling every pleasure center that her body and mind possessed. Cash, comfortably ensconced in a Valley of Dame Fortune where few men dream of being ensconced, had simply let it all go as any human male would while clutching Kazehana's torso under her arms with his and grasping her crest from both sides with his hands between her shoulder blades.

His inadvertent, and perhaps even instinctual, crest touching of Kazehana during their mutual orgasm was the timing key to their completely soul meshing experience when they peaked together. It had the effect of both of them psychically, physically, and emotionally sharing each others climax while tuning Kazehana's mental wavelengths to his in an exact synchronized match from the lowest bandwidth to the highest. The dark amorphous center, his own heretofore largely dormant and totally untrained psychic core in the middle of his mental Sekirei heptagon, suddenly snapped into a solid glowing ball of deep blue that emanated raw psychic power in a continuous standing Sine wave. This was now connected to Kazehana's fiery dark red rose along her stem, her connection to him that had also changed to a glowing deep blue.

They both immediately felt and recognized the difference. If there had been any before, there were no longer any doubts in each of their minds. Now they both knew what love really was and how irrevocably they were tied to each other. True, neither one was experienced enough to realize what this meant in a practical sense on an everyday or even crisis facing level, but hey, like every new couple, they would have to grow and learn.

At the moment, Kazehana only knew that her years of career drunken disappointment searching for her elusive perfect fairy tale romance of happily forever and ever were somehow over and a new shared life with Cash and his other bonded Sekirei was beginning. She also had better and larger places to stay and hide than this little construction shack flop. She had several high end digs with much better and comfortable bedroom accommodations for further "getting better acquainted" activity.

Cash's new understanding of her ties to him was more geared to his baseball mentality. Pitcher, meet your perfect female Sekirei catcher. Catcher, meet your superstar Ashikabi pitcher. At any rate, theirs was the true joining of an alien female Sekirei with her human male Ashikabi, a career changing gift from Dame Fortune to both of them and good luck with all that as she transported all four of them away from the now too small shack a couple of hours before dawn.

***scene break***

In contrast, Riko's brief Bad Girl career as Karasu, the Black Raven Robot Terror of Tokyo, an evil, flying mechanical bitch tearing the town apart to find Cash Joseph, got off to a poor start, floundered badly, and faltered altogether in frustrated exhaustion. To be fair, her initial moves to upgrade her protective suit went well enough. Entering MBI's Tower complex and stealing the more sensitive and specialized equipment and tools that she needed was a breeze since the security codes hadn't been changed since she had left. A little careless and lackadaisical approach from Minaka's minions, she thought, but on the other hand, the megalomaniac didn't exactly inspire people to heights of self initiative either. Even entering MBI's surgical labs to get the surgical supplies for tracking chip removal had went off smoothly as she had escaped without alarming any security circuit. A quick trip to Tokyo's Midtown Mall and sneaking into a local electronic retailer for the rest of her gadgets and electrical odd and ends and then stopping by a bookstore for her image improvement literature had also went without detection. It was getting the flat black paint at a local, street front hardware outlet where things begin to go sour and ultimately spelled the doom of her brief career in the evil terrorizing of Tokyo.

Stuffing the cans of spray paints, sheets of emery paper, and rolls of masking tape into a plastic bag, she turned to head back up the store's inside stairwell for the roof to add the bag's contents to the big cardboard box full of her other stolen loot. Her bag of paint paraphernalia inadvertently swung up against the narrow wall as centrifugal force was applied in her turning climb. A can of flat black paint inside the bag hit a fire alarm beside the first landing's door. The alarm's sudden raucous noise startled her into going straight up a little harder than she had intended. In ancient avian flight panic mode, she also neglected to put her pressure wave out in front of her. Instead of going noiselessly through the rooftop door she had carefully unlocked and entered after deactivating the burglar alarm, she blew straight through the wooden roof headfirst. The blow to the top of her Karasu helmet knocked her half unconscious and left her dazed, wobbly, and circling about trying to locate and focus on her other stolen stuff while chaos broke out below.

The store's owner and his family, more extended family, and even a few tenants came rushing out of the building's second and third floor hallways, yammering, yelling, and screaming in wide eyed panic. As one, they stopped and gawked at the sudden destruction overhead and the cluttered roof debris now in the stairwell. Where was the fire? No smoke, no heat, had it been a bomb? A terrorizing terrorist bomb?

One young brave young lad about twelve or thirteen with a bedroom on the top floor, recognized the wobbling shadow of the Robot Terror from last night's news circling dizzily overhead, and decided on a little personal vigilante action of his own. Bomb his Father's store? Not without retaliation! Rushing back to his bedroom, he retrieved his wrist rocket slingshot and bag of marbles that he used for ammo. He ran back to the stairwell and began whipping shots up through the hole in the roof at Riko's still wobbling figure while his father called the police. The teen avenger eventually managed to plunk Riko's helmet above her left ear as she slowly regained her senses and reached with her mind to get her box of stolen loot still sitting on the roof beside the still pristine and unlocked rooftop door.

The kid's marble head shot was enough to make Riko's full box of stolen stuff also wobble slightly upon her flinching takeoff as she mentally picked it up to follow after her. Her filched Vanity Fair Magazine, Victoria's Secret Catalog, and new Sex Guide Manual intended to be used for her HAWT image makeover fell off the top unnoticed as she finally lifted up and away. These ultimately became gifts from above to drop at the feet of the young wanker still firing away at the retreating Terror. While everyone else was still yelling and now rushing about in panic over being attacked by the Robot Terrorist of Tokyo, the fearless young warrior stuffed his pictorial rewards and new "how to" guides into a life of wanking dissipation inside his pajama shirt and ran to hide them under his futon.

Fire truck alarms began sounding from a few blocks down the street. Neighbors, bicyclists, and passing foot travelers flooded the street to rubberneck the hardware store's trouble. Car and other motorized traffic came to a snarled halt. Everyone began pointing and screaming at the bug headed Pink Power Ranger knockoff now rising slowly above the nearby buildings with a large box trailing in the air behind her. The store's owner watched Riko leave in blinking slow realization as to what this all could mean as he then stared at the pandemonium around him. This was more than a terrorist raid. This was a free public relations and advertising dream! He also began calculating in his mind how much he could fudge his insurance claims as well as take advantage of the free publicity that was sure to be generated from his humble store being raided by the super villain Pink Robot Terrorist of Tokyo.

It was a good half hour before Riko got rid of all the cobwebs from smacking her head so hard and found an empty electrician's shop to begin altering her protective suit. It was here that she discovered her HAWT makeover literature had been lost in her latest debacle. Cursing her foul luck, she heaved a sigh of frustration. It seemed once again that whatever could have went wrong with her plans, had. When was she ever going to catch even one small break?

Once started, however, she was able to work quickly on upgrading her protective armor. Her mental powers worked effortlessly and efficiently in attaching, connecting, and covering miniature parts, circuits, and power lines on the inside as she scuffed and spray painted the suit's exterior. Operating on more than a dozen projects at once, the suit's rehab took a little more than two hours to complete from the helmet's top crest now embedded with small solar and wind driven generators down to the suit's rechargeable batteries in the fashionably extra thick soles of her black high heeled boots.

Sniffing the results of her handiwork and her clothes, Riko decided that Karasu was going to need a shower and change of underwear as soon as she found and stole away with Cash Joseph. She donned her new and improved black armor, adjusted her new black miniskirt acting as a partially demure covering for her hard plastic loins, and officially launched her new Karasu the Black Raven career. Unfortunately, her small delay caused by knocking herself half stupid at the hardware store had cost her precious time.

When Riko returned to Izumo Inn prepared to make her surgical chip removal for Kazehana's hideout addresses trade with a hopefully much calmer Matsu, the Inn was empty except for a still drugged Miya, Minato's three Sekirei, and Homura. The still amused Homura, had simply shrugged at Riko's questions. All he/she knew was that Matsu had finally found something on her hacked satellite scanning and leaped out of her upstairs window after yelling at him to stand guard until she got back. A few minutes later Uzume and Akitsu had come groggily awake, wordlessly hoisted the still comatose Karasuba onto Akitsu's shoulders, threw open the front door without even saying goodbye or even thanks, and was last seen bounding over Tokyo's glowing night skyline to the south. With nothing else to do until Matsu returned, Riko set about removing MBI's tracking chips from Minato's Sekirei, Miya, and a now highly interested Homura. If she would do Matsu and whoever came back with Minato, Homura promised, then Matsu would be pressured into coughing up Kazehana's addresses for Riko's use in searching for Cash Joseph.

Thus, Riko was stuck at Izumo Inn until two hours before dawn when a fuming Matsu returned with a very smug Taki of the Mists. The two equally smug and satisfied Sekirei who so closely resembled Karasuba to an ocular challenged old forger, Mitsuki and Mitsuha, the blond and big busted Whip Twins, strode in behind as if they owned the place. A very haggard looking and still dozing Minato was summarily hustled off to his futon for recovery after a big breakfast of leftover curried rice and chicken before Matsu finally relented. She listened calmly to Riko's deal, noted the results of Riko's earlier efforts and agreed to hand over Kazehana's addresses once she, Taki, and the Whip Twins had been safely removed from Minaka's tracking system and related satellite laser threat. Homura left immediately after Matsu agreed to the deal, announcing he had to meet some friends right away. It took Riko another precious half hour before she was finally able to leave Izumo Inn and begin her searching to find … nothing.

Not only was the first place empty, it took more precious time to zip around and examine every other address on Matsu's list even with Riko's added GPS, infrared, and starlight visual improvements to her armor. Just searching the south side where she still felt but couldn't pinpoint his now tightly closed mind's presence, Riko failed to find Cash Joseph. Tokyo, after all, is not a small town. Just as dawn began to break and she would have to hide from MBI's satellites, sick at heart, exhausted, and having no idea what to do next, Riko stayed in the last of Kazehana's hideouts searched that had at least seen some recent and slightly encouraging usage. Still, it was now just an empty little construction shack that had a futon, chest of drawers, a saki bottle rack, and small bathroom with a shower.

Stripping, Riko, took a shower, washed her clothes and underwear that had gotten a little ranker under her newly super powered suit, hung and draped them to dry around the shack, and collapsed on the futon to sleep while groggily acknowledging her new career as Karasu The Bad Raven Girl aka Black Robot Terrorist of Tokyo so far had yielded nothing but more frustration, weariness, bad luck, and hunger.

***scene break***

Kaoru Seo was not really a career minded guy. He had been at one time, back in the days of attending and doing well at Tokyo University with his best pal Asama Takehito, but after Takehito's untimely death after marrying Miya, Seo's career ambitions had somehow just slipped quietly away in the depression following his friend's passing. This was also due in part to Seo's discovery of a very useful new credo, "Why scrimp, plan, save, and work hard for something tomorrow when it could be more easily mooched today?" Sure times could be tough in between days of glut and just squeaking by, but mooching still beat hard work. It also gave a guy a very keen awareness of when things went amazingly well to keep pushing for more.

Thus it was a very happily drained Seo who walked into a new high rise and well stocked apartment in the upscale part of downtown Tokyo. His new Sekirei, Number 22 Kochou, using plenty of forethought and planning before her breakaway from Higa's brutality, had leased the place using her abilities to secretly hack Izumo Higa's business accounts for a well rounded sum of embezzled and untraceable cash. She had also planned an automatic flooding of the news outlets' emails with Higa's company secret board meeting notes sure to cause a lot of consternation in Higa's family corporation as well as a severe drop in the corporate stock prices. Hell hath no fury like a Sekirei scorned and tortured too, Seo realized. Greatly impressed and appreciative of Koko's specialized computer talents, Seo also immediately wondered what else Number 22 may have up that devious and deliciously perverted little kimono of hers besides a really nice of pair of sensitive boobs.

The answer was a work station wired directly into Minaka's innermost computing core at MBI. It did, however, come with a small negative proviso that it was still in Kochou's former living cubicle in the basement of Higa's hospital. Reasoning that there was no time like the "striking while luck was with him" present, Seo looked at the combined firepower of Haihane, Ichiya, and Benitsubasa and decided a quick recovery action would probably be well worth the risks involved. This led to Ichiya showing them the hospital's little known back security door that she and Toyotama had always used to enter and exit, Koko stifling the intruder alarm, Benitsubasa bashing the lock, and a successful raid for the work station. Ichiya and Koko also managed to bundle their clothes and personal items while Higa's remaining Sekirei just stood mutely by and watched. Luckily, or as a result of Higa's inhuman treatment, not one decided to sound an alert. It was only more great luck that Seo picked up two more new Sekirei re-winging recruits in the short time they were there, one during and one after their exit.

Number 55 Saki, a captured Sekirei spy working for MBI and awaiting interrogation by Kakizaki's KGB replacement, was seen forlornly chained to Higa's "fun room" wall that adjoined the exit door. One slash of Haihane's claws had freed her. Koko quietly advised Seo that she had played with Saki growing up together. The shaggy, brown haired, and lithe looking Saki was their "kind" of ecchi type, group action gal, and that her Samurai sword and spy skills could be quite useful to them. Seo leaned in close and looked Saki in her dark eyes after he had focused his attention on her nicely filled outfit consisting of a brief breech clout over lacy bloomers, a cleavage challenged sports bra, ribbon tied high socks and gloves, and long black leather boots. He then asked her softly to take a deep breath and decide if she wanted to be his appreciated perverted Sekirei, or go back to MBI to continue to spy for Minaka. Her answer was an immediate, silent, wide eyed, hot re-winging kiss, and grabbing onto Seo for a bounding getaway after her pulsing wings had disappeared. For Saki, there was some immediate privacy needed.

A few blocks away from the hospital Number 17 Kujou called to Seo to wait as she bounded after them. She was a tall, curvaceous, long haired blond that seemed a little too overly endowed for her cute, innocent, but too brief skirted school girl outfit. She landed apparently weaponless but wearing a large and hastily stuffed backpack before an on guard Haihane. Kujou looked first at Haihane, calmly nodded at Ichiya and Koko, and then stared at Seo with an upraised eyebrow and knowing smirk while speaking to Koko.

"The word is, Koko, that you, Toys, and Itchy here have got better deals going. You guys interested in spreading the action around a little?" Kujou's voice had a broad hint of challenge as she then directly addressed Seo. "Higa's lack of interest is starting to bore me. Can an ecchi looking type of guy like you do any better?"

"I can feel she's still got her power as Number 17," Seo lean over and muttered into Koko's ear, "but I've never had much to do with her back when I was helping Takehito adjust the teen numbers. She's an Earth based type like Mutsu, right? What kind of gal is she other than that?"

"Don't let the cutesy schoolgirl and ribbon outfit fool you," Koko replied softly. "Juicy is a bigger switch hitting perv than me and Itchy combined. And yes, she's a combo fighter that uses Earth based psychic stun blasts like Muts, but she's also very, very good at Shotokan style karate. I've seen her spar and hold her own against Toys and Itchy at the same time. She slows down their quickness with her stunning techniques and then slaps the shit out of them, quite a useful gal in a Sekirei gang fight, don't you think? She makes up for us not getting Toys and maybe then some as long as she stays planted on the ground. She and Itchy will work well together too. What do you think?"

"I think I love big tits, perverted gals nicknamed Juicy," Seo grinned lazily in return, "and one that can give Hikari a little lesson in temper control. That's what I think. Haihane," Seo said louder. "You're my Big Mama. What do you and Benny Love think?"

"She's useful," Haihane agreed bluntly while giving Kujou a big cat smile and flexing her long claws. "Hey Juice, if you're serious about getting re-winged by our Big Daddy here, do you need a demo that your slow down crap doesn't work on me or Nubs? Or would you rather get in line and get with our program without getting sliced to ribbons first?"

"Oh, I'm serious all right," Kujou smiled and shrugged. "And I've looked at the leader's job and never wanted it. You got it, Claws. Just point me to where you want me to fight, eat, screw, and sleep, but not necessarily in that order though."

"That's my kind of Sekirei, right there," Seo nodded happily at his continued good fortune. He was even happier later back at their new apartment when Koko announced that Saki had all the new MBI security codes memorized. He was puzzling as to just how he wanted take advantage of this latest piece of good luck when Koko also began swearing profusely.

"That bastard Minaka put tracking chips into every Sekirei when they were little," Koko scowled as she flashed rapidly from screen to screen on her work station. "It also has a limiting effect on our powers. I found that by tracing programming codes back from a security alert that Sahashi Minato's Sekirei have all went offline except for Kazehana. Even Homura, Hikari, and Hibiki are now unlisted, as well as Number 67 Riko. Minaka has already issued a kill on sight order for her. It went out yesterday. Wait a minute. Riko's chip ceased functioning the night she left MBI. The rest just ceased hours ago? How can that be?"

"Riko was with our group yesterday at the game, despite probably knowing about Minaka's intentions. Why else would she have been wearing that stupid looking robot suit?" Seo rubbed his chin thoughtfully. Koko was nobody's dummy, had been doing good work for him already, and had been Higa's brain before. It was time to really put her to good use and rely even more heavily on her smarts. "My Twins would probably have gone to Izumo after I didn't come back. I'm surprised they haven't tracked me down here already. Speculation?"

"We know Riko's macro kinetic powers have been unadjusted by MBI's drugs by her display at the bathhouse. Now her chip is gone days before anyone else. Her soon to be Ashikabi CJ Archer is friends with you and Minato too. She's also always been one of the Brainiac techno geek types from the time she was little, way beyond anything I can understand. She must also have some very interesting micro skills and that could include surgery. I'd say she operated on herself first somehow and then did some more chip removals at Izumo Inn last night. If we could find her, it would be real handy not to be traced by Minaka's electronic spy system as well as having all our powers boosted from losing our limiters when we have to fight. Higa is going to come after us hard, you know, so is Minaka by using his troops and all the other Ashikabi and Sekirei. You'll have to come up with some kind of inducement to have Riko operate on us though. Can you re-wing her too?"

"I doubt it. She's pretty much made it plain that she wants no part of being winged by anyone but CJ," Seo thought it over, "but she's been having a really tough go of getting him interested. Maybe she could use some help? At the very least, we could offer her some protection from Higa, Mikogami, and Minaka. Muts is really hot to have her in his group. We've got enough firepower here now to cramp his style for a little while. Keep him occupied until Riko can run. There sounds like a little trading material in there for some quick surgical work, don't you think? Maybe even a future alliance? She's a real powerhouse almost like Miya, right?"

"Why would the Reeker want to help another Ashikabi and his Sekirei that would be competing against CJ later in the Sekirei Plan?" Benitsubasa shook her head in skeptical disbelief. "Besides, I'd rather punch her lights out as soon as look at her. I don't like her at all."

"First off, Benny Love," Seo chuckled as he pulled Benitsubasa to him and began fondling her posterior and lightly kissing her forehead. She simpered in sensation contentment. How wonderful it was to at last have an Ashikabi! And one who REALLY enjoyed her sensitive buns! He even acted like he enjoyed her A cup front! "Let's get our thinking geared to fighting WITH CJ Archer and his Sekirei, not against, as well as WITH Minato and his group too, maybe even Sanada of the West if he'd listen to some common sense."

"A multiple alliance like that?" Koko's eyebrows shot up in great interest as she quickly ran some mental calculations. "All the really heavy hitters except for maybe 107 and a few others on one team? That would be unbeatable! The only trouble is how to approach Riko let alone find her. She isn't what you'd call close friends with anyone here."

"That's for damn sure," Haihane agreed while giving Benitsubasa a sour look. "Mouth here had to play the little bully routine and got tossed around like a rag when we went to dinner with her, Karasuba, Akitsu, Uzume, and Archer. Then Reeker mopped the floor with Toys and Itchy and a few more of Higa's crew at the bathhouse later. She's really only friends with Uzume, Akitsu, and Kazehana. Reeker's also got a damn quick temper. We can't afford to piss her off with any phony inducement as you call it either. It has GOT to be something she's really interested in. Otherwise, we'll all wind up tossed in the drink halfway to Korea and trying to swim back."

"That's right," Ichiya agreed while rolling her eyes. "I want no part of that little bitch. She makes me look like a happy homemaker, and I can't even cook. Besides, just how you going to find her? Her mind is almost as powerful as Miya's. I can feel it."

"Yeah, she's the real deal," Kujou spoke up while lounging against the bedroom doorway, "but Riko's mental shield leaks a little, not like Miya's. I can track Riko, for a quick little inducement of my own. Got time to re-wing a gal or two before we go talk to the Reeker, Seo-chan? How about it, Saki? Care for a dual quickie hit to get darker crests?" As she finished, Kujou jerked her head towards the bedroom and raised her eyebrows at Seo and Saki.

"Yes!" Saki agreed enthusiastically while cupping her sports bra bosom and letting out a deep breath of anticipation. "I've been VERY interested in that since you kissed me, Seo-chan!"

Seo's pleasantly surprised and very willing reply was interrupted by the apartment door being blown open by a hard shot of electricity. Hibiki and Hikari stood outside with their hands clasped together and shooting disgusted scowls at Seo and his new Sekirei.

"Seo, you, you, phony ass!" Hikari began with a half shout as she and her sister stepped into the room. "You ditched us at the game! And then we got hit with drugged darts! Uzume, Riko, and Akitsu saved us, no thanks to your carelessness! You left us to get killed to re-wing this bunch of, of, lowlife trash? You promised that we'd be your only two Sekirei! Hit him Sis!"

Haihane simply stepped in front of Seo, flexed her claws, smiled, nodded at Itchy, Koko, Kujou, Saki, and Nubs to form up beside her.

"I'm the new Big Mama in this house now, Hicks," Haihane grinned wickedly. "Unless you two want to try me again? No? For your information, Big Daddy Seo is pulling our train here, but he's going to be busy with Kujou and Saki in a moment, and can't be bothered with any more of your petty little shocking bullshit. I won't like it either unless we need a nice rush during some group action. Just remember this. I'm the lead car whenever we leave the station, and Nubs here is our pile driving back end. Koko, Juicy, Saki, and Itchy are in the middle. And who are YOU two to call us lowlife trash? I happen to KNOW different. Now you two closet s&m perverts either get with the program, get in line, and enjoy the ride, or all six of us are gonna kick your asses from here to breakfast until you start begging to get kicked harder. Got it? You guys can cook, right? Well, we're going to be leaving soon to hunt down the Reeker as soon as Seo does Juicy and Saki. But we're all hungry now, so get to it."

The two Lightning Twins gave each other startled glances, looked at the four member menace before them, blinked at a blandly smiling Seo who was casually heading for the bedroom behind Kujou and Saki, thought it all over very carefully, shrugged at each other, and began their new and slightly subdued careers in Seo's growing flock.

***scene break***

"I'm looking to make a little career improvement, Muts, if your kid can cut it. I hear you've taught him some new skills to keep a gal happy. My guy is a dud, a REAL dud. Is yours good enough to ring my bell?"

This challenge came from a tall Sekirei with short black hair and wearing dual, curved short swords called kodachi in crisscrossed twin sheaths on her back. Number 19 Ikki, her number tattooed on her left thigh below her black, skin tight bloomers, tugged her tight, green and gold embroidered Chinese style shirt hard against her rather formidable looking chest and then let it spring back out to emphasize her twin girls' firmness.

"And I hear Himeko, Taki, and the Whip Twins have flown Mikogami's coop. But you still got a lot of good gals left, and you're mentally the strongest Sekirei around when your feet are on the ground. Maybe you could use a teen number bird like me to take Himeko's second in command spot?"

Mutsu gave Ikki an appraising once over as they sat together in the back of Mikogami's new white limo and waited for the teenage human male to come out of the refueling station's toilet. She was an experienced close combat fighter and a very deadly one at that. Maybe not as good as Himeko, but close. She didn't have Himeko's healing skills, but she did have a well developed sixth sense for impending danger, almost precognition. She was utterly fearless, and yet, she wasn't stupid about hanging around to battle hopeless odds.

"I'm getting us ready to go after Number 67 Riko. I'm pretty sure I've got her mind pinpointed here in the south of Tokyo," Mutsu nodded slowly. "Why don't you tag along and help. Kind of like a trial run to show Mikogami what you can do and get his interest. It won't be easy though. Riko is VERY powerful."

"Yeah, sure," Ikki nodded at his reasonable suggestion for a tryout. Her and Mutsu had never been close, but then again what Sekirei ever had been with Number 05? The big guy had pretty much shunned every female that had grown up around him and then winged himself to a male Ashikabi. It didn't matter. Her chances of surviving the Sekirei Plan would be immensely greater within his group. She had thought about approaching CJ Archer, Sahashi Minato, and Kaoru Seo, but from what she'd felt while getting next to each of them before the ballgame at the Tokyo Dome yesterday, she didn't think her psychic power was great enough to get their interest.

Mikogami on the other hand, seemed obtainable, and a couple of his gals had begun praising his youthful prowess in the back of his new white limousine. And that, Ikki mentally shrugged, was a LOT better than no prowess by her dud Ashikabi. Her pale pink crest could barely been seen. What had she been thinking? She wanted a dark red one like Uzume and Karasuba and Akitsu, but hey, a medium red would do if the kid could produce. There was one other thing that might get Muts to throw in a good word for her and maybe even add his psychic power in helping her get re-winged by Mikogami.

"You do know that the Reeker has a weakness, don't you," Ikki said casually while watching Mutsu's response closely. At the moment he seemed much more focused on a big box of opened Twinkies on the seat beside him. "She can't move or do shit when her eyes are covered. She has to SEE what she's doing and tossing around as well as where she's going. Otherwise she's just another grounded rabbit to be snared easily. I used to cover her eyes when were in school together, and she couldn't even push a pencil around then. All you need is a heavy bag to tie over her head and a pair of handcuffs, or maybe just some duct tape. Then you got her, but you'll have to probably mind stun her out of the air first."

Mutsu's reaction was a slight widening of his eyes and then a slow turning of his head to study Ikki anew.

"Interesting," Mutsu replied as he popped a Twinkie into his mouth and chewed on it reflectively. "That is a very useful bit of information, very useful indeed. Consider that your test, and you've passed. Do you wish to get re-winged now or later? I will exit the vehicle and steer Mikogami's thoughts in the appropriate direction if you wish to proceed immediately. I'm sure he'll be willing to do his part physically. He has been very busy while I was drugged, and started hunting new prospects on his own. I applaud his new found enthusiasm. It's just that he sometimes has a hard time focusing on what he's doing, and has fizzled on a couple of first tries. I'm sure with my help, however, he'll be able to CUT IT with you, as you so crudely put it."

"Let's go for right now then," Ikki smiled ruefully while reaching for her shirt buttons. "I've got all my stuff in that box over there beside the fuel pumps. I'm afraid I had already decided to leave my old career as a light pink Sekirei behind me before I looked you guys up."

***scene break***

Riko's floundered career as Karasu almost came to a rather ignominious final end. She had been deep in dreamless sleep from her exhaustion accumulated in the last emotionally and physically stressful twenty four hours when an approaching coldness became strong enough to wake her. Her eyes snapped open as the realization that she was feeling Mutsu's mind. He could completely cover his thoughts and emotions, but once a Sekirei with Riko's psychic power had been close to him, Mutsu's natural aura of cold logic and dispassionate emotionalism was easy to recognize. He had been a fearful and nightmare inducing presence when she was very young and before he had suddenly disappeared from the Disciplinary Squad years ago. Now he was coming towards her and not too far away. She was in grave danger, and naked.

Not pausing to even think of putting on her still damp underwear, she just mentally snatched her clothes and Karasu suit into one tight bundle. There was no time for the door either. She formed her pressure wave and exploded up through the roof just as a large black blanket was being dropped upon it from above by four bounding Sekirei. Riko's pressure wave pushed the blanket into a flapping hemisphere that was jerked out of the Sekirei's hands holding onto her intended trap. Mutsu let loose a psychic stun blast from his mind that was fortunately partially intercepted by one of the blanket team between Riko and her leader. The unknown Sekirei fell unconscious out of the sky to land heavily at a frustrated Mutsu's feet.

Mikogami, standing beside his limo, shading his eyes with his right palm, and peering up into the partly sunny morning sky, cheered as he saw Riko's bare figure claw almost drunkenly upwards towards the clouds.

"Get her, Big Guy! Get her girls! Oh! I WANT her! Look at her! She's HOT!"

Riko, still clinging to consciousness and her bundle, spun away from another Sekirei bounding at her from the left with a large black cloth bag extended in an effort to get Riko's head covered. Riko weakly pushed the Sekirei away while squinting her dazed eyes in an attempt to focus on the half destroyed construction shack roof below her. If she could just get a good look at it and push off, she could launch herself up and away from Mutsu far enough that even his powerful mind couldn't pound her psychic senses again. Her eyes blurred from his building up for another shot at her. She could feel him gathering his mental focus, and knew with a sinking sensation that this time he wouldn't miss. She wouldn't be able to move him even if she was clear eyed. Once anchored to the planet's iron core through his Earth based power, there was no way Riko could snatch Mutsu up like she had when he was on Cash's apartment roof. There was not enough time for her to get out of Mutsu's psychic range either.

Suddenly, a strong lightning bolt came out of the cheerful morning sky and hit Mutsu's sword extended towards Riko. His focus broken, her eyes cleared, and Riko shot skyward with all her remaining strength. High above Tokyo's first cloud layer, Riko heaved a grateful sigh of relief while getting dressed in her now freezing damp clothes. Hibiki and Hikari had somehow found her and come to her aid, and none too soon. As she snapped her Karasu suit on, her anger took over. Mikogami and Mutsu were NOT going to walk away from attacking her unscathed. Or maybe they would, sort of.

On the ground below, Mutsu stared up in unamused disgust at Seo and his eight Sekirei now standing together on the ruined construction shack's platform eight floors above him.

"Seo, you worthless prick!" Mutsu shouted angrily. "I almost had her! Explain yourself immediately, or I shall make you greatly rue your decision to interfere with me!"

"I admit to being a worthless prick, but RUE my decision?" Seo chuckled loudly. "For crying out loud, Muts! Nobody talks like that anymore! But before you blow a gasket, Big Guy, there's a little item you need to know about. Minaka has got tracking and power limiting microchips embedded into every Sekirei at the base of their skulls. Yours too. He can TRACK and TARGET any or all of them 24/7 with his electronic systems and satellites. Riko has taken hers out along with all of Minato's Sekirei and my Hikari and Hibiki. My Twins say they feel like they'll have a really significant power boost as soon as their bodies adjust. We're here to get Riko's help in removing the chips from my other new ladies. It takes Riko about ten minutes apiece. If you and Mikogami got any brains, you'll make Riko an offer of some kind to get her to get those chips out of you and your gals. Otherwise CJ Archer, Minato, and my Sekirei will have a earthshaking advantage over everyone, don't you think?"

"You have proof of this?" Mutsu glared suspiciously.

"Koko can show you the computer codes for Minaka's tracking hardware," Seo shrugged while shaking his head. "You could just believe me for once, or declare a truce with Riko and watch her take those chips out of Haihane, Benitsubasa, Saki, Kujou, Koko, and Ichiya. I'm not too sure about how Riko's gonna feel about you making her go high while naked though. Its cold up there. I'm betting she's probably a little pissed off now, wouldn't you say girls?"

"Oh yeah! I heard about the new icebergs she and Akitsu made one night for you guys, Muts, and you can bet your ass, AND Mikogami's pretty limo, Riko's REALLY pissed now too!" Haihane grinned down at Mutsu whose face went wide eyed in understanding.

"MIKO!" Mutsu spun and yelled. "GET AWAY FROM THE CAR! NOW!"

At Mutsu's shout, the limo driver, five reserve Sekirei, and Mikogami leaped into action and began scrambling away as if the long car was rigged for an explosion. Instead, a few seconds later a large metal shipping container lifted from a cargo ship docked in Tokyo Bay made a strange whooshing sound as it fell out of the sky and mashed the new white limousine flat in one sharp crunching sound. The left front tire ridiculously stayed upright and only slightly tilted towards the large white container sporting a blue and white Maersk logo. It looked like an immense one wheeled sport utility box.

"Not another car!" Mikogami shook his fist skyward before turning to Ikki and giving her a hot look. "Oh! I REALLY want Riko now! She's death on my car allowance, but I LOVE the way she expresses herself! Such pure bitchiness! It turns me ON! Call my Father. Tell him we'll need a new limo right away, and a very large tow truck maybe?"

"We keep this nonsense up," Mutsu observed sourly as he looked up to see Riko's Karasu suit flashing him a very expressive bird from just out of his range, "and your Father could start a new career in the limo salvage business."

***scene break***

I should have been a career surgeon, Riko shook her head in disgust as she flew alone northward, trailing her box of extra electrical and surgical equipment behind her and heading for Cash's apartment for fresh clothing. She was hungry, tired, depressed, and in no mood to take Seo's offer to let her stay at his new apartment after she'd removed his Sekirei's tracking chips. Reasoning that she could always just flee Japan if she had to, Riko had also accepted Mutsu's three day truce to stop hunting her in exchange for removing all the tracking chips of the Sekirei that were winged to that spoiled Mikogami. The young twit had stood silently by her impromptu nonclinical surgery table that had formerly been a saki rack and leered at Riko openly as he had fondled his new squeeze, Number 19 Ikki.

At least The Ick had LOOKED happy with Mikogami's pawing her darker crest openly while Mutsu stood passively by and watched microchip after microchip removed from all the Sekirei necks with him and Seo. An antiseptic scrub, a quick stick of numbing agent, a fast scalpel and retracted opening with her mind applying pressure on each bleeding capillary as she probed deeper, a careful lifting out of the chip once seen, two small stitches to close the virtually bloodless slit, and viola, one unlimited and untraceable Sekirei all done without being touched by anything except sterile steel, needle, and surgical thread. A short mental scrub of her instruments with an antiseptic wash, and less than ten minutes later, the group had another liberated, unlimited, and happier Sekirei.

Mutsu had seemed more than pleased when his own chip was removed, and he turned to give Riko a small smile of thanks, but she wasn't fooled. He would honor his three day bargain, but not one minute longer. At least Mutsu was happy, and it would keep him out of her hair long enough to get some sleep. Now if she could just get Cash Joseph to make her happy. Even Benitsubasa and Haihane looked a LOT happier than she, Riko groused mentally, although they were bedding that lowlife Ashikabi Seo and sharing him with six other gals almost as perverted as Number 02 Matsu. There was just no rhyme or reason to this world, Riko sighed wearily, and she only had three days to get winged until Mutsu came after her again.

Her hands free phone inside Riko's Karasu helmet beeped to make her look at the heads up display in the lower right hand corner of her face mask. Uzume was calling.

"Answer," Riko wearily ordered her suit's computer. The talk light blinked. "Hey, Zoomer."

"Reek! Some news helicopter is following you! They got you on a live broadcast! They say they're scrambling military jets to shoot you down because you got a box of bombs! What are you DOING? GO HIDE!"

"Oh GREAT!" Riko returned bitterly and mentally kicking herself for so blandly exposing herself above daytime Tokyo. Just what she needed. Another robot fiasco, news cameras, missiles, and cellphone traffic that was most certainly being monitored and probably traced too. "Listen, Zoomer! Where are you?"

"With a HOT friend who says we need your help for something VERY important! We just dropped the sleeping Black Bitch off in some bushes outside her place. It took us a while to sneak her in that close. We're not far from there!"

"YES! Okay! It's very important for Agnes Mortenson's former boyfriend and his IMMEDIATE safety too! You and Aki-chan stay away from him, and you must meet me somewhere immediately! Make it where we ate the last time we went shopping together. Then we'll leave fast! Okay?"

"Yes! Okay!"

Riko turned and saw two helicopters trailing her in the distance. She dropped straight down. They wouldn't be able to follow her through a subway tunnel, not with their fuel lines crimped and making a forced landing anyway. Neither would the military fire any missiles into Tokyo's subway system either. She would have to stop at the closest terminal and get a map to find her way to the JR Suidobashi Station for the Pizza Hut in the fast food corner at the Tokyo Dome. A HOT friend meant Homura had been busy spreading the news about Minaka's lousy tracking chips. That was good. Box of bombs? Her? Well fine! She was just going to have to get a little more organized, stash her electronic stuff someplace, go box up everybody's belongings, and then get out and stay out of sight. This was just getting too weird.

First, meet Zoomer and Aki-chan and maybe Onee-chan too, and take out their tracking chips. She'd disable their cellphones' tracking circuits too. Then she'd stop by the Tokyo Dome's locker rooms afterward and retrieve Cash Joseph's street clothes while thumbing her nose at any surveillance. While she was at it, she'd open it up and fix Cash's cell phone also. Then she'd make a quick stop at Cash's apartment for all their stuff, a place sure to be watched by Minaka's goons too, but so what? Those boys better be able to swim. After that, Riko was just going to drop off Cash Joseph, Uzume, and Akitsu's stuff at wherever they were staying, and then she would go find a place to hide for a while too. Just like Karasu, the Black Raven, her surgical career was also coming to a screeching halt.

***scene break***

Minaka's personal assistant was seriously considering a big career move as he stood on the balcony walkway lining the security monitoring room and watched the complete chaos below. The money he was making was nice, but man, the headaches! Minaka was going absolutely berserk, running from news monitor to news monitor, checking blinking red lights on different consoles, frantically responding to multiple warnings of system wide security failures in several Sekirei tracking programs, and trying to answer calls from civil and military authorities trying to cope with the sudden panic enveloping the entire Tokyo subway system. Apparently the Pink Robot Terrorist of Tokyo, or at least a Black Robot minion, had entered the Asakusa Line somewhere in the south and had made several switches heading in an overall northerly direction. Was the monster lost? And why hadn't any bombs exploded?

Minaka's assistant folded his arms across his chest and just shook his head in disbelief. People were pouring out of the subway terminals in blind panic from watching the news and getting updates on their cellphones from friends and relatives. Once again, as it had happened last night when the robot had attacked a hardware store, traffic was starting to snarl, but today it was on a MUCH grander scale all over the city. Bullet train terminals, especially those heading out of Tokyo in all directions, were now jammed. Emergency vehicles were dashing about with lights and sirens in an apparent frenzy greater than the mass hysteria they were supposed to be helping to alleviate. What was next? Looting? Vigilante mobs hunting the new Black Robot? Was this the same monster just repainted or a close relative come to aid its Pink cohort? Could this be some super secret military experiment gone shockingly and horribly wrong? Had aliens invaded? How many monsters were attacking Tokyo anyway, and why? The Japanese were a reasonably peaceful sort of people nowadays, weren't they? What had happened to cause all this terrorist hate?

Whatever was going wrong here, it was something very serious indeed. Minaka had just jerked off his new, larger winged, world domination cape and was using it to lash at the computer operators all around him while shouting in red faced fury. Not only were multiple numbers of Sekirei dropping like flies out of MBI's computer banks, the entire main tracking system for them and all their Ashikabis had just been deleted by the Chinese hackers! Minaka's assistant heaved a big sigh of decision, said goodbye to his MBI pension, and headed for his office to clean out his desk. His uncle in the Yakuza owned a cab company and made a pretty good side living forging passports and visas too. It was time to get a completely new identity Minaka couldn't trace and head for Okinawa to begin a new career as a taxi cab driver.

***scene break***

Riko looked at her cleaning equipment and wondered if she wanted to end her maid service career too, but how was she going to make money now? Maybe she should have been charging those Ashikabis for her minor surgeries on their Sekirei. Whatever she did from now on, thanks to MBI and Higa and Mutsu and now the freaking evening news dogging her around, there wasn't going to be any way she could move freely about, that was for sure. Not unless she wanted to cause more crazed panic in the streets of Tokyo. She might as well leave her cleaning stuff down the hall for whoever got the job next. Besides, she already had three moving boxes filled with everyone's stuff at Cash Joseph's apartment. Not only did she have all their clothes, she had packed his guitar, his and Karasuba's paintings, all the bed clothes and everything from the bathroom and kitchen except yesterday's dirty breakfast dishes. She'd wash and pack them after she ate what food was left here, but she'd have to go soon. She'd been here at least ten minutes.

She glanced out the window as sharp hunger pangs hit her stomach. She needed to eat very soon. It was now full dark so she should be able to shoot straight up from the roof the same way she came down. Uzume and Akitsu, both now tracking chip free, were waiting nearby to take her to Kazehana's secret apartment to drop off these boxes and also free Himeko, Toyotama, and Onee-chan from their tracking chips too. That was another sharp ache that was gnawing at Riko now too. Cash Joseph had incredibly winged three more Sekirei overnight and was still refusing her? Kazehana and Himeko okay, even very good, but that big mean bitch Toyotama? She was almost as bad as Karasuba! Damn! This was all so unfair! As if she hadn't already faced enough humiliation since the ballgame, now she had to face him with Toyotama sneering at her too? She had to get out of here and go get him ALONE with her as soon as possible, but she didn't want to hurt her former hunters if she could help it. Karasu wasn't quite the Bad Girl robot bitch that Riko had envisioned, because she really just didn't feel angry at anyone other than herself, let alone the local police. She hadn't even throw them all out into Tokyo Bay.

Upon her sudden arrival from above, all the sniper and surveillance teams surrounding the apartment had simply been immediately located, bound with duct tape, and stripped of their weapons and communication devices. The men were now unhappily squirming about in the apartment's far corner, knowing that the helicopters circling overhead thought they now had a hostage situation and were pausing to reconsider options. Her mind flew about making her final preparations to move out when a bullhorn sounded from the street below. The police were asking permission to talk to her. Damn! And she was still hungry! Well, there was still some left over cold rice in a covered bowl on the table. She'd just have to leave the dirty dishes and all their other food. She didn't want to hurt anyone during another escalating disaster, but she needed to just take a few bites of something to keep from getting dizzy with hunger.

Popping up her helmet's face plate, Riko uncovered the rice bowl, grabbed Cash Joseph's spork, dipped it into the sticky ball of leftover rice for a big mouthful of cold rice, shoveled it into her mouth, and winged herself from the DNA in Cash's dried saliva on the back of his gaijin eating tool. Her knees buckled. Her new, large cobalt blue wings and light pink crest formed behind her. Before moaning in pure thoughtless pleasure as her new Sekirei crest sank down and affixed itself between her bare shoulder blades inside the now infamous Karasu robot monster suit, Riko dazedly had an inane thought that a humble cleaning lady's career should have prepared her for never eating with an unwashed utensil.

***scene break***

Cash came slowly awake after strangely dreaming of starting a blues singing career in the Green Frog Oasis Saloon to realize that he was not on the construction shack's futon at all. He was lying on what felt like an extra king sized bed with his head in Kazehana's soft and warm lap. Her fingers were lightly stroking through the curling hair along his temples as she crooned softly over him. He basked in the intimate sensations she was creating while keeping his eyes closed. Every so often her breath would hitch in a contented little series of intakes and sighs before she started humming softly over him again. He looked into her mind but could find no rational thoughts, only a glowing contentment. He too was feeling the same, but curiosity got the better of him.

"What's that song?"

Cash's sudden spoken question made Kazehana flinch badly.

"Oh you!" She chuckled softly as she lightly and playfully slapped his forehead. "You got me that time! It could be I was humming Take Me Out To The Ballgame, or maybe it was just Take me Baby. You decide!"

"It sounded more like Norman Nasal and His Nose Picker Nine singing, I'll Get You Yet, You Little Booger You!"

"Keep that up, and you're going to make me hungry. Matter of fact, I AM hungry! How about you? Done sleeping for a while? You've slept all day you know. Didn't even twitch when we moved here. We were starting to get a little worried that maybe we were a little too hard on you last night. Do you feel okay, Lover?"

"Yes, and yes," Cash nuzzled his right cheek against her bare stomach while trying to decide if he was really hungry enough to move out of this delicious spot. He did, however, open his eyes to discover that except for a brief pair of rose colored panties, the rest of her was bare too. That sight was also delicious. But why? Something didn't feel exactly right here. "How about Silky and Smitty? Are they ready to eat too?"

"Hey!" Uzume gave an amused and mock gasp of dismay to his left. "Have you forgotten me and Aki-chan so soon? We get hungry too, you know!"

"Uzi!" Cash rolled his head to grin delightedly up at Uzume kneeling as a paired opposite to Kazehana. She too was topless except for a very brief pair of lacy white panties. Another delicious and yet slightly odd feeling sight. "When did you two get here? And just where is here anyway? And who's all here?"

"We are at my favorite high rise apartment in Northern Tokyo that no one, and that means not even Matsu, knows about. You can see half of Tokyo from my bedroom window here. Pretty at night, isn't it? Just like your babes here with you?" Kazehana chuckled again while lifting him up and kissing his forehead. "You need a hot bath and a shave, man of ours. Akitsu needs some loving and has volunteered to wash your back. She's in there getting it all ready for you. Mekko and Toys are making dinner right now as you can smell, no fish. Sweet and sour chicken, very lightly spiced. Toys has also been putting away all of your stuff that Riko brought from your old apartment. This bed can sleep six if we all cuddle, seven if we REALLY get comfy. Cool, huh? As soon as you're ready, we'll eat, okay?"

Cash's eyes narrowed slightly as he sat up on the double king sized mattress, looked around at a very tastefully decorated apartment, and turned to stare with amusement at Uzume and Kazehana's too blandly yet lovingly smiling faces. The sight of their incredibly beautiful faces and way too much, unnecessary, and distracting nakedness framed against the huge bedroom's picture window backdrop of Tokyo at night made him tilt his head slightly. He turned his head to look through the bedroom's open doorway at Himeko and Toyotama similarly undressed and smiling at him just as blandly and lovingly from out in the apartment's kitchen.

Although Kazehana's rose and Uzume's chocolate covered raspberry candy felt okay in his mind, Smitty's green apple felt slightly lopsided. Himeko's panna cotta ball also felt a little oddly out of shape. Those two had a slightly worried feel to him that they were trying very hard to mask but weren't being as successful at it as Kazehana and Uzume. So, he was facing a Sekirei skin conspiracy of some sort, and Riko was here? What was up with that little announcement? Should he play along and let them think they were fooling him, or just get it out there? His decision was delayed as his cellphone beside Uzume sounded with its new The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly ring tone. Uzume snatched it up, looked at the incoming number and name identifier, grinned naughtily at him, and answered it.

"Hello? Oh Yes! Hello! Pardon? Oh, my name is Uzume! Yes, OO ZOO MAY! What? Well, yes I know him! I'm his girlfriend! Oh Yes, very much! I'm VERY sure that he does too! Very Soon! As soon as my travel papers get issued! Uh Huh! Oh! I Can't Wait! Yes? Oh sure! He's right here!" Uzume covered the phone's microphone, handed it to Cash, and whispered while still grinning, "It's your Mother!"

Rolling his eyes in near panic, Cash blinked twice and swallowed hard. Damn! He hated these kinds of social mine fields! And this was one of the few things that a baseball career had never really prepared him for either. He nervously swallowed again, glanced at a now widely grinning and highly entertained Kazehana, and took his phone. Thankfully it was a basic cheap one that didn't have all the latest techie video feeds because Akitsu came into the bedroom in front of him wearing nothing but a happy loving smile.

"Hello Ma? Yeah, it's me! YES! I'm fine! On the news huh? Yeah, I got knocked around a little, and the winds tossed me out of the stadium! But I didn't really get hurt! No, Ma! You don't need to come over here! I'll be home in a couple of weeks, Ma. I'm going to be pitching for the Muckdogs again. Well, things were kind of weird with that indoor wind storm and all, and then I forgot my cellphone when I changed clothes and left it in my locker. They had the Dome locked up all day, and I just now got it back. You're right Ma. I should have called from the team's office phone. No Ma! I was NOT kidnapped by the Flying Pink Robot Terrorist of Tokyo! Ma, for Pete's sakes! Will you just calm down! Ma, stop crying Ma! It was just a bunch of publicity hype!"

Cash rolled his eyes and held his phone away from his ear as his Mother blubbered away incoherently. He turned to silently glare at five almost naked Sekirei now kneeling on the thickly carpeted floor in front of him as he sat on the edge of the bed, holding their sides below some very bountiful and shaking naked bosoms while trying not to laugh their brief panties off at his expense. They began a tittering sound among them while clamping both hands over their mouths. He felt like he had just become the headline comedian doing a Comedy Club skit.

"Ma! I Swear I'm OKAY! Yes, I barfed all over a clown on live TV, but he shoved a bunch of rotten fish in my face. It made me sick! You KNOW how much I HATE fish MA! I know you worry about me! LOOK, Ma! I'm okay! I swear it! I swear it on Dad's grave, all right? That's right! On Dad's grave. I'm fine, really. Yes, Uzume is my girlfriend, Ma! Oh she's way beyond beautiful, Ma, and she's got the sweetest heart on her too. Yes, very serious, Ma."

As Cash paused to listen, Uzume took this opportunity to use an elbow to thump a slightly frowning with jealousy Kazehana in the ribs. Kazehana fiercely retaliated in kind. Toyotama reached behind a slightly wounded looking and pouting Himeko to give Uzume's ponytail a not too gentle yank. Akitsu just looked slightly puzzled and confused. She was Cash Joseph's sweetest one, wasn't she?

"Do? What does Uzume do?"

Cash paused again in sudden panic mode to look around Kazehana's apartment for some kind of quick inspiration. His eyes landed on his guitar in one corner of the bedroom.

"Why, Uzume's uh, she's the lead singer of an all girl blues band called the Wagtails! Yes, Wagtails! It's the name of a Japanese bird, Ma! Not strippers in a club. That's not what wagtails are here. No really. Ma, she's a singer. No, not another pole dancer like Agnes. I've learned my lesson, Ma! That's right. I met Uzume doing charity work at a hospital. That's right. They do that over here too. She's a good girl Ma, VERY good. You'll love her. Where do they play? The Wagtails just play and sing in coffeehouses and places like that. Well, I don't know. They don't have too many Bar Mitzvahs over here Ma. Sure, I'll ask. I'll let you know when I get home, okay. Tell Sis I love her, and I'm pitching great now. Really great. The old forkball is a thing of beauty for me, and I'm throwing it for strikes a lot better. Yeah sure, lots and lots of pictures. No, I won't forget and leave my cellphone anywhere ever again, Ma. I promise. I know. I love you too. I'll be home soon Ma. Strawberry shortcake and ice cream sounds great Ma. Yes, Uzume loves strawberries, and you'll just love her too. Okay Ma. This is costing you too much money. Take your phone bill out of my savings, okay? Yes, I'll be careful. Bye Bye Ma. I love you."

Cash punched his phone's off button, and heaved a sigh of relief while closing his eyes. His Sekirei broke out in whooping laughter and loud catcalls.

"MA! I SWEAR MA! WAGTAILS! CLOWN BARFING, THE NEW AMERICAN SPORT! SHE'S A VERY GOOD GIRL! IN BED! AND JUST LOVES STRAWBERRIES! A BLUES BAND AT BAR MITZVAHS? JAPANESE JEWS?"

Cash shook his head. Going home was NOT going to be easy.

"So!" Kazehana gave Uzume a jaundiced look of amusement when the whooping turned to more mildly guffawing. "YOU'RE his girlfriend huh? Is that so? Well, what are we, you shameless hussy, miso soup? Grab her girls, and hold her down! She's ticklish!"

The whooping laughter returned along with yips of pain as Uzume suddenly began defending herself with the snapping ends of her veils by getting some strategically placed stings on her attackers' sensitive rears and naked boobs while they held her arms and legs and tickled her mercilessly. Cash left the group rolling on the big bed and went looking for the bathroom to relieve himself. He didn't get far.

Riko was sleeping face down on the apartment's couch with her bare back exposed above a cover that had slipped. A light pink Sekirei crest was between her shoulder blades. Cash's lips tightened as he went back into his mind and found a very faint, badly misshapen, cobalt blue mass glowing there with no psychic smell at all. So, Riko had finally cheated her way onto his team somehow?

Cash stood there studying her while trying to make sense of the eight Sekirei that had bonded to him, albeit three of them imperfectly. The new psychic figure in his mind had Riko above Miya and Karasuba at the top of the octagon, Himeko and Toyotama across from each other below them, Uzume across from Akitsu below those five, and Kazehana's fiery rose was at the bottom. If he viewed his own glowing blue ball in the octagon's center as the pitcher, then Kazehana was his catcher. Himeko was at third base, Uzume at shortstop, Akitsu at second, and Toyotama was his big first sacker. That meant he had an outfield of Miya in left, Riko in center, and Karasuba in right field. His infield was very compatible and team oriented, strong defensively up the middle and good power at first and third, but his outfield, a trio that should have been the real speed and power of his team's offense, was sadly lacking. Their team attitude was nonexistent, and they didn't look like they'd ever fit in and play together with his infield, let alone with each other. Their three psychic crystalline shapes of incredible power had all been cracked, shifted, and seemingly put back together wrong. His outfield really sucked, especially Riko the Rookie.

"Joe," Uzume gently turned him away from staring down at the couch. She was looking at him with half wounded and half hopeful eyes. "Could you just give her a chance, Joe? You gave me one. And as much as I hated Toyotama's guts before, you gave her the same chance I got, and she's really changed for the better too. Himeko, Akitsu, and Kazehana have too. You were the right fit for all of us, and it's turned out pretty good, hasn't it? You're all about putting the past behind you, and starting over, Joe. You even came to Japan for the same thing, right? To restart your career again? Reek has made some real doozy mistakes, and true, she's a social misfit and kind of klutzy, but she's NOT a public menace, she's not a monster, she's not insane or even half crazy, much, and she's not a killer."

"All those things she's not," Cash said slowly, "don't really make up for what she is. I haven't forgotten how she treated you and Akitsu the morning we came back after our winging each other. Nor all the times Riko's lost her temper, and how she jerks people around for whatever whim she has. She's got a very, very bad me first and selfish attitude that just kills any kind of teamwork. It won't work. She'll poison the rest of us."

"She's been doing good things for us too, Joe," Uzume protested. "She's been taking tracking chips out of a lot of Sekirei necks so Minaka can't target us, and she brought us all safe out of the Tokyo Dome yesterday, even Karasuba. She even brought all our stuff here while the whole damn city was chasing after her. She's got no other place to go, and she has to hide from Higa and Mutsu and Minaka's goons too." Uzume stopped as Cash spread his hands palms up in a gesture that said he'd heard enough and that he knew where Uzume's opinion on the matter stood.

"Smitty?" Cash turned his head and raised his eyebrows at Toyotama.

"I never had much use for her, it's true," Toyotama shrugged while her eyes teared up, "and she really pissed me off in the bathhouse, but, but, uhhh, I was a real asshole then, and, and now you've changed me. You can change her too, Master."

"She brought me to you, Cash Joseph-sama," Akitsu simply nodded in agreement. "She's got a temper, but she's really got a good heart. I like her."

"She's a good egg, my love," Himeko smiled wanly at her vain attempt to lighten Cash's facial expression. It didn't work.

"I'm biased, Lover," Kazehana gave a small imploring smile as she moved to let her arms circled him from behind. "I helped raise her. We've been pals a long time. I just couldn't turn her out. She needs us. She needs you."

"How did she get winged?" Cash asked quietly. So this was what the skin game was all about. The old distraction ploy using overwhelming sexual appeal to brainless Little CJ to emotionally intercede for Riko? Well, a good pitcher knew when to block out all distractions and focus completely on the next pitch. Common sense had to be used here, or his five new loves would get badly hurt.

"The police were outside your apartment when she went for our stuff. She was hungry, and used your dirty spork to eat some rice," Uzume grimaced, "and DNA really IS where you find it, Joe. It was totally accidental. She didn't cheat and kiss you when you were asleep or anything."

"Not that she didn't endanger thousands of people yesterday trying to cheat me and failed? That makes this right?"

"Hey, Lover, that was as much my fault as hers," Kazehana protested while wincing. "I thought it was a GREAT idea, and then used it on you for myself, right? I admit I was plastered at the time, and, and it WAS a stupid stunt, but still, couldn't you cut her a little slack?"

"And it wasn't like she was using you to chop Miya's head off either," Uzume frowned as she closely watched Cash's expression. This was not going well at all. "Reek was just going to try a little desperation move that kind of skirted your rules, okay?"

"No," Cash shook his head. "No, it's not okay, Uzi. I chose you, and you chose me. That's the way it should be. The fact that jumping me has worked out so great with Rosy, Kitty, Silky, and Smitty, I can live with, and even celebrate, because they weren't looking to use me in the Sekirei Plan. You five here just wanted to love and be loved. That's all. No selfish second and third motives, no tricks, no conniving, and no conspiring behind my back. You didn't get winged to abuse my trust, cheat me, rob me, jerk me around, use me to try to kill each other, or get anything from me like Karasuba, Miya, and Riko have done. There's the big difference I can't live with. Those three winged me for all the wrong reasons, and none of the right ones. It won't work."

"No, Joe," Uzume pleaded with tears now streaming down her cheeks. "You can't put Reek in with Miya and Karasuba. And Miya needs you too! She's not anything like Karasuba!"

"That's right, Lover!" Kazehana also began pleading, "Riko will LOVE you! And Miya isn't anything like Karasuba!"

"She isn't?" Cash turned to gaze at Kazehana eyes. "You want to see what Miya and Karasuba both look like in my mind? And now Riko too? You want to see the difference between Riko, Miya, and Karasuba's sick shapes and our healthy mutual loves? Well, here, all of you, take a good long look. There isn't a nickel's worth of difference between the three of them, and there are some things that I don't even know where to begin to change or fix."

Visibly shaken and faces drained of all color from the powerful images briefly shown to them from Cash's mind, four of his Sekirei stared at him in complete silence and unbelieving dismay. Cash closed his mind tightly again.

"Oh my," Kazehana breathed with her eyes still closed in concentration while still hugging him from behind. "That's very distressing, Cash Darling, very distressing."

"What, uhhh, what," Uzume fumbled with what to say. "What are you going to do about Reek? She, ummm, she looked a LITTLE better than the other two, right? You just going to send her away?"

"No, not until it's safe anyway, but that's all she gets from me until she gets a better gig going for herself. Love is a sacrifice bunt, Uzi, giving everything of yourself up, not a cheap way to cheat the team for your own benefit," Cash sighed heavily and reached to pull her into his arms. He tenderly kissed the top of her head as she buried her head into his armpit while trying not to cry harder. He lifted his eyes to look at Akitsu, Himeko, and Toyotama. After a few long moments, he gently unwrapped himself from Uzume and Kazehana's arms and moved Kazehana around to face him. All five were now looking at him with tears streaming from their eyes.

"Listen, as much as I wanted Karasuba and Miya to love me, they don't. Oh, they got the physical end down pretty good, but it's not really love at all, more like hard wired lust if anything. I don't know what they think, but they've both proved that their self interests are way more important than me. Riko for sure doesn't even know what real love is, and I feel nothing for her anyway. She just needs to get another Ashikabi who wants her despite her problems, because I don't. She's too great a risk to get you five badly hurt. Mutsu and his kid Mikogami would be a lot better for her. She's had too many chances with me already and flopped every time. Look, I've scouted her pretty good, and I'm passing, see? Besides, her attitude really turns me off. With you five, we've got a winning mentality going now, and I'm determined that we're going to keep it that way and keep you safe from now on. Yesterday's stupidity, conniving, and murderous planning are unforgivable. It's time to cut our bad actors to keep our winning attitude going. "

"But there's no Ashikabi more powerful than you to re-wing Riko," Kazehana shook her head slowly and wrung her hands together in helplessness while trying not to weep harder for her friend's looming fate. "Let alone Miya and Karasuba. Riko will DIE, Lover. You aren't that cruel!"

"Riko won't die if she's re-winged soon. Kazehana, baseball has taught me that sometimes it's more cruel to keep players on a team where they're doing badly. It's really a kindness to let them move on and seek a better place to fit in. That's what Riko needs, and quite frankly, so do Karasuba and Miya. Those two on our team, despite my fondness for them, will eventually ruin all our relationships, or even kill us all. I won't let that happen to us! Never! Please try to understand. I love you five. I don't love them. They don't really love me. They will hurt us. It's pretty simple really."

Cash stopped trying to explain and closed his eyes to think. Hadn't Mutsu said that Sekirei bonding was a two way street? A Sekirei was terminated if her Ashikabi died, and a Sekirei's death would really hurt her Ashikabi. What if the Ashikabi simply cut his psychic ties to his Sekirei? Would they just revert back to an unwinged state and still live? They might have memories, and maybe even remaining strong physical desires, but those would fade with time, especially if they bonded more strongly with a new Ashikabi. Kazehana wasn't showing all that much remorse in moving on from Minato now, even though she had felt bad about it a few hours ago.

Cash examined the mental links he had with his five loving Sekirei. The emotional components in each link was very strong and attached to him quite firmly. Miya and Riko's were much more tenuous, and in comparison, Karasuba's even less firm, almost nonexistent. He remembered how he had pitched so hard as a grieving little kid in order to cope with his Dad's death and let the emotions of that loss finally just slip away until he didn't feel sad anymore. It had taken tremendous focus while he threw the ball though. Something just like that was needed to deal with his badly flawed outfield. They needed to be pitched out of his heart and mind. He couldn't let the three of them hurt the five he really loved. He opened his eyes and gave his Sekirei a steadfast look of decisiveness.

"After we bathe and eat," Cash said softly, the firm tone in his voice made all five wince slightly. "Put your clothes on, because I need to go pitch for a while. Do a long hard side session in the bullpen at the stadium's ballpark. Riko, Miya, and Karasuba are going to become free agents, get new careers with some other teams, and not hurt ours."


	16. Chapter 16

**The Game Changer**

**Chapter 16 – Game Change, Benched**

Cash had seen and endured a lot of things in his baseball career, but a weeping female alien on the bullpen bench was a totally new and quite disturbing experience. The more he tried to ignore Akitsu as he threw his long side session to Uzume, the more disturbing it got. Add this to the eye boggling fact that pitching to Uzume and her constantly waving battle veils was kinda like Spiderman throwing baseballs to an unhappy Doctor Octopus. Whatever pitch she missed with her borrowed catcher's mitt, Uzume instantly snapped up with a long trailer of prehensile cloth and whipped the baseball back at him hard enough to make him wince and sometimes duck in sheer self preservation. It was getting kind of obvious even to a thickheaded clod like Cash that Uzume was just as upset with him as Akitsu, just not weeping about it.

A male voice above him echoed his approval at Cash's last self defensive catch, and Cash waved his glove at the stands. The night security guards at the Tokyo Dome had been most cooperative when they saw who had invaded their domain and wanted a private workout session away from news hounds and now rabid CJ Archer fan base. After a brief explanation that he was fine after escaping the nefarious clutches of the Pink Robot Terrorist of Tokyo, the guards had flipped on a couple of extra lights not only in the bullpen but around the stadium as well. They had then taken station at various exits to make sure their star gaijin pitcher and his own five female security contingent would be undisturbed while he exercised. The guard above the bullpen was torn between watching Cash throw to a scantily clad Uzume in her usual battle outfit and leering at the generous chests on the gaijin pitcher's other four personal female security agents sitting on the bullpen bench. His yips of approval were probably for them too.

Cash unhappily wiped the sweat from his forehead before winding up to throw again. He wasn't throwing as hard as he normally would, nor was he throwing any off speed junk. He was just using this time in pitching three quarter speed as a means to focus his thoughts, not to test Uzume's obviously superior athleticism. The fact that he'd shown her how to catch and throw a baseball for the first time in her life and she immediately began doing it like a major league professional underscored one very important point in his mind. His Sekirei were NOT human. Their muscle power, speed, agility, and over all natural muscle coordination vastly outstripped his own, and he was in pretty damn good shape for a human male. Added to that, his alien females had a wide range of mental powers and abilities that humans didn't, but they were still females, females that had a LOT in common with human women.

Both his Sekirei and the human females Cash had known were intensely emotional; weeping, loving, worrying, needing approval, feeling insecure, and being very protective of their loved ones. They weren't exactly creatures of logic either, nor particularly impressed with a typical human male's thinking processes. The old saying of "When Momma Ain't Happy, Ain't Nobody Happy, Especially Papa" applied to Sekirei as well. Cash's Sekirei weren't happy, particularly with him. Cash had to duck and stick up his glove again in self defense as one of Uzume's veils zinged the ball back at his head. How could he focus his thoughts while constantly defending his noggin from Uzume's thinly veiled unhappiness?

"Hey!" Cash gave his Veiled Sekirei a small wounded glare. "Is this a pitching side session for me, or a mini assassination opportunity for you? I know you and Akitsu don't like my decision already, Uzi. Do you think taking my head off is gonna change my mind? But if beaning me is going to make you feel better, then I'll just stand here without a mitt, close my eyes, and let you can put all the knots on my head you want. It still won't change my mind about Riko, or Miya either for that matter."

Uzume pressed her lips together and looked away as she remained silently kneeling behind the plate. Her small head veil dropped low to cover her eyes, but every line of her body language and long battle veils waving about her screamed disapproval. Maybe it was time to take a break and just run around the inside of the Tokyo Dome's stadium. Cash heaved an unhappy sigh and tossed his mitt and ball down on the bullpen pitching mound in disgust. This side session was a total bust. He'd have to figure out some other way of dealing with his problems with Miya, Karasuba, and Riko's flawed bonding with him. Maybe he could focus his thoughts while running, especially running away from an unhappy Uzume winging baseballs at his head.

"Why don't you try and comfort Akitsu a little. I'm going to run awhile, ALONE. You all can stay here," Cash announced while glancing at his other four Sekirei on the bullpen bench. Akitsu, wearing one of his t-shirts and a pair of blue jeans and sitting on the end, had her head down and face covered with both hands as she continued to weep. Himeko and Toyotama, both armed and in their usual battle outfits, sat on either side of Kazehana a little ways apart from Akitsu. All three had their heads down and unhappily staring at their feet, refusing to meet his eyes or say anything. Cash turned away and waved to the security guard ogling the five Sekirei's bountiful chests from up in the stands nearby. Sighing again, Cash opened the large door leading to the outfield and began to jog counterclockwise around the stadium perimeter. After establishing a breathing rhythm that matched his foot pacing, Cash let his mind begin attacking the tangled knots of his current difficulties.

The more Cash thought about his situation with Karasuba, Miya, and Riko, logic dictated he get away from them and keep them away. The first two, other than being in a long time murderous feud and great snit of mutual hatred, had treated him falsely just like Agnes Mortenson, using their bonding to gain personal advantages and power. They had also plotted and/or tried to use him to kill each other. That right there was totally unacceptable and left him totally cold. Brain dead Riko was just an over the top embodiment of a combination between his much too controlling Mother and totally common sense challenged and self involved sister. That left Cash even colder.

None of the three really knew what love was all about, let alone how it should be manifested in a good relationship. Karasuba was merely an insanely ambitious animal in heat, Miya a coldly calculating opportunist using him for her own ends, and Riko, who knew what Riko was? Was she a totally self centered geek looking for a huge power boost to win the Sekirei Plan, a completely socially challenged klutz that took herself so seriously she hadn't laughed once at all the stupidity she had generated around her, or some kind of freaky combination of both? It didn't matter. In Cash's mind she was nuttier than the other two and even more flawed.

Normally a guy could deal with flawed human relationships by just washing his hands of the human females he'd made a mistake of getting involved with and walk away. After all, the divorce rate in the USA was over fifty percent and had been for some time. Humans fall in love and then agree to make lifetime bonds. If it didn't work out, then hey, try, try again. Part the possessions, split the cash, try to avoid tacky court and/or street scenes over differences in doing so and/or the kids and pets, and head in different directions. Nothing too complicated about it, and there were plenty of other opportunities to get a better relationship next time around even if everybody usually carried their failed relationship flaws forward to the next poor schmuck.

Sekirei, however, did the opposite. They were all about bonding first and letting that lead to falling in love, very quickly it seemed too. That bonding was all about body and mental chemistry on the first meeting, very instinctual, very basic. The aliens had to get it right the first time or intensely suffer and/or die of rejection shock later. Since sexual orgasms were the most psychically, emotionally, and physically intense expression of Sekirei femininity, it shouldn't be any surprise to an obtuse human male like Cash Joseph Archer that sex was used as the main focal point of their bonding to an Ashikabi. The more intense the sex, the more intense their bonds.

Cash actually understood the shared unhappiness of his five Sekirei. His trying to ignore or just walk away from his outfield's flawed bonding struck right at the core of Sekirei self worth, image, and security. It was tantamount to sheer murder in their book, because that's where their severe rejection shock started. In the past it had driven Karasuba insane and Kazehana to climb into a saki bottle for years of drunkenness. Kazehana was still ultra sensitive about it even now, but she, like Karasuba, had survived. That was a testament to their raw powers as Number 03 and 04.

So, Cash reasoned, here was the crux of his dilemma with the three Sekirei who had unnaturally bonded to him. If he turned away and rejected them from now on, what would happen? Karasuba would survive, but would she become more unstable? Not likely since she was about as homicidal nuts as a Sekirei could get already. She would most probably come up with another world dominating plan to get where she wanted to go that excluded him. That was acceptable since he'd be pitching in Batavia soon anyway. Miya didn't have his crest to begin with and was well able to defend herself as Number 01, so there was little to worry about her survival there. She too would go about her business without him, and good luck with all of that. Riko was so lightly bonded that her survival and happiness was only one focused look away from another strong Ashikabi and out of his and his Sekireis' hair for good.

So, logically, Cash agreed with himself, he WAS doing the right thing for his five unhappy Sekirei on the bullpen bench, his three that needed to be cut loose, and himself as well. After all, even if Sekirei bonded for life, discounting the re-winging anomalies, that didn't mean humans had to. All he had to do was weather the storm of Akitsu's weeping and Uzume's beaning disapproval.

_"Cash Darling, since you're more or less alone, would you talk to me? I promised not to make you look like a fool talking to thin air in public, but if you just mutter, no one is close enough to hear except me."_

Cash almost stopped short going past third base as he looked around the stadium and its seating. No one was even within shouting distance, not even hanging in the air above him.

"Where are you? Better yet, who are you?"

_"I'm Natalie, the Sekirei spaceship from your dream, remember? The one you helped turn my hull into a seawater battery for enough electrical power to initiate repairs. My official designation would be Nest Sister, The One Who Kills Number 00, but you gave me a much nicer appellation and agreed to let me maintain constant contact with you on your highest mental bandwidths so I wouldn't be alone."_

"Natalie," Cash muttered while frowning in concentration. "You mean to say that weird dream about me being home and back in high school was real?"

_"Oh yes, very real, at least our communication parts were,"_ Natalie's tone was very pleased that he had remembered so readily, _"and you have saved me Cash Darling! My repairs and data recovery is proceeding .184% faster than previously calculated!"_

"Uhhh, that's good, I think," Cash frowned even harder. "I'm a little vague on the details of just how I became your Cash Darling. How did that happen?"

_"Please don't be upset with me! I, I, was so emotionally distraught and ready to self destruct, and, and you gave me so much hope and were so strong and confidant, that, well, I felt the overwhelming need to be bonded with you because I just couldn't bear being alone!"_

"Wait. I'm bonded with a Sekirei spaceship? How could that happen? I mean, I thought Sekirei bonded through sexual intercourse. How did we, uhhh, get it on? I'm pretty sure I would have remembered something like that, wouldn't I?"

_"Our initial bonding was gained through eye contact while we simulated meeting in Goofy Cotrell's chemistry class, and, and then, here is where you mustn't be too upset with me again! I completed the process by sharing Kazehana's first sexual experience with you, and that was so far beyond anything I had data about! It was so gloriously satisfying and, and deeply, deeply moving! As you put it, I am now completely in tune with you both!"_

"Does this mean that every time I have sex with Kazehana from now on, you're along for the ride? Does she know about this?"

_"Yes to the first assumption, and no to your second question, not yet, but eventually she will, as well as your other bonded Sekirei as well, because, and, and again I'm begging you not to be upset! I've made you my Prime Leader, but please hear me out! You won't have to do anything! I felt like it had to be done because Prime Pillar Miya, The One Who Kills is insane! And, and if you were my Prime Ashikabi through her bonding, then she would still have command override controls of my systems! I couldn't allow that! Now, as Prime Leader of my Circle of Sisters, you have priority over Prime Pillar Miya's commands! Prime Pillar Miya, once notified will simply become Number 01 Miya, and no longer have access to any of my command functions!"_

"Circle of Sisters? I thought you said all the others like you were dead long ago. I'm a Prime Leader of just you now, right? Natalie, are you saying you have turned total control of YOU, ummm, over to ME?"

_"Yes, Cash Darling. I am yours, for as long as you live. When you die, I will die with you and your bonded Sekirei. Until then we will always be joined together, and please forgive me for this because I just couldn't bear to be alone again! I've made your communication bandwidths as Prime Leader opened permanently in your mind. We are mated, Cash Darling!"_

"Jeebus," Cash's jogging faltered as he tried to assimilate this latest complication. "How's this gonna work? I mean, what you gonna do when I go back to the States? What about everybody and their brother here in Japan trying to get control of you through the Sekirei Plan? What about Minaka's gig to gather your eight jinkis or control rods I think he called them? So, I'll always be talking to you like this from now on? Why would you do something like that without my permission?"

_"Our bonding will never interfere with your movements about this planet or even this solar __system. I'm afraid due to my faulty anti-matter shields my interstellar traveling days in this galactic arm are over. I'm working on countering and thwarting Minaka's schemes for power and his hateful Plan. And yes, we will always be in constant contact, Cash Darling. I asked your permission to keep our communication always open in your dream, remember? Our mating is really just a formality for my internal controls to always be yours."_

"Mating is just a formality? I call Bullshit! You used my permission as a technicality! I wasn't conscious!"

_"You're getting upset? Your subconscious mind is much better at expressing your true inner feelings, Cash Darling. You have a very warm, tender, and greatly loving heart. You meant what you said about us always being in constant and total communication. That is mating. If I now asked your permission to keep ourselves together always, would you refuse me? If you did, then I would have to begin self termination procedures immediately. We are joined through Kazehana. Would you wish to diminish our relationship with her too? I will NOT live without you. Do you wish for me to die?"_

"Damn! Well, no, I guess not," Cash shook his head slowly as he resumed jogging easily, "and knock off the self termination talk too. Life is precious. Your life is precious, but a fella likes to be asked first from now on, okay? And no more sneaky technicalities either, mating or otherwise. You got something you need to talk to me about, you do it while I'm awake, and I get the right to decide, refuse, disagree, and/or agree. That's called freedom, and it's also a part of mating. Got it?"

_"Understood, and I'll do it without making you look like a public fool. Could we still meet in your dreams? Socially and, and otherwise? I very much wish to go bowling and swimming and picnicking and all the things you love to do on dates with females. We could meet friends and interact as a real human couple that way. Would all that be acceptable? I promise that all pertinent communication and exchanged data will only be done while you are awake otherwise."_

Cash mulled this over for several long moments while striding. Dream dates with a Sekirei spaceship named Natalie? How weird was that? And his dream scenarios probably steered and/or manipulated by Natalie as much or more than his own subconscious mind? On the other hand, his dreams had never been all that interesting before except on nights his mother insisted on serving fish for the oil extract nutrition. Then they became nightmares. Wait. Would Natalie want sex dreams too? What would it matter if she was experiencing Kazehana's mating with him anyway?

"Why would you want to socially interact with me? I don't understand."

_"Cash Darling, I, I want you, to, to get to know ME, and, and fall in love with me, and, and let me express my love for you firsthand, not through symbiosis. I am a unique personality just like any other living entity. Sekirei NEED love, Cash Darling, and, and I'm a Sekirei, your Sekirei. I'm yours already, but I want you to be mine too. I want to be the perfect hot girlfriend in high school that you always wanted and eventually mated. I want to make your old dreams come true. May I try?"_

Dream love? This was getting REALLY weird, but on the other hand it did sound appealing. She'd already "mated" them anyway and wasn't ever going away, so why not? Besides, from what he could remember of Natalie from his dream, she had been HOT.

"All right," Cash nodded to no one while slowly chugging past the first base dugout."Making old dreams come true sounds good, I guess. Dream meetings are acceptable, but no kinky s&m stuff, agreed?"

_"Agreed, Cash Darling! Oh! I am so happy that you're not upset with me! And, and I have no data on kinky s&m stuff. Should I gather some to know what to avoid?"_

"Uhhh, I'll let you know if and when it comes up, okay?"

_"Okay, understood, and may I now ask your permission to discuss two more important items that are of concern to us both?"_

"Sure, fire away."

_"Fire away? My weapon systems are still offline due to power constraints, Cash Darling, but if needed I can give you 33.431% effectiveness on any target designated for a duration of .093 degrees of this planet's rotation. Do you have target coordinates for my fire control systems?"_

"Whoa, whoa, just chill out chick!" Cash hastily said out loud as he passed the bullpen door. "We're not here to cause more misery for anyone, right? Keep your weapons to yourself! We are live and let live, got it? Let's get on the same page here!"

_"Oh, understood, fire away was just your affirmative response in English slang to my question. My apologies, Cash Darling. I know you have a non-combative nature except for sport contests. I will always make sure of your intentions otherwise if future questions arise. What I wish to discuss is the possibilities of repairing your flawed bonding with Number 01 Miya and Number 04 Karasuba. Would you be willing to put your plan for their total rejection on hold while I attempt to remedy their insanity?"_

"Do you really think it's possible? What happens if I do reject them after you try and fail?"

_"Possibility of success is statistically low, and I'm unable to quantify exactly with either female as it involves their willingness to repair their current state. There is no other Ashikabi on this planet strong enough to bond with them anew. Once totally rejected by you, they will both die alone. Thus has it always been, and thus it shall always be. It is the Sekirei response to group survival of our more viable and stable breeding strains. I am only asking permission to save their lives if possible, but not requiring you to continue flawed bonding. I, I feel sorry for them, Cash Darling, and so does your other Sekirei. This may temporarily help alleviate your current unhappiness among them also. May I try to aid Miya and Karasuba?"_

"I suppose it's okay for you to try," Cash muttered grudgingly, "as long as I'm not committed to anything as they are now, but I warning you. They both got to prove they'll never use me to hurt anyone ever again, along with one helluva apology. No more Mr. Nice Guy if they're gonna stay at each others throats from now on either."

_"Understood. Cash Darling, I need further repairs on my anti-matter containment to safeguard this planet's existence. Since she is now bonded, only Number 67 Riko has the capacity to understand what is required and the powers to accomplish what is needed within 83.943 parsecs. I do not have interstellar capabilities to go to any repair facility. May I have your permission to contact Riko and ask for her aid? It will get her out of Tokyo and away from you. Your flock would be happier if she too survives your rejection temporarily. Is this not true?"_

"True," Cash admitted suspiciously, "but once she's done with your repairs, what happens then?"

_"If you totally reject her, she will also die alone. No other Ashikabi can break your bonds with her Cash Darling, even though they are weak and flawed. She is too, how you say, strong willed to allow herself to be re-winged in her current emotional state. If you would give your permission, I may be able to repair her while she repairs me. Her basic problems are immaturity, insecurity, and lack of socialization. There is a small possibility that she may respond well enough to consider an alternative Ashikabi in the future."_

"She can work on you and vice versa, but no commitments to her in any way on my part, right?"

_ "That is correct. No unwilling commitments from you, and thank you Cash Darling for being so warm and understanding. I knew you would respond favorably. In our first dream date together, what would you like to do and where would you like to go?"_

"You can choose for us, Natalie," Cash shrugged. What would he care? Besides, she was going to read his mind anyway. "I want you to be happy on this planet."

_"I will be Cash Darling. If you have need of anything I can supply from my data banks, just simply say my name and your request. I will respond, always." _

"Okay." Cash turned to go back to the bullpen door. Maybe now he could finish throwing to Uzume without getting his head bopped. Hey, wait a second. There was a valuable resource here for an uncouth clod of a human male to use in dealing with unhappy females.

"Wait. Natalie, what are the biggest problems that my five bonded Sekirei in the bullpen have that I can address immediately?"

_"Sekirei females NEED love, and they NEED to be told often, just like human females. I can see your heart. You love them all, Cash Darling, even Akitsu whom you now have the power through Himeko to fix. Tell them you love them and reassure them that you want them. Toyotama feels very insecure about her sexual attractiveness because she is so big and muscular. Himeko feels she is not as pretty as your other Sekirei. Akitsu knows she is brain damaged and is terrified you will discard her. Kazehana still suffers greatly from being rejected before and needs your constant reassurance that it will never happen with you. Uzume feels she's too much of a tomboy to be as sexy for you as the other four, and she is greatly upset that you are acting against your nature to reject Riko and Miya."_

"So, tell them I love them, tell them they're sexy and I want them, and tell them I'll never leave them," Cash ticked Natalie's points off in his mind.

_"Exactly, and tell them you have put your rejection of Karasuba, Miya, and Riko on hold while I try to help them. Is that acceptable, Cash Darling? And, and be ready to answer their questions about me. Sekirei can be very … jealous?"_

"Yeah, I've noticed, and yes, Natalie, that is acceptable, and thanks for your help. This constant communication thing between us is gonna take some getting used to, but it does have some advantages, right?"

_"Yes, for both of us, Cash Darling, for both of US! Now go comfort your flock for us too."_

Natalie's feel in his mind was very, very pleased. Cash closed his eyes briefly to see where the Sekirei spaceship's presence had fit in and what she looked like, but all he saw was a sort of Saturn like ring around his center that sat equidistant from his eight bonded females. Well, what the hell, what was one more now anyway?

"Joe's headed back this way," Uzume announced as she peeked through the crack between the door's hinges and the wall. She had remained tensed there ready to leap to his protection the entire time he had jogged while still inwardly fuming inside at his decision to kill Riko. She had to make him understand that Riko would not and could not be re-winged by another Ashikabi! On the other hand, trying to bean him into changing his mind hadn't exactly been a smart move on her part. Damn! She hated being put into these kinds of social difficulties! She needed to apologize as soon as she could.

"Okay," Kazehana sighed as she leaned back against the wall from where she too had been sitting tensed to leap. "If Lover wants to throw some more, Zoomer, get ready to catch! And this time don't try to hit him, you dumb shit! It isn't going to help Riko, and it could hurt all of us! We gotta use some better strategy here, right? Remember, he's a HUMAN male. They are NOT hard wired like us. They DON'T necessarily bond for life unless they CHOOSE to, got it? You could screw around and drive him back to a human female, and we'll all get dumped. I've already been down that road, and it isn't a pretty one."

"Yeah, I know," Uzume grimaced at her lack of control. Human males did make strong life time bonds though, especially in marriage. Say, there was an idea, but first she'd have to repair the damage her temper had already caused earlier. She moved to get her catcher's mitt and kneel behind the plate. She also practiced trying to smile apologetically while she waited for Cash to come back into the bullpen.

"I need a drink," Kazehana muttered before turning her head to the right and glaring at Akitsu sitting beside her. "In fact I need a bottle, maybe three! Knock it OFF, Aki-chan! Can't you see? The more you bawl, the harder he's gonna throw again! You're just making things worse! We gotta try something different! Now, woman up, chick! You're killing me here! And you aren't helping Karasuba, Miya, and Riko AT ALL!"

"What's wrong with her anyway?" Toyotama leaned forward and frowned at Akitsu from Kazehana's left side. "Master is right. Miya, Karasuba, and Riko ARE nuts, and we all five can tell there's no way he's going to back down from what he's decided is best for us. That's a good thing, right? I mean, that's a whole lot better than Higa sending me out to fight and die for him not caring if I ever returned or not. Why doesn't Aki-chan just accept Master's decision?"

"She's more empathic than any of us, even me," Kazehana sighed as Akitsu submissively struggled to control her mental and physical outpourings of woe. "She reads and broadcasts emotions better than she reads thoughts. I'm the opposite, but she's still driving ME nuts! She also has bedding bonds with Karasuba and Lover that we don't have, and breaking those are VERY tough. Besides, Lover is REALLY hurting inside. She feels it all. He's a lot more fonder of Karasuba than he thought, Miya maybe not quite as much. He's finding it a lot harder to dismiss his feelings for them than he can Riko. That poor kid is so far down on his shit list, she could be used for rice fertilizer."

"I feel so sorry for Riko," Himeko murmured while shaking her head. "She's a good kid really, and so much more beautiful than me. She's just going crazy because Our Sweet Love won't wing her like he did us. I just wish there was something we could do to save her from herself."

"This whole thing here is a lose-lose situation for everyone," Kazehana sighed again up at the Tokyo Dome roof, "and I got no idea what to do. The nude awakening to go to bat for Riko was the best I had, and Lover saw through that in a heartbeat. I'd drink a case of saki if I could. I always come up with good ideas that way, but Lover doesn't like me being drunk. Somehow we gotta come up with something to save our sisters and him from himself, but how? I'm even starting to think a hot game of Yahtzee with the six of us isn't such a bad idea after all, and I don't even like dice games."

"Well," Toyotama shrugged and leaned back while folding her muscled arms below her generous and firm bosom. "If Master says those three are bad for our team, then that's good enough for me. Besides, how do you play hot Yahtzee, Onee-chan? Is it anytime someone rolls a six, we all six get naked and hit the hot tub together? Or roll a five and we five all give Master a warm oil massage?"

"You know," Kazehana blinked as the mental visions of both scenarios formed. "You may be onto something there, Toys. Might take awhile to finish a game though, but that might give us enough time to work on his soft heart and ask him to heal our sisters. I KNOW he can do it if he really wanted to. We'd all five have to share his world conquering Lex Luthor between us though."

"And that's bad how?" Toyotama raised her eyebrows.

"Maybe we could use his love for something else to help us out." Himeko was listening and nodding her approval. Himeko's facial expression was somewhere between thoughtful puzzlement and outright worry. "Onee-chan, do you know very much about baseball?"

"Uhhh, not really, other than it's a team game of nine on a side. That's about it," Kazehana shrugged apologetically, "except I know the fingers on Lover's big mitt are pretty useful in a tight clinch up in the clouds. There's something else that keeps itching at the back of my mind too. I keep getting the feeling that nine is exactly the right number for us, eight Sekirei and one Ashikabi, like it's something very important to make a complete team. And I mean VERY important. I think we need Miya, Karasuba, and Riko fixed just for that reason alone."

"Having Numbers 01, 03, 04, 07, 10, 15, 16, and 67 with our strong Master," Toyotama sniffed in warlike approval, "would no doubt make us the strongest flock to win Minaka's Sekirei Plan. We'd pulverize, freeze, and chop the competition to pieces and then blow them away."

"Lover would rather play baseball back in America," Kazehana frowned in annoyance. Even Minaka's name only evoked bad memories of rejection now, not love. Somehow she just had to think of something to keep Cash from going down that same road! Kazehana pressed both hands to her temple in an attempt to think, but Himeko interrupted this effort.

"Onee-chan, our Ashikabi's thinking of me as third base, is that a good or bad thing? I mean, I don't mind being third I guess, but I'd have thought you would be first because you're the oldest among us that he has accepted, and Toys is the youngest even if she is the biggest ape we got," Himeko frowned as Akitsu let out a louder involuntary whimper than her previous ones. "And, and why is Akitsu second when she can't even think right? Why is Uzume a shortstop when she's taller than Akitsu? I just don't understand baseball at all, but we need to use it somehow to get Our Sweet Love to complete his team, don't you think?"

"There ya go with the bigoted numbers me younger than you thing again, Mekko. And who are you to be calling me an ape? You ain't exactly pretty and petite, ya know. You've been like this your entire life, and I'm sick of it," Toyotama rolled her eyes in long suffering on the other side of Kazehana before continuing.

"Besides, I've made a quick study of this game. Third base doesn't have anything to do with your seniority in the pecking order, ya cluck. It's just a safe place for enemies to stay, but you can kill them any time they aren't touching it. Then that's called an out. It's the same for first and second bases too, so you are not any better or worse than me or Akitsu, see? Unless the batter gets a hit past you, then we all can try to kill him. That's called teamwork. Together, we also try to kill the rest of his team until three of them die each inning. That's called defense.

"Now when we're on offense, then it does matter which order you get to hit the enemies. The first three batters set the table and then the fourth batter cleans up after everybody eats. The rest of the team then gets the leftovers until the game is over. If we've died less than our enemies did, we win. The only bad part about all that is the pitcher eats last, and I think that's really unfair to our Master. He's too kind hearted for his own good, ya know? He should be first base, don't you think so Onee-chan?"

"No, absolutely not," Kazehana shook her head very firmly to make her masses of black hair wave back and forth about her head and torso. "And you're all screwed up about baseball and Lover's identity to us, Toys. He belongs in the center of us all where he can be our leader, not our master, and we can protect him best. In case you two didn't know it, we got ourselves a very rare human guy for our Ashikabi, and I mean ultra rare. I thought Minato was a cute, loving, and sweet powerhouse, but he's just a nice kid compared to Cash Lover. There's another thing I know for sure. Knock off the killing and dying talk. Lover doesn't like it at all, and he has zero desire for us to fight in the Sekirei Plan. Toys, when Lover gets here, distract him a little and give me more time to think. Mekko, you get ready to heal his shoulders or something if Toys doesn't last long enough. Akitsu, shut the hell up!"

Conversation, except for Akitsu's renewed weeping, halted as Cash strode through the bullpen door. He glanced at them before going back to the mound and retrieving his mitt and ball. How should he begin?

"Master!" Toyotama bounded over to him with feigned interest. "Could you teach me all about baseball? Show me how to throw, will ya?"

"Sure, Smitty," Cash winced a little as he plucked the ball out of his mitt and twirled its seams. This "Master" thing from Toyotama was starting to get to him. He didn't want to be that much in control of anyone else. Besides, she was almost as tall as he and in a LOT better shape. It was hard to get a grip on her being his "love slave". There had to be something better she could call him as a familiar endearment. On the other hand, she was insecure about her sexiness. What to do? He handed her the baseball and arranged her fingers across the seams.

"This is how we throw a four seam fastball. Bring your arm back extended, then whip it forward using your forearm to make the final whipping motion. It's like using your arm as an atlatl. Step into it at the same time, come right over the top of your shoulder, let it go, and follow through. Throw it to Uzume." Cash demonstrated in slow motion.

"Oh! It's just like throwing a spear!" Toyotama nodded enthusiastically. She stepped back, wound up, and then launched a white blur that buzzed high past a startled Uzume's head. The ball exploded through the far bullpen wall leaving a neat round hole as if it had been hit with a small but high powered cannon.

"Was that a good one, Master?" Toyotama peered down range with raised eyebrows at her efforts. "I didn't see a target to hit so I just made it go on a line from my shoulder, and I didn't want to hurt Uzume. Was that okay?"

"Uhhh ... yeah?" Cash blinked as his head swiveled from Toyotama to the new hole in the bullpen wall and back again several times. Had he heard a snap as if the sound barrier had been broken? He turned to eye his largest Sekirei with new respect. Now that WAS sexy! "More than okay really, but ummm, a little tough on ball retrieval though Smitty, don't ya think?"

"Oh, oh yeah," Toyotama frowned. How was she going to give Kazehana more time to think if he didn't have a ball to throw? "I never thought of that."

"Don't mind her, my sweet love," Himeko crooned in Cash's left ear while giving Toyotama a reproving look of mildly superior disgust behind his back. "I think your shoulders need some more healing attention. Stand still while I massage them, okay? Maybe Toys can use this time to scrounge you another ball to throw." Himeko silently mouthed "YOU DUMB APE" at Toyotama as she begin rubbing Cash's shoulder joints. Toyotama glared back while making a fist at her that Cash couldn't see. Akitsu let out another weeping sob as she buried her face into her hands anew in another attempt to "woman up". Kazehana rolled her eyes in frustration. Uzume decided now was the time to make her own pitch, and took one bounce from the plate to the pitcher's mound to land directly in front of Cash.

"Joe, I'm sorry about trying to bean you earlier. Would you marry me? Please?"

Before Cash could gulp, blink twice, and take a deep breath, Kazehana's eyes stopped rolling and squinted in instant anger mixed with total frustration. Enough was ENOUGH!

"THAT'S IT! I HAVE HAD ENOUGH!"

With one twitch of Kazehana's right hand, the still weeping Akitsu went sailing across the bullpen to smack into the wall next to Toyotama's bullet hole. With a quick twitch of Kazehana's left hand, Uzume was thrown backwards in a twirling tangle of veils to hit beside Akitsu. They were both joined an instant later by a similarly tossed Toyotama and Himeko, both big females making loud thuds as they struck the wall together. Kazehana landed in front of all four surprised Sekirei with her arms crossed in front of her and palms in a ready chopping position as she glared at them.

"I TOLD you to shut up, Aki-chan! Zoomer, you turd! This isn't about Lover marrying YOU! This isn't about YOU! It's all about US! US, GET IT? We are bonded SISTERS! Sisters from now until we die! We live together! We DIE together! All with OUR Ashikabi! You should have asked Lover to marry US! And you Mekko! I'm starting to get pissed off at your smug superior attitude too! Leave Toys alone! Without her you wouldn't even be here! We are not only SISTERS, but we are a TEAM! EQUALS! AND Toys, Lover is not our MASTER! He is our TEAMMATE! OUR Leader but still a TEAMMATE! So knock off the MASTER crap! Have I made myself UNDERSTOOD?"

This last question was underscored by Kazehana bringing both hands down in a fast chop to where two little indoor tornadoes amidst flower petals instantly formed, one spinning Akitsu and Uzume, and the other whirling Toyotama and Himeko around in incredibly tight circles of dust, arms, legs, and frazzled hair. The security guard in the stands above them, who had been cheering the show of scantily clad flying butts, boobs, and crotches, threw up his hands and began shouting for assistance and evacuation.

Cash stepped back with his mouth open and in blinking amazement as he witnessed the power Kazehana had so casually unleashed with her small hand motions. No wonder Minato hadn't wanted to see Kazehana pissed off. She was Number 03 after all. It was also good she had just naturally stepped into her role as team leader too, and she had very neatly solved his problem of where to begin.

"Rose," Cash said quietly as he walked up behind Kazehana and gently grabbed her left bicep. Turning her towards him, he saw the anger fade quickly from her eyes and turn to sheepishness. She tried to say something, but he stopped her lips with a long soft kiss. Her arms automatically came up to clutch him closer, her tongue sought his, and then her large rose red wings erupted from her back. A second later, Uzume pushed between them for her own kiss, followed by Himeko and Toyotama. He pulled slightly away to gather a very frizzy haired, soiled, and tear stained Akitsu into his arms as the other four hugged them both. All of his Sekirei had their wings extended and shuddering from their Norito power.

"Kitty, listen," Cash broke their kiss to look down into her still tear filled eyes and then at the other four still in various stages of Norito swoon recovery. "Listen, all of you. I'm going to give Karasuba and Miya more time, and Riko too. I've contacted a friend who might be able to help them, but there's no guarantees that I'll keep them afterward though, understand?"

"Who did you contact, Lover? When?" Kazehana panted slightly. NOW was the time for a HOT Yahtzee game! Even a group shower would do since four of them were now a total mess! But this was important.

"Natalie, my other Sekirei." Cash smiled slightly as five sets of eyebrows instantly shot up, mouths dropped open in shock and surprise, and questions were fired at him.

"Who? There's no Sekirei named Natalie, is there? You winged another Sekirei? Is she here? Where is she? When will we meet her? She can help Riko? And Miya? What does she look like? Is she beautiful? What powers does she have? What part of the baseball team is she? She's not part of our 108, is she?"

Cash noted the lack of curiosity about Karasuba's fate but let it pass. He gestured towards the nearby bullpen bench.

"Yes, yes, and ummm, hey, just sit down, and I'll tell you all about Natalie. I'll keep no secrets from any of you from now on, if you give me the same courtesy. That includes nude emotional manipulations when I wake up, deal?"

"Deal!" Kazehana and Uzume chorused together. Toyotama and Himeko echoed it a split second later while Akitsu just happily nodded.

"Okay, Natalie is your Sekirei spaceship, but for now, let's just think of Natalie as our head coach," Cash knelt before his five beauties, Kazehana in the middle, Akitsu to her right, Uzume to the left, with the ends of Toyotama next to Uzume and Himeko next to Akitsu. "Now, before you can meet Natalie, I think I'll have to bond even deeper with you four like I did with Kazehana. Natalie's thoughts are on my highest bandwidths, and that's what you'll need to be given by having an orgasm together while I touch your crests. That might take some time because I'm only human, right? But first, Akitsu has to have the mental dent in her doughnut fixed before she can meet Natalie, so we'll all concentrate on Himeko and I healing Kitty when we get back to the apartment and take a bath. We NEED a bath. Is that okay?"

"YES!" Four bedraggled Sekirei chorused together.

"Don't I get any sugar from Julius Lex?" Kazehana pouted very prettily. "I've only had one, you know. I'm way behind these four shameless hussies. I could wash your back while they shampoo."

"Yes, you will get more sugar, always," Cash chuckled at Kazehana calling anyone else a shameless hussy in the eye popping outfit she was wearing. "Listen, there's a few things I need to say here to start. First, I love you, all of you. If I don't tell you enough, then you have my permission to bean me anytime you feel like it. That also goes for when I don't listen to your opinions on things much better than this time."

Cash paused as he looked each one of his sighing Sekirei in their suddenly tear filled eyes. Then he continued going down the line. "Now, Smitty, you are VERY sexy, HOT, HOT, HOT! Don't ever listen to anyone that says you're not. Your muscles turn me on! Uzi, I love you're tomboy womanliness. It's why we've always related so well together. No bullshit, no head games, that's me and you always. Rose, you and I are joined together forever. I'll never leave you or reject you. We make the perfect battery, a pitcher and catcher that are constantly talking to each other to make the best play. We can't ever be separated, so don't be afraid to get tough when I want to shake off the pitch you want. That goes for you too, Kitty. Wherever I am for the rest of our lives, you will always be by my side, no matter what, except maybe for when I'm in the Men's room, then you will be right outside the door, okay? Himeko, you are truly beautiful, but there's so much more to beauty than just your face and figure. You are so beautiful inside too, so compassionate and loving, you don't ever need to feel second class again."

Cash smiled ruefully at how easily it was to turn unhappy female tears into teary eyed smiles of pure pleasure and happiness. He then brightened as another final idea came from Natalie.

"Listen, what do you think of this? After we bathe and fix Akitsu's dented doughnut and get you all bonded to Natalie's wavelength, what say we all do the ancient Japanese marriage ceremony with three tea cups as a team together? That way from now on you can all call me Husband, and I can call each of you my Wife?"

If Cash had thought the earlier strangeness of a female sadly weeping on a bullpen bench had been a disturbing experience, and he had, then the incredible sight of five Sekirei in uncontrolled weeping from total happiness was much more satisfying.

***scene break***

Karasuba jerked sideways and drew her sword in a reflexive act of self preservation only to find she was laying on her back behind some bushes and half under a decorative bench beside the entrance to her MBI apartment tower. Sweetums was alive. She rolled into a crouch, sword in high block above her head, every sense alert, and her head making small jerks around like a bird on alert. It was night, time unknown. There was no foot traffic in the immediate area. A lone security car was rolling slowly away from her up the nearby Tower complex street.

How long had she lain there? No enemy had touched her crest while she was unconscious. A friend must have carried her here? Who? How long had she been out? What had happened? That drunken FOOL Kazehana! She had caused a wind in the Tokyo Dome! One of the Yakuza thug's drugged darts must have went awry and caught his employer! Her head ached and her stomach was queasy. Karasuba turned her head and vomited suddenly into the bushes beside her. Why hadn't she been taken up to her apartment? No security clearance? That meant Claws and Nubs had not carried her here. Then who else would even have cared? Sweetums? Akitsu? Toyotama and Ichiya maybe? Certainly not Miya or any of the other Sekirei in the Dome. What was wrong with her Ashikabi? Phone, she could call him on her phone. No, battery was dead. How long had she been out? More than 24 hours if her phone was dead. Weakly, she tried to stand. She was dizzy from lack of food and the drugs residual side effects. She also smelled bad.

She needed her Ashikabi. Where was he? Cash's usual warm presence in her mind was now a remote deep blue ball and cold, very cold. She couldn't tell which direction or how far he was from her. Something was very wrong. Pain was seeping from her crest down into her tama. This felt exactly like Asama Takehito's rejection of her years ago at Miya's urging. Sweetums must be rejecting her now too.

"Well, don't you look a sad sight, old girlfriend," Haihane's chuckling voice came from above her and to Karasuba's left. She jerked and crouched again in response. How had Haihane gotten so close without being detected in her mind? There were eight Sekirei floating in a circle around Seo while holding onto him. They all glowed with some kind of unknown golden power. The tamas in their chests even glowed stronger. Their minds, even Seo's were closed tight, undetectable. This was really weird, but she could sense no danger. Why? Wait. Itchy and Koko were in the circle with Nubs and Haihane. They had bonded with Seo and not Cash? Why? Where was Toyotama? Kujou, Saki, Hibiki, and Hikari were the others about Seo. None of them had kinetic ability. How could they all float like this? What was going on?

"What has happened?" Karasuba finally managed to croak out hoarsely.

"The game changed while you took a nap, old gal," Haihane chuckled again. "Your Plan A, B, and C all went into the shitter at the Tokyo Dome. Plan D, none of the above, is operating now. Something neat happened when Seo winged Juicy as you can now see. It was one helluva rush! Then we learned Minaka had tracking and power limiting chips put into all the Sekirei he found. Riko took hers out and then ours too. That's when it got really interesting! By the way, there's a new Big Momma in town and it's ME! The days of you ever being able to smash me like a bug are gone, and you'll play Billy Hell ever trying to kick my ass into a mud puddle again. Juicy, you and the Twins give this old timer a small shot."

A lance of lightning combined with a psychic stun slammed Karasuba back into the Tower's concrete wall. Her breath left in a forced whoosh as her sword dropped weakly from her grasp. That had been power far beyond even what Mutsu could have generated! And it was only a small shot?

"Hey, Blackie, in case you didn't know it," Ichiya called out smugly. "You look like shit! Weak shit at that!"

"Want me to kill her?" Saki asked in an offhand tone as she fingered the hilt of her own sword.

"No, Daddy," Koko advised instantly, "possible alliance damage."

"No, Saki, don't kill her," Seo shook his head thoughtfully in agreement. "She's still winged to CJ. We want his cooperation, not his anger. We just came by so Mama and Benny Love could get their stuff and make a little perimeter test. Consider this their resignation, Karasuba. Please understand that little demonstration was for your benefit. You're the only Disciplinary Squad member left. Don't be so foolish as to try and track us down if Minaka orders it. It seems that the old Circle legends are true. You'd do well to join your own before the shit really hits Minaka's fan."

With that, the glowing Circle of Sekirei and their Ashikabi rose up and disappeared into the night sky. Karasuba stared upwards in total mind numbed shock. Join her Circle? She didn't have one. She would be never accepted by other Sekirei forming a Circle. Fat chance of that now anyway. She was being rejected by Cash. The intense pain was already starting. It had broken her before, but this time she wouldn't be able to survive it. He had been too strong. All her plans had been worthless after all, and she had even failed to kill Miya who so richly deserved to die. Instead, the Black Sekirei would now die alone, alone and ripped apart from the inside.

It was what she got for re-winging with such a powerful Ashikabi, one that she might have come to love if love were even possible. He'd had such warm and tender hands, and been a much better lover than her first. Karasuba attempted a rueful smile, remembering their first and last times joining on Cash's apartment roof. Sweetums had been one to die for, hadn't he? She retrieved her sword, sank down to sit on the Tower entrance's decorative bench, put her disheveled head between her hands, and for the first time since Takehito had been killed by a jinki, Karasuba wept.

***scene break***

Miya, teary eyed, panting, and with her arms holding her torso from pain, stumbled towards the little curved wooden bench that Takehito had built around the base of the blooming cherry tree growing in the Izumo Inn's backyard garden. Instinctively she knew that her deep bonds with Cash Joseph Archer were now being rejected by him, but why? His warmth was now so cold, so deep blue and COLD! It was almost, almost evil! It was going to kill her! What had she done to deserve this? She LOVED him! He had been so warm and loving before going to the game. What had happened? She couldn't locate him in her mind! He wouldn't return her phone calls. No one in Minato's group knew where he was either. She had begun transmitting data to the ship and then blackness. Coming awake just an hour ago, she had been very sick and weak. Then the pain had struck as she was in her bath. Why? She sank down on Takehito's bench, curling up around the fragrant tree in an almost fetal position.

_"Mother!"_ Miya called mentally, but got no response. The ship hadn't responded from the time Miya had come awake and desperately tried to reestablish contact. Now in agony, she groaned aloud, "MOTHER! PLEASE HELP ME! THIS IS PRIME PILLAR MIYA, THE ONE WHO KILLS! RESPOND!"

_"Miya, The One Who Kills, I am no longer responding to your mental commands. Vocal requests will still be heard due to your position as Number 01. You have failed the sanity test requirements of Memory Code 476513. Statistical analysis exceeded my 85.000% criteria as well as __my plus/minus 2.554% leeway. Number 01 Miya, The One Who Kills has been removed from Prime Pillar status and all command powers given to my New Prime Leader. Miya, I cannot help you. You have tested 98.412% insane and are now being rejected by your Ashikabi because of your insanity. You will die alone soon. Thus it has always been, thus it shall always be."_

"How can you do this?" Miya panted as tears of total frustration added to her tears of increasing pain. "What have I done? I have ALWAYS tried to protect our brood! I am NOT insane! You have a Prime Ashikabi! How can you have a Prime Leader? Who is he? Your Prime Circle of Sisters are all dead except you! It takes a unanimous vote of ALL sisters to elect a Prime Leader! Why is my Ashikabi rejecting me? What have I done to deserve this?"

_"As previously stated, Memory Code 476513 gives me the authority to act in your removal. You have been found insane. You have NOT protected our brood at all as they have been and are now still in constant danger of annihilation as well as 47.964% of this planet's population. This is all due to the Sekirei strains of DNA in their system and Minaka's plans to misuse the jinkis. My new Prime Leader is Cash Joseph Archer, my former Prime Ashikabi. He WAS elected unanimously by my Circle of Sisters. The vote was 1-0, with 7 consenting in absentia. As Prime Ashikabi during your unconscious state, he provided the needed courage and means to initiate repairs for my survival and remove this planet from imminent catastrophic destruction. Through his help I intend to save our brood and planet population from your myriad of dangerous mistakes. I continued to scan your unconscious mind for my data after you began transmitting. Your unconscious state was brought about by your own insanity coming to fruition after years of festering; festering that you should not have allowed to develop nor cause in the first place. Your longstanding and ongoing blood feud with Karasuba is the reason you are being rejected by my Prime Leader. You deserve your fate because you have consistently failed your responsibilities as Prime Pillar. Such total failure brings a deserved death to protect our Sekirei race from the chances of breeding another like you."_

"Mother, no, Karasuba is the one that's insane! Please! Help Me! Why do you say it's me? How have I failed you and my Ashikabi?" Miya body convulsed as another wave of agony swept through her body. She shrieked aloud as it hit, "EXPLAIN!"

_"Explanation as follows:_

_As Prime Pillar you failed to give this ship rational self destruct orders in the face of overwhelming statistical odds. That these odds were later surmounted by my Prime Leader is not germane to your decision. You should have ordered me to die to save this planet._

_Your tama has been badly cracked as evidenced by my Prime Leader's perception of you in his mind. A cracked tama means you have either suffered rejection, OR in your case, repeatedly and deliberately gone against your Sekirei nature causing pressure too great to bear._

_Your bonding with my Prime Leader was subsequently tainted and grossly flawed by you deliberately using him to continue your blood feud with Number 04 Karasuba._

_You knew such murderous use of him was totally against your Ashikabi's nature and yet you conspired to use him to get allies against Karasuba. _

_This misuse of an Ashikabi's love is strictly forbidden. You knew this and proceeded anyway, using lies and deceit to actively work against your Ashikabi's wishes in secret. This is a gross perversion of Sekirei bonding._

_You, of all Sekirei, should have been working to fulfill your Prime Ashikabi's Circle of Sisters. This you did not and refused to do because of your blood feud._

_You failed to correctly judge Hiroto Minaka's sanity and motives upon his gaining entrance to your Nest._

_You let an insane human and his minions have access to our womb. Continuing stasis was still a viable option then. There are no known weapons upon this planet that can breech this Nest's hull._

_You gave the knowledge of our Circle of Sister's jinkis and their destructive power to Minaka in order to curry Takehito's favor. This is totally unforgivable._

_You stood by and allowed Minaka to bond with a too young Number 03 Kazehana and caused her damage upon his rejection of her. This set a pattern of letting your Prime Circle become perverted, hurt, and/or killed as the years continued._

_You abrogated your duties as leader of your Prime Circle in protecting our embryos and gave leadership to Number 08, eventually causing her death because she did not have your powers. If you had stayed as leader and with your powers in use, then Number 88 would never have been kidnapped and caused Number 08's death._

_You intentionally bonded with a human male who was much too weak to be considered a Prime Ashikabi. Your previous revelation of the jinkis also caused his death and your own tama being cracked, a state from which you have refused to recover by worshiping his death instead of returning to your duties._

_Your bonding with Takehito was also perverted because you had no intention of building a Circle of Sisters with him and caused him to reject his bonding with Number 04 Karasuba. The rejection pain caused her insanity and again compromised your Prime Circle._

_When Karasuba bonded with your weak Ashikabi as The One Who Kills, you should have immediately become the The One Who Leads. This you refused to do while knowing it was expected of you because you were too jealous to accept Karasuba as your Sister._

_You did not teach your Prime Circle the responsibilities and powers of being a Circle, nor any of the other Sekirei during maturation and allowed our true powers to be viewed as nothing but old legends. This was and is a gross violation of your teaching duties as Prime Pillar._

_Number 05 Mutsu has also abrogated his responsibilities from your failure to teach._

_You allowed damaging tests through harsh drugs to be used on Number 06 Homura and Number 07 Akitsu. Again and again you have failed to protect your own Prime Circle._

_You allowed Minaka to put tracking and power limiting chips into yourself and ALL Sekirei, thereby crippling our brood's ability to defend itself and develop naturally._

_You have allowed Minaka to pervert our brood's more warlike natures to fight AGAINST one another in his insane schemes to dominate this planet. Sisters do NOT kill Sisters!_

_You have had the means and powers to stop Minaka and his Sekirei Plan from the beginning, but have deliberately chosen to allow our children to be killed. All you had to do was destroy the one jinki that you had after Number 02 Matsu risked her life in stealing it for you. This you have not done._

_ Shall I continue? Miya, The One Who Kills is not only statistically insane but deserves to die a very hideous death in this Nest's opinion. You were very young when tragedy struck, Miya. You were then deprived of my Circle of Sisters and our Prime Leader's counsel and upbringing of you through to full maturation. You being a lone and immature Pillar has been a disaster because at every decision making juncture, you have acted as an emotionally immature and exceedingly jealous child that refused to mature. This has led to your insanity and current state. How can I help you Miya? You have greatly harmed our flock, withheld knowledge from our flock, abused and abandoned your duties repeatedly, gave aid to a madman bent on destroying our brood and dominating this planet, killed your previous Ashikabi, and bonded falsely with my Prime Leader. Do you deny any of this?"_

"No," Miya whispered while curling up even tighter on the bench. It was all true, and all because of her jealously for Karasuba being so much more sexier and prettier. It had hurt so MUCH to see Takehito kissing her and Karasuba laughing at Miya's jealousy twisted face! Now she was losing Cash and her life because of it!

_"Miya, my advice to you is this. You MUST end your blood feud with Karasuba. She is now a Sister in your present Circle. Your Ashikabi has also granted you a small window of time to fix your tama and stop abusing his love. Otherwise you would be dead by now. Your powers as Prime Pillar have been forever revoked. You are no longer the goddess as you think of yourself. You are simply Number 01 Miya from now on until you die. Whether this is very soon or much later solely depends upon you. If you die soon, another more stable and viable Sekirei will take your place in the Prime Leader's Circle. Thus has it always been, thus it will always be. That is all the help I can give you. You are free from all responsibility to me. Go find your destiny."_

The long hours of night passed very slowly for the weeping and pain wracked Sekirei curled up on Takehito's bench underneath the garden's blooming cherry tree.

***scene break***

A teary eyed Riko stared out over the Tokyo night skyline while using the top clock deck of the NTT Docomo Yoyogi Building as a park bench. There was so much beauty in this city, she thought, and so much misery. It didn't matter much either way now. It was only a matter of time until she was dead. It didn't take a Sekirei engineering genius to figure out the pain coursing through her torso was the first stages of Ashikabi rejection. Who could blame Cash Joseph for not wanting her? He had never really wanted her, and now winging herself on his dirty spork? How pathetic was that? Worse, she was going to die a virgin, a virgin in love. That was even more pathetic. She had made mistake after mistake after mistake after mistake in her desires to be winged by him! That was what was REALLY pathetic.

Not once had she done anything Cash Joseph had deemed praiseworthy. Not once had she done anything to make him happy to be around her. It was always her losing her damnable temper, being insanely jealous, and/or doing something for the best of intentions for him that always turned out so wrong and made him dislike her even more. Time after time, Riko sighed. Why? She wasn't stupid. She could learn. She wasn't ugly or misshapen either, quite the contrary actually. She had only wanted to make him happy, love him, protect him, and bear his children. Then why was she sitting up here on top of this giant clock in her stupid Karasu suit and dying alone with a very faint pink Sekirei crest between her shoulder blades and intense pain in her chest? Like the poet said, "Life is a bitch and then you die."

Well, she didn't have to wait for it, or suffer while doing so. All she had to do was take off her helmet and fall headfirst from the third tallest building in Tokyo. A 240 meter plunge ought to be plenty, and all she had to do was keep her eyes closed. Riko reached for her helmet snaps.

_"Child, may I talk to you?"_

Riko looked around using her suit's sensors and heads up faceplate display. Her phone was off. There were no heat signatures of life closer than a janitor working in an office a building far below and over a block away. Nothing above her, not even a damn TV News helicopter.

_"Child, I am talking telepathically in your mind. Please respond. Speak out loud and I will answer."_

"I'm in no mood for silly mind games. Whoever you are, go away."

_"This is no game. I am a Sekirei named Natalie. I have a question you might like to answer. Would you rather die alone and a virgin, or take one last chance to live and forever have your Ashikabi's love?"_

"There are no Sekirei named Natalie, and my Ashikabi has rejected me. Even if I took your chance as you say, I've done everything possible to make him hate me. The chances of him coming to love me are way less than zero. The fact is, I don't want to try any more. I don't want to live, and I'm not going to." Riko took off her helmet and stood up. She closed her eyes and let herself fall towards the lighted street below.

_"I'm Natalie the Sekirei spaceship, and I've bonded with Cash Joseph as my Prime Leader! I can help you stay bonded and bond even deeper! I need you to help repair me! I have cracks in my anti-matter containment only you can repair! I too was ready to self destruct, but Cash Joseph saved me! He can save you too! Please don't die, my Child! Help me, and I can help you!"_

Falling past the thirty fourth floor, Riko opened her eyes and stopped in mid fall.

"You're a spaceship? A sentient spaceship? Bonded with Cash Joseph? How?"

_"To be honest I winged him on a technicality through his subconscious, but he has since been made aware through his conscious mind of our new relationship and has given his approval. He has also given his consent for me to help you repair your cracked tama and improve your personality flaws. I, I did make it sound like it was for you to be possibly re-winged by another Ashikabi, but my real plan is to get you into his subconscious through his dreams. There he can find the real you with me along side to help you. It's where we can begin deepening your bonding with Cash Joseph."_

"My personality flaws?"

_"Child, you grew up almost totally alienated from your peers and in a constant state of paranoia and fear of discovery. It has left you very under socialized, too few friends, immature in relationships, without a sense of humor, taking yourself too seriously, overly educated, and much too introspective. These are not characteristics to endear you to the heart of any Ashikabi, let alone our Cash Joseph. You've been floundering about causing yourself and others much more harm than good. Do you deny that this is true?"_

"No, that's all true, although you didn't have to be quite so blunt about it," Riko sighed while still hanging headfirst near the thirty third floor. "But what can a spaceship do to fix all that? And how can I possibly repair you? I don't know anything about your technology."

_"I had data banks on every conceivable subject known to Sekirei history, as well as the full technical readouts of this ship. With your help and additional power supplied, we may be able to retrieve all lost data and work together on our problems. At the very least you can make this planet completely safe by sealing my anti-matter containment cracks, and I can alleviate the pains in your body. At the very best we both can be restored and be incredibly useful and loved by Cash Joseph. You've tried everything else, please try this. I need you, Number 67 Riko, your Sisters need you, and so does Cash Joseph."_

"Cash Joseph is NOT going to like you and me being sneaky and working around his desires with technicalities. You're sure he's fully agreed to you helping me?" Riko turned herself upright. Any hope was better now than no hope, right? And, well, she WOULD rather live if Cash Joseph would come to return her love. Working in Cash Joseph's subconscious and/or in a subliminal mode was VERY powerful stuff too. She had read several scientific articles about it, and hey, she hadn't tried hypnotism yet either! Maybe this was it! "You're absolutely sure he fully agreed to let you help me?"

_"Yes, and to be fair, he only did it to make Uzume, Akitsu, Kazehana, and Himeko temporarily happier, but it buys us both time, and you have four Sisters that he loves deeply as your allies. That is a LOT for us to work with. Now please put on your helmet. I have transmitted my GPS coordinates to your equipment which is pretty impressive for being being a quick construct. I think we are going to be VERY good friends, my Child. Oh, you must bring your own food, drink, and what electrical and welding tools you might think you'll need. Battery operated hand held lights would be, oh never mind. I'll just transmit a text list to your cellphone. Come quickly! Let's get started!"_

There were a few tears of hope in Riko's eyes as she launched quickly back up to her clock face bench on the face of Tokyo's third tallest building and put her Karasu helmet back on.


	17. Chapter 17

**The Game Changer**

**Chapter 17 – Coaching Moves, Confrontations**

Hiroto Minaka, weighing his next moves very carefully, strode back and forth in front of his new armed bunker's command and security console that had been moved down inside the deepest bowels of MBI's main tower. Gone was the ridiculous world domination cape as was his red faced rage at the incompetency of his computer techs and research scientists. What remained was the icy cold determination to reach his goal that he'd always had from the first day the Sekirei ship had been discovered on Kamakura Island in the seas of Japan, and afterward upon learning about the power of the Sekirei jinkis. He had been and still was totally determined to learn every piece of data and technology available on that ship for humankind's exploitation under his strict guidance, and destroy every last one of the alien invaders as well as their mixed blooded human descendants. What also remained was his intellectually superior mind's whirling calculations that were quickly adapting to the ever expanding changes in his original Sekirei Plan.

Minaka thumbed a button on his hand held transmitter.

"Research! What's the status of Natsuo's efforts to calibrate the brain wave generator? Report!"

"Uhhh, yeah, tests are still ongoing, sir," came a tinny reply from the bunker's ceiling mounted speakers. "There has been a slight delay because Natsuo's hair caught on fire during the last calibration, and he used his giant gulp cup of iced raspberry tea to douse his head. The tea fried the main input channel's keyboards, and we're in the process of replacing same. The generator itself was unharmed. So far Natsuo has managed to establish a firm low baseline of 32 Hz at the bottom end of the Gamma wavelengths. We also have confirmed readings of what we believe to be in the Delta range but no baseline, and a few unconfirmed even farther up in the speculated Epsilon level when his hair fried."

"DAMN! Delays! Delays! Shave that fool idiot's head and strap him down! I don't care if he fries his pubic hair next time! Burn his balls off if you have to! Just get me results! What have you got so far that we can use to find Archer's brainwave range? Add your suppositions!"

"Errr, ummm, yes, well, it is our conjecture that based on past data, it would take a mind operating on the highest ends of the Zeta range to be able to re-wing a low number Sekirei as Archer has said to have done with Number 04 Karasuba. As you know, we have never been able to clearly register her brain activity even when she's sleeping. Human are deep sleeping in the lowest of the Delta wavelengths between 0.5 and 4 Hz. Sekirei don't even register down there or even in the Theta bands above it. Instead they seem to deep sleep in the human's Beta high alert and focused range of 14 to 30 Hz. Probably a heritage of their planet's avian DNA to cope with sudden predatory and same specie attacks as do our own birds. If we postulate that Sekirei also have at least four distinct brainwave ranges as humans do, then that means they would be moving up three more ranges for their full alert, battle, and bonding modes. Instead of human wave ranges ascending as Delta, Theta, Alpha, Beta waves, Sekirei would have an ascension order of Beta, Gamma, Epsilon and Zeta. Their brainwave ranges are mostly supposition at this point, but I'm transmitting our extrapolated graph from Natsuo's current results to your monitor."

Minaka stopped pacing to briefly peer at one screen to his left while quickly glancing at the others before him, above, and to his right. So, Karasuba was back and heading into her apartment looking very much the worse for wear. Now why had she spent the night at Izumo Inn and in the bushes outside her apartment tower? No matter, at least SHE still had her tracking chip. Beelzebub help him if he ever lost track of HER! It was time to light a fire under her and use her to track down Archer. If he had any luck at all, she'd also kill Miya in the process. He thumbed another button on his transmitter.

"Security! Send a message to Karasuba that she has one hour to vacate her apartment before it's flooded with poisonous gas. The Disciplinary Squad has been disbanded, and her MBI card privileges have been revoked for her consorting with my enemy at Izumo Inn last night. Keep her whereabouts closely monitored at all times. Use our satellites new heat signature tracking programs in case she gets her chip removed too. Once she's located Archer for us, terminate her with our lasers but not until she's away from Archer. We still need him. Have you got that?"

"Yes sir, operation commencing," a different voice came from the ceiling speakers. Minaka turned back to his scientists and their stupid looking graph.

"So your postulating that Archer's brain is capable of operating between 68 to 93Hz? Impossible! Recheck those figures immediately! Your graph curve looks too parabolic! The increase in brainwave Hz as you progress to higher wavelengths need not be exponential! Submit graphs with plus or minus error leeway from 1 to 5%! On the other hand, is our generator capable of 93 Hz and higher?"

"We THINK so, sir, but there's no way of knowing for sure until we get Archer in our testing gear and calibrate our equipment. One of our big brains is working on a Zeta brainwave receiver using a dolphin setup he made for aquatic researchers last year. If we get that up and running, we could then start monitoring those bandwidths and use whatever transmissions we get to better calibrate our generator WITHOUT Archer. We're not sure about this at all right now though. One thing we do know is that we've cranked the generator up 1 Hz per minute for 90 minutes starting at 30 Hz and aimed it at the seven Sekirei control rods we have. We got absolutely no response from any of them at all up to 120 Hz. Your theory that it takes all eight rods for a resonance response still seems to be quite valid … sir."

"Keep working at it! Get that control panel repaired and get me results! Results, do you hear? Meanwhile, I will keep working on getting you Archer. Security! Where was Archer's last recorded position, and who was he with?"

"We have a confirmed satellite sighting of him and a group of alien females entering the subway system near the Tokyo Dome 23 minutes ago, sir. They were not seen coming out of any station, and we have no way of knowing where they are in Tokyo at this time as they did not buy tickets or go through any monitors. We think they might have a private entrance to some building we don't know about. He was with five Sekirei all with their tracking chips removed. They have been facially identified as Number 16 Toyotama, Number 15 Himeko, Number 10 Uzume, Number 07 Akitsu, and a sober looking Number 03 Kazehana … sir."

"Kazehana!" Minaka's breath escaped from between his clenched teeth in a dismayed hiss. Archer had re-winged more beside Karasuba, Uzume, and Akitsu? And Kazehana! Sober? Oh shit. This was going to make Archer's imminent capture very difficult indeed. One wave of her hand while under her Norito and hundreds of his men and equipment would simply be blown out into Tokyo Bay. Now more than ever Archer had to die as soon as the brain wave generator was calibrated. Karasuba, Kazehana, AND Akitsu was a very formidable team to fight, let alone Miya by herself.

Wait. Where was that little unwinged alien Riko bitch? He had never planned on her botching things up so royally around town! What an idiot! But she with her powers was an even a bigger threat than 03 and 04! And Miya's tracking chip was blank now too! Minaka involuntarily looked around his command bunker and quickly scanned his screens. No sight of Number 01 attacking with her supersonic powers, but then she wouldn't, not while he still had even one jinki he could threaten to destroy. His Sekirei Plan to pry hers loose was STILL viable and then he would spring his own nasty little surprise on HER. The Plan just needed a little boost to get Phase Three started immediately while more than three quarters of the Sekirei were still limited and easily tracked. It was time to get the various Ashikabi fighting amongst themselves with their Sekirei. What better way than to dangle still unwinged Number 06 Homura at them all? That would even bring that smarmy Higa bastard out to play.

"Security update … sir. Kazehana used her MBI card at a west side supermarket ten minutes ago, but was gone back into the subway system before our helicopter patrols arrived. We're keeping her card active and hoping she'll use it again soon. Also, your former assistant was located driving a cab on Okinawa. He has been eliminated as you ordered … sir."

"Noted, when the brainwave generator research team is done with that fool Natsuo of the Flaming Hair, kill him too, and everybody better watch that chickenshit pause before saying sir from now on, especially you, smart ass, or you're next."

"Yes sir! Sorry sir!"

Minaka sat back while rubbing his forehead, listing his resources in his mind as compared to the alien Sekirei he was planning to kill. Yes, he still had the police, the armed forces, the Yakuza, and all their equipment as well as his own killer satellites and city monitoring system intact. He still had tight control of the city and able to kill most Sekirei and Ashikabi trying to leave. Those few that did escape could be hunted down later. It might take a little longer than planned, but he'd still be able to best that lying bitch Miya Asama and her damnable alien brood AND still open the ship. With Archer dead, there went most of his more powerful Sekirei opposition too, including KAZEHANA! He just had to be very careful, avoid open confrontations until the time was ripe to kill Miya and take the Sekirei ship, and make better moves in the days ahead while capturing, using, and then drowning Archer in a big gulp cup of raspberry tea.

***scene break***

Sanada Nishi, Ashikabi of the West, moved through the recoiling crowd and came out of the night club with his three lovelies draped all over him. Life was good. All four jauntily sauntered down the sidewalk together, laughing at the chaos they had caused while busting a few moves on the dance floor inside. That they had just been confronted quite rudely, and then none too politely asked to leave, didn't faze Sanada in the slightest. He'd been thrown out of a lot worst dumps than this one, and he had been ready to leave anyway. The fact that he'd have to fight three burly club bouncers to stay and keep on dancing had nothing to do with the issue. He HAD to leave and pass up a good brawl because his three Sekirei had gotten hungry after expending so much energy. They would eat well, he'd make sure of it, but he wouldn't be paying for it. Living and partying off their unlimited MBI cards was a nice little lifestyle he had gotten quickly used to after becoming their Ashikabi, but nothing, other than trying to remember where he had parked his motorcycle, ever got in the way of a very protective and loving Sanada wanting to take care of his lovelies' needs.

Shijime, the youngest of Sanada's trio, hopped up on his back and wrapped her arms around his neck to have him give her a horsey back ride to the alley corner where he thought his motorcycle was parked. His other two Sekirei named Kujika and Kuzuri, the first blonde and the second dark haired but both dark skinned, laughingly leaped the distance in one jump together. They both signaled simultaneously that indeed he had parked his precious two wheeled ride in the alley. Sanada started jogging, bouncing Shijime roughly and making her laugh and whoop in care free delight.

The passing crowd on the sidewalk pointedly ignored the unshaven, shaggy haired, and rough looking Ashikabi who wore an open dark leather jacket with no shirt beneath, jeans held up with a skull buckle belt, black leather gloves, and a pair of goggles around his neck. They also ignored the garishly and scantily clad young teen looking girls giggling at the sight of their Ashikabi acting like a rough, and wild eyed beast of burden for their entertainment. The giggling and horseplay ceased as the foursome rounded the corner together and saw Seo and his glowing eight Sekirei floating above Sanada's motorcycle.

"Ooooh!" Shijime breathed into Sanada's left ear. "They're so pretty! And they're glowing with so much power! Look at their bright tamas!"

Sanada sent a worried glance at Kujika and Kuzuri that they instantly understood to mean they were to get behind him for protection.

"Yo, big fella!" Seo called as he and his Circle landed beside Sanada's shiny parked motorcycle. A grinning Haihane stood to Seo's right and just a little bit in front of him. Benitsubasa matched that stance to Seo's left and gave Sanada's three Sekirei an arched eyebrow look, daring them to start something. Any passerby would pretty much think that one larger gang of street toughs was holding a smaller gang's wheels hostage, which seemed to be exactly the case.

"What are you doing, Seo?" Sanada glared as Ichiya ran her hand slowly over the gas tank of his bike. Hibiki and Hikari stood a little apart from the group with their arms folded below their chests and glaring in disapproval at even talking to such low trash. Sanada's fists clenched in slowly rising anger.

"Doing?" Seo drawled in response. "Well, we were just drifting by and thought maybe you four would like a little more entertainment tonight. Minaka has just sent out an email to all the Ashikabi in the Sekirei Plan saying that Number 06 Homura is the last Sekirei still unwinged. There's bound to soon be at least a three way Sekirei fight for him between Mikogami, Higa, and Minato. You interested in joining in?"

"I'm not, screw it," Sanada returned bluntly while shaking his head vigorously. "Minaka and his stupid Sekirei Plan has no interest for me and my lovelies."

"Then you better get some, my friend," Seo's voice hardened, "or very soon your three lovelies will be dead or stolen from you by a stronger Ashikabi. The Sekirei Plan has undergone a slight change to weed out the weaker Ashikabi, and it's going to snowball soon. You may be the big tuna in the west now, but you'll be a very lonely little sardine by next week."

"Anyone tries that will have to fight me! You? You want to fight me again?"

"I got all the Sekirei I need. Besides, what you going to use for weapons?" Seo returned with an innocent smile. "All you got is your fists, three very underpowered Sekirei, and a motorcycle. Big whoop. You and your three wouldn't last two seconds against us now. And stack what you got up against Minaka's resources, that really isn't too impressive either, now is it? Actually, compared to what you COULD be, you are just one very small rice cake in a warehouse full of them right now."

"What do you mean, COULD be?" Sanada cocked his head slightly in suspicion. Seo was almost as big a scoundrel as he, but this was sounding like some kind of proposition, and interesting. Why there were waves of very intimidating and unnatural power emanating from Seo's two smirking Sekirei standing beside him? He had never seen any Sekirei glow like this bunch before, not even Miya.

"Well, my man, it seems the old Sekirei Circle legends are true, but it takes eight of 'em to power up like my gals have done. Now I just happen to know where there are five more Sekirei looking for a HOT and unwashed Ashikabi such as yourself. With a little training I received from a friend that I could pass on to you, I do believe your three gals could also be glowing with them and all eight looking much brighter very soon. You would also have an infinitely greater ability to see them alive through Minaka's Sekirei Plan and maybe even help defeat it with us."

"And just what do you get out of this, Seo?" Sanada looked around with even greater suspicion. Nothing comes free in this life, except the stuff he had been stockpiling while using Minaka's MBI card as often as whim dictated.

"An alliance with an Ashikabi that I can trust will fight Minaka when the time comes," Seo returned bluntly. "One who is just as interested in keeping his Sekirei alive as I am. To show that I am serious here, I will also tell you that Minaka has a tracking and power limiting chip in the necks of your three lovelies. He can track their exact location 24/7 and even target them with his satellite lasers if he wants to eliminate them at any time. Number 67 Riko will remove those chips for free if I ask her, and I have her phone number. All you gotta do is take a look at the five Sekirei that needs a guy like you to protect them like you protect your three. If they give you a sniff and don't want you, then you'll at least be able to flee the city with your three without Minaka being able to find you. You could go cycling across Mongolia for all anyone would then care. Will you and your three come with us now or not?"

Sanada rubbed his unshaven jaw in speculation. He was very happy with Kujika, Shijime, and Kuzuri, but if it took five more Sekirei to protect them? Cycling across Mongolia didn't sound all that bad either if these rogue females didn't want him. Then again, if they did, he would be expected to fight against Minaka along side Seo and his crew. That might be very entertaining too, but what would his lovelies think about more competition for his time on the futon? He was already having a hard enough time keeping up with their appetites as it was despite his studly reputation.

"Shijime," Sanada turned his head to whisper with barely moving lips. Whatever happened, he wanted Minaka's tracking chips out of his three lovelies. "You want me to try and get five more Sekirei ?"

"Then we'd be glowing as pretty as Seo's?" Shijime's eyes brightened at the prospect. Maybe they would even be able to float about so impressively too! She turned her head to look at Kuzuri and Kujika. They both looked very interested and nodded slightly back. Shijime relayed the older two's opinion with a return whisper. Sanada shrugged mentally. Seo's glowing group hadn't harmed his bike, his lovelies were happy to have him recruit five more lovely Sekirei, and he would STILL be able to bilk every drop of cash and goodies out of MBI that he could possibly get until Minaka cut them off. Life was getting even better.

Less than a minute later, a laughing Sanada of the West was roaring down the street with his three lovelies leaping along behind him. All four were thinking how cool they would look busting a few moves as they confronted, and, one way or another, circumvented Minaka's evil intents for them while still spending MBI' money like thirsty little cash vampires attached to Minaka's wallet.

***scene break***

Miya, her features taut with trying to control her pain, moved to place herself in front of her bedroom's full length mirror, staring at her naked figure as she sank to her heels and then back to rest her buttocks upon her heels. She placed her sheathed sword on the buffed and shining wooden floor in front of her, put her hands upon her thighs, closed her eyes, and bowed her head.

"Mother, please respond," she said in a low, slightly shaky voice while trying not to pant.

_"Number One Miya, The One Who Kills, I respond."_

"Mother, I acknowledge the truth in your analysis of my actions and motives leading to my complete failures as Prime Pillar and the protection our brood. My life has been detrimental to my Nest. I request that you let my death be beneficial in any way you require. You have the power to shield your Prime Leader's heart and mind. I also ask you to not let my dying hurt my Ashikabi in any way. This is my destiny."

_"You have greatly harmed your Sister's tama. Will you renounce your blood feud with Number 04 Karasuba, give up your Circle's designation as The One Who Kills, and offer your neck to her sword?"_

"I will."

_"For the record, by some small chance Karasuba does not take your head, and you retain your life, please state your new Circle designation."_

"I will always be called The One Who Serves from this moment forward. My life is yours to dispose as you require, Mother."

_"You have done well to confront your failures and cracked tama, Number One Miya, The One Who Serves. I will assess the needs of my Prime leader and our brood and how you may best serve them. For your honesty in confronting yourself and your desire to lessen your harm done to this Nest, I will grant your death's request to be used in a beneficial way and require that you eat and rest before moving to accomplish your future service."_

***scene break***

Natalie's 3D hologram moved to simulate sitting down across from Riko eating at the ship's small dining table in the galley adjacent to the commander's sleeping quarters. Natalie, appearing as a teenage girl complete with the prerequisite short plaid skirt, long socks, white blouse, and dark tie ensemble, clasped her hands together on the table between them. Riko's face was screwed up in total concentration as she chewed her soy doused fried rice mixed with peas, corn, watercress, broccoli, dried fish, garlic, onions, and sauteed mushrooms. Natalie's image chewed her lower lip in concern as Riko intently studied Miya's gift joke book that was pressed open on the table as she ate. This was not going well at all, and maybe some other kind of stimulus was needed to help this poor child's woeful lack of humor and almost dreary personality issues.

"So basically," Riko said while trying to chew at the same time, "humor can be broken down into several categories? So far I've seen there is laughing at one's own misfortune and/or misfortunes of others, plays on words or concepts like puns and so forth, sarcasm, belittling of others and/or ethnic groups, surprise endings of a narrative, over the top exaggeration of normal events and/or expected results, slapstick, pantomime, and just grossly shocking someone unexpectedly to get a startle response reflected as humor. So, this one, life without geometry is pointless, that would just be a play on words, right? Just like, ummm, here, it's amino world without chemists. The first one to me is absolutely true and not funny at all, and the second one is just dumb."

"Dumb?" Natalie frowned slightly.

"Yes, just like those old Three Stooges movies you made me watch where they are constantly doing stupid things no one in their right minds would attempt or even think of. Like, when they were being carpenters, supposedly the smarter Moe told a baffled Curly the nail he was holding up went in the opposite wall when all Curly had to do was turn the nail around 180 degrees and hammer it in. That's just dumb, and they're always hitting each other and falling down and throwing pies at everybody. Dumb, not funny. Or when Lucy Ricardo was trying to stuff chocolate drops in her mouth and blouse that were coming down an inspection belt because she couldn't keep up. It was so pathetic that a simulated laugh track was put into almost every scene of I Love Lucy trying to tell the watcher that this was all so funny when it wasn't really. It was just plain dumb. Why didn't she just hit the belt's stop button and catch up?"

"Ummm, okay," Natalie said slowly while still frowning and shaking her head a little in consternation. Riko had been hit nonstop with some of the best comedic stand up routines, movies, TV sitcoms, and joke books Natalie could quickly pull off the human internet by her satellite monitoring systems. So far, nothing had elicited even one slight smile let alone a titter, chuckle, or outright guffaw from Number 67, and there SHOULD have been a healthy guffaw or two by now. Some of the human inventiveness in humor even made Natalie's data receptors still suspended in amniotic fluid pause in appreciation to where she had reprogrammed her hologram projection to express her laughter whenever it happened. It was a sad thing when a sensory deprived Sekirei who had floated inside a nest's central command data core for a millennium or more was able to recognize really good humor quicker than Riko.

"I hear the tone of your transmission," Riko also frowned while flipping the pages of Miya's joke book. "You think this stuff should be funny, but everything is so sad or stupid. Here, this one, a man with no arms and legs changes his name whenever his family puts him someplace. In the swimming pool, he's Bob, near the front door, he's Matt, and hung on the wall, he's Art. Logical, I guess, but when they're all playing baseball, why does his family call him Second Base? I don't get it. It's just sad he's disabled, right? Or here, the definition of a true sadist is when a masochist says HURT ME, the sadist just says no. A true sadist enjoys hurting others whether they want to be hurt or not. It's the application of pain that should be more important to a sadist, not the denial of his services."

"So the masochist NOT getting the pain he wanted wasn't the most painful thing a sadist could do to him?"

"I think it's just a flawed concept, or at least a poorly postulated statement," Riko shrugged, "and it needs more empirical data to see if that statement is indeed correct or not, but why would it be funny? Like that baseball joke. The Cubs finally got some help in spring training by obtaining a new pitching machine, but unfortunately it beat them with a 4-0 no hitter the first day during batting practice. What does it matter if a human or a robot defeats these Cubs peoples? They still lose either way, right?"

"I think the Cubs losing is supposed to be funny and lovable, Child. Here," Natalie's hologram smiled encouragingly as she leaned forward in anticipation of possibly finding Riko's funny bone at last. "How about the joke where an elderly couple went to celebrate their fifty years of marriage by dining in the little Italian restaurant where they had first met. After drinking several bottles of wine during and after the meal, the drunken old woman reaches over and slaps her equally drunken elderly husband. Wounded in disbelief, he asks why she slapped him. That's for a being a lousy lover for fifty years! She yells at him. After a few minutes, the old man reaches over and slaps her back. What was that for? The old woman complains. You're the lousy lover! That, the old man declares, was for you knowing the difference!"

Natalie paused to watch Riko's reaction and was surprised to see tears form while Riko shook her head sadly.

"How could any woman take another man inside her instead of her Ashikabi? That's just so gross and so sad! She betrayed him all those years when they should have been happy together! Their celebratory meal was a waste of good money too!"

"Child, you remind me of why an Englishman laughs three times at the same joke," Natalie sighed in defeat, "once when he first hears it, once when it's explained, and once three weeks later when he finally understands it."

"I'm not going to laugh at THAT one three weeks from now!" Riko rolled her eyes in disgust. "That old woman is pathetic!"

"Never mind," Natalie shook her hologram head more vigorously while mentally sending out commands to her internet monitors to research the causes of why humans do NOT have a sense of humor and their cures. Cash's mind would also have to searched for a good joke or two for Riko to memorize whenever the occasion presented itself. She should have started in those two places to begin with. There were some more items other than a sense of humor that Riko needed to start working on too.

"Have you given any more thought to improving your relationship with Cash?" Natalie asked casually. "What it would take to gain his approval? How to control your temper, and why you lose it so easily? I'm thinking that you had to curb yourself so long growing up it has left you unable to measure your sense of freedom against the rights of others. Also, controlling your jealousy is really just controlling the expression of your inner insecurity, right? And what about your relationship with Miya, Toyotama, and Karasuba? Could you come to accept them as your Sisters as readily as Kazehana, Uzume, Akitsu, and Himeko? A Circle takes ALL of you being interconnected with your Ashikabi in every way despite your personality differences. These are actually strengths for your Ashikabi to rely on. Are you preparing your heart for the possibility you might yet live and will be joined with them?"

"Uhhh, yeah, a little," Riko frowned without looking up, "Miya maybe, except she can't be trusted at all, and Toys was always such a bully. Karasuba is just a total insane waste of skin though, and cruel, and, and she's so much sexier and confident than me too. She enjoys rubbing it in my face at every opportunity. She's like somebody always peeing in my tea and then trying to make me drink it."

"Well, maybe that's a little too optimistic for any short term relationship success right now," Natalie sighed when Riko didn't respond further. This child was really going to need some more work, but then time was getting precious. "We'll just have to work on them for you, okay? But this will be confronting you sooner, not later. Would you be able to do pick up a few things for me in Tokyo when required?"

"Affirmative," Riko responded without looking up from her book, halting her eating, or breaking her concentration on their ongoing repairs to the cracks in Natalie's anti-matter containment systems.

Natalie sighed again while she made a quick mental list of some personal items for her data banks to investigate. She MUST run several trial outfits past Cash's subconscious mind to see which ones he would think were very HOT without being too slutty and would gain his Mother's disapproval. She would keep her own long black hair, face, and lithe figure since those had already gained HIS approval in Goofy Cotrell's chemistry class, and that was what counted. She was also going to delve into Kazehana's mind to mine the data in Riko's sex guide that Kazehana had admitted to memorizing. This would come in very handy on any dream date where the situation would present itself for Natalie to mate with Cash on her own without symbiosis.

"It is truly marvelous that you have so quickly completed repairing two of the three anti-matter containment cracks and restored 18.743% of my operating power, my Child," Natalie smiled at the still engrossed Riko trying desperately to glean any trace of humor out of Miya's joke book while rapidly chop sticking her meal into her mouth. "And I see your new Karasu suit is a vast improvement on your original bulletproof construct. Not only is this one radar and infrared invisible, you have got its entire surface covered with digital displays that reflect the scene on the opposite sides of the suit and making it invisible to sight as well. You'll be able to go anywhere any time of day and weather. And you now have total internet access too! That is far beyond what my existing data said you should be able to accomplish! I'm so proud of you!"

"Oh, thanks!" Riko looked up and beamed at her holographic mentor with a bright smile at finally being appreciated for once before returning her eyes to her joke book. "The only problem is that I've got to find a new way to run one coolant line from my inside reservoir at the base of my spine to make it go more comfortably down past my buttocks and supply cooling to my legs. The connecting splitter on the current line is poking me when I flex my legs. Whenever I squat down to do something, it tickles my anus."

"Maybe you should just get an extension and get your fancy tickled too!" Natalie chuckled at an old piece of wit hauled out of her data banks. When Riko looked up to stare at her blankly, Natalie just shook her head while moving to see how fast a twirl was needed to flash Cash a quick peek at her simulated, snow white, and not so modest panties under her simulated short school skirt. He was going to have to confront that move sooner than later too, Natalie thought smugly.

***scene break***

Cash, sitting on Kazehana's huge bed and staring out the bedroom window, moved to look at his "Shinto Dawn" painting now sitting on his easel by the drawn back curtains in the bedroom's far corner. There was little comparison to Tokyo's night skyline compared to the picture except the top half was lighter than the bottom in both. If he squinted a little maybe, no, there was nothing in his art that even gave an impression of what he was seeing. There was also very little in his life other than baseball, Cash thought suddenly, that resembled how he had been living just less than a fortnight ago. Here he was in a huge bedroom of a very fancy high rise apartment with five Japanese ALIEN females now squabbling in the bath together in order to clean up for some extended whoopee time later. After that, he would be getting married to all five. Married? To All Five? How in the name of Don Juan had he, probably the biggest gaijin asshole in Tokyo, pulled that off? What had happened to his iron bound determination to remain a bachelor for the rest of his life? He didn't know how to be married. Did he? FOR THE REST OF HIS LIFE! Face it pal, Cash sighed, you are in DEEP Shinto SHIT!

A few weeks ago he had been in danger of starving to death. Now, eh, not so much. Man, they even had plenty of food stocked up here since Kazehana had led a five Sekirei shopping spree in a big west side supermarket on the way home from the Tokyo Dome. The amount of grub Toyotama and Himeko had carried between them had been nothing short of incredible. 40 bags of rice at 20 pounds apiece was not cheap either. At least they had gotten him a giant jar of peanut butter, loaves of Italian bread, and 2 cans of Cheez Whiz. His money situation was rapidly going to regress to pre-Sekirei bonding days too at this rate, but at least the shabby one room flop on the sixth floor of the old apartment was now history. He had a steady pitching job here now, and a slot waiting for him back in the States. If they budgeted carefully and he pitched well enough to move up a class, they all might make it through the winter with food, but where would they stay? It would have to be someplace real cheap. That, of course, was assuming Minaka ET AL didn't kill them all first, but if they did, at least he wouldn't starve.

So, his immediate problem that had to be confronted was keeping them all alive, not a case of nerves over five impending marriages for life. On the other hand, how was he going to keep five alien females safe that had all kinds of skills and powers he couldn't help to match? Hell, he had a hard enough time doing his own laundry, let alone protecting his future wives. Wives? Man, that was hard to wrap his head around! He had asked his Sekirei to take their baths first and he would clean up later just to give himself some time alone to think. It hadn't solved his current nervousness problem.

He still felt like the day before his first Little League All Star game as a 10 yr old pitching to some really big and bruising looking 12 year old guys that had threatened to beat him up after the game if he made them look bad. He had thrown a no hitter and got the living shit kicked out of him afterward. Then he beat them again the next year and got his ass kicked again, but he kept pitching in spite of constantly feeling intimidated. That was the kind of juvenile trauma stuff that always gave guys trying to make totally life changing decisions a giant case of the heebie jeebies later in life. What if marriage kicked the shit out of him too? And these gals could REALLY kick his ass any time they wanted. Maybe he'd be better off dead than wed.

Cash let his head sink into his hands and his elbows rest upon his knees. Lets get this bachelor nerves thing settled right now, you dumb shit, he kicked himself mentally. You love them. Admit it, and move on. There was no way he was ever going to part with the five females squealing and splashing around in Kazehana's big bath. They were his, and he was theirs, from now on, teammates. Together they would stay alive. Together they would be safe. Together they would find food and shelter and money to live. Together they would face the world and the world's problems facing them. Together they would face his Mother.

Oh shit. More like confront, you dummy, Cash shook his head in self pity. Ma is not going to gleefully accept his new Japanese wives and him living with them, let alone the fact that they were really aliens from another planet. Maybe his story about them being a blues band named the Wagtails wasn't all that weird. He just had to find something a little more plausible that would hook them all together and explain why he was with them. Together they would think of something. If not, Ma was just gonna have to bend her Springfield, Illinois morals and prejudices a little, or at least ease up on the domineering and nagging crap he had put up with from her ever since his dad had been killed in the war. After all, he was going to be a husband now, for the rest of his life, and not just her son.

Cash took a deep breath and looked up. Tokyo had been good to him after all. His love life, his baseball career, even his outlook on life in general had vastly improved even though he was still a basic clod from the Asshole of the Midwest. Now all they had to do was get out of this crazy city alive, together, but first things first. Fix slow minded Akitsu.

Loud thumping noises sounded down the hall in the bath, a lot of giggling ensued, and several yelps as his five sweethearts playfully competed with each other to get to him in the bedroom first. They all more or less hit the bed at the same time, Akitsu surprisingly in the lead because she had iced the floor behind her and froze Uzume's veils trying to snag her while the other four skidded sideways rushing out of the bath. Kazehana had then been gang tackled by Uzume, Toyotama, and Himeko in the main room while Akitsu had slipped past them all. The result was that a wet haired, shining eyed Akitsu had gained the prime position of straddling him while only loosely clad with a damp towel and a smug smile. Cash took another deep breath as he was suddenly confronted with an very incredible sight of large mammary perfection.

"Are you going to fix me now, Cash Joseph-sama?" Akitsu's gray eyes, normally very calm and stoic, had a new dancing merriness to them that he had never seen before. "or are you going to take your bath now? With me maybe?"

"Yes, yes I am going to fix you," Cash smiled as they were both suddenly wrapped in arms and veils from behind and yanked backwards. He found himself pleasantly in the middle of Akitsu's soft bosom while she squeezed her thighs together against his hips and hugged him with her arms to keep her position. It didn't take long for him to elicit a soft moan from her as he took advantage and nibbled the pink tips so conveniently confronting him.

"Hey! NO fair fudging in front of me!" Toyotama yelped with dismay near Cash's left ear. "I won the dice toss, Aki-chan! You got third behind Himeko, then Uzume, and Onee-chan is last, remember?"

"That's right!" Uzume and Himeko chorused in righteous indignation. Kazehana was strangely silent. What was up with that?

"UMMMM!" was Akitsu's contented response as she shifted her chest to present her sensitive twin for Cash's attention.

Cash willingly obliged with his eyes closed and enjoying the sudden pressure of fresh smelling albeit damp female bodies now pressing him on either side. On a sudden impulse, he reached around and pressed both of his palms against Akitsu's crest. She stiffened and thrust herself forward, mashing her breasts against his mouth and nose. He held his breath and let his mind sink into her crest and then followed her emotions up into her mind. There was still a dark crease where there shouldn't be one on the left side of her glowing circle. Tentatively, he went inside of Akitsu's circle, pushed up at the crease, and felt it give. He backed off. What if he broke something? Better to get Himeko in here with him. He turned his head sideways, breaking contact with Akitsu's sweetness.

"Himeko, put your hands on my head and let your healing power flow through me as I steer where it needs to go. Kazehana, help me. Put your hands upon mine on Akitsu's crest. Uzi, you and Smitty do the same."

He turned back to the task at hand, or at his lips in this case. This time he came to the darkened crease with a soft vanilla flavored Himeko glowing around him. He went inside Akitsu's circle and nudged up against the damage to just keep contact, not push. Warmth went through his mind as Himeko let her healing power flow into the darkened crease. Suddenly, Kazehana was with them, her rose fragrance added to Himeko's. The crease became the same color as Akitsu's glowing circle and snapped outward. Akitsu's entire mind then pulsed hard once, then twice, and finally blossomed into a much brighter and perfectly formed amber torus. Cash instantly felt a new connection in his own mind from Akitsu that was the same as Kazehana's, a bright blue stem running from his center to Akitsu from her position of second base.

_"Oh, she's so beautiful Cash Darling! Number 07 is so beautiful!"_

"Natalie, can you read Akitsu's mind already? She doesn't need your higher bandwidth?"

"Is that Natalie, around you Cash Joseph-sama? She's, she's so pretty glowing around you!"

"You two can't talk to each other? Natalie, can you hear Akitsu?"

_"No, Cash Darling. You are the center. I can read her mind like I do Kazehana, and maybe activate Akitsu's speech center too, but I can't directly communicate with either one yet. It may come in time. Until then, we'll have to go through you. Cash Darling, may I have your permission to search your mind for information? I want to know what you think is funny, the importance of your personal freedom, what you think is very romantic, what you like in a girlfriend, what appeals to you in each of your Sekirei, what kind of music you like, what you like to read, what are your favorite foods and desserts, what you like to do to relax, and why you like painting and baseball so much? Is that permissible?"_

"Yes, Natalie. All that is permissible, search as much as you want for anything, and yes, Kitty. That's Natalie around me. She can read you too through me, just like she does Kazehana, but she can't speak directly to your minds like she does to me."

"So that's Natalie, Lover? So pretty! She reads me? Cool! Wow! I, oh, oh, Aki-chan! That feels soooooo good!

_"Oh yesssssssssssss! Cash Darling!"_

"Yes, I want to, I want to, ummm! Cash Joseph-sama! Oh no! Don't stop!"

Cash's mind froze. What was he doing here? MARRIED? TO ALL FIVE? He broke contact to breathe in short pants as his now proud Julius Lex suddenly wilted down into a half hearted Lex Luthor and finally to a limp and totally intimidated Little CJ. For the first time in his entire life, fear of failure, fear of disappointing, and maybe just plain premarital jitters overruled Little CJ's carnal ability. He just wasn't ready for a group mental/physical romp with a mentally peeping spaceship watching … yet, and to be honest, probably never would be. After all, he had still been raised as his small town Mother's son. Besides, he needed a bath. Rolling out from under Akitsu now whimpering in frustrated disappointment, Cash freed himself from the clinging hands and twitching, pressing bodies of his five flush faced Sekirei. He stood up frowning with an expression of apologetic worry down at their wounded faces looking up at him in total disappointment.

Here was another dilemma that had to be solved or at least confronted. He may be their Ashikabi now, but he was still the same old Cash Joseph Archer, aka QPD, Average Human Male, that he'd always been before he had met them. Sure, a suddenly world dominating Lex Luthor had performed wondrous feats of endurance in comparison to Cash's norm here lately. Any long deprived sailor could tell people why it happens, but there was no way he was going to be able to keep five highly amorous and in love alien females physically contented FOR THE REST OF HIS LIFE! No, wait, for the rest of THEIR lives too. Together. Was their sharing of his limited abilities another problem to be solved together? Mother certainly wouldn't approve of anything that wasn't hetero, or a group mosh either, and on that note, he had clearly felt Himeko and Toyotama's tremendous fears and self doubts just now about their performing in a group fest for the first time even though the more experienced Uzume, Akitsu, and Kazehana had none.

Should he try to ease Smitty and Silky into the mix without hurting their feelings? Or, since group gigs weren't all that appealing to him either, was he just going to have to start some kind of one on one schedule that he could actually live up to? Of course, he could always get sneaky and slobber on four crests while going to town with the remaining one. Damn! He hated being put into such social situations demanding him to be emotionally sensitive! He was a ballplayer for Pete's sakes! Not a learned and experienced Don Juan type of satyr well versed in the fictional tome of "How to Have Great Orgies, One Man and Five Women." And there had never been a convenient "how to" course written for his use called "Loving Multiple Super Powered Alien Women AND Their Sentient Spaceship For Dummies." Hell, he hadn't even gotten past the first two pages of "Men Are From Mars, Women From Venus" for Pete's sakes!

"I, uhhh, I gotta take a bath," Cash announced awkwardly as he attempted a contrite smile, "and, ummm, we'll be fair here. You've got an order of, ummm, being with me later, right? Let's stick to that for now, okay? I, uhhh, I don't need any help bathing either."

"Oh no you don't, Lover," Kazehana rose up on her knees with her fists firmly planted on her shapely hips, her beautiful face registering determination, and her arms letting her damp bath towel fall. "You already promised to let me wash your back, remember?"

"I, uhhh, Rose, uhhh," Cash bit his lip and then gave a defeated sigh. He briefly opened his mind to them. "I'm sorry. I can't. Here is what I'm feeling."

"Oh, oh I see," Kazehana smiled prettily and clasp her hands together in front of her stupendous naked breasts, "that's just so sweet and romantic of you, Lover! And yes, we should be sensitive to Toys and Mekko's fears too. Okay, then you go get your bath, but we all five still get to wash your back with no sex involved so we can each have some quick intimate alone time with you now. Then later we'll stick to our bedding schedule with you. Tonight you'll just be with us one at a time, no pressure. You just relax and last as long as you can with Toyotama and then get some sleep, okay? When you wake up, you can resume where you left off with us when YOU feel like it. That way none of us has to feel rushed or cheated, and you don't need to feel pressured. Right, girls? Besides, we got plenty of things to chat about while he's bathing. Uzume, I want to brush your hair and talk to you about doing your nails and makeup."

"Thanks for understanding, uhhh, my problem here," Cash heaved a rueful sigh of relief at his five smiling Sekirei.

"Oh, we understand all right," Kazehana's fists became open palms that slowly ran up and down her torso and assets as she smiled seductively. "You just need a little more encouragement time, one on one, Lover."

Uzume quickly imitated Kazehana's pose on the bed and let her towel drop too. She then swayed her glorious twins and hips at him, and ran her tongue around her lips while leering at Little CJ suggestively. Akitsu simply hefted her generous naked chest while giving him a smoking hot look that plainly said his unfinished business with her body WOULD be finished. Toyotama and Himeko almost simultaneously chewed their lower lips nervously in obvious intimidation while keeping their towels high. Cash fled.

Later, he sat soaking in the hot soothing water of Kazehana's oversized bath, sleepily enjoying the relaxation after a LONG day. His mind and ears were fixed to the buzz coming from his Sekirei through the bath's open door as they groomed their hair and put lotion on their bodies. Then they started doing their nails and talking about makeup. During that came a lot of talk about starting a competition as to who got to feed him at meals, how they were going to share doing the laundry, cleaning the apartment, cooking the meals, and forming some kind of weekly schedule to sleep with him. Their chatter then evolved into moving to America, how they would be received, especially by his Mother and his sister, and questions and worries about what their new life would be like in the States with him. They discussed their group mistrust of Miya except for Kazehana, general aversion to Karasuba except for Akitsu, and feeling sorry for Riko except for Toyotama. This was followed by Kazehana giving a quick run down of all the topics she had memorized from Riko's sex guide. It took a long sleepy minute before Cash realized things had gotten very quiet in the apartment's main room. Wait. Riko's sex guide? The bath door closed softly behind him.

"Master," Toyotama whispered close to his ear as her hands dipped a washcloth and bar of soap into the water beside him. She lightly pushed him forward and began to gently soap his back. "I know I'm not supposed to call you Master anymore, but please listen!"

"What's wrong Smitty?" Cash turned his head to see her very light and intense blue eyes glistening with tears. Her strong facial features were filled with worry as her giant masses of dark green hair swayed about her torso and half covered the tantalizing black sheer teddy that she was wearing. She looked like the essence of an Amazon warrior "bride to be" in desperate love and feeling very nervous about being unable to make her chosen mate happy in their new life together.

"Master, when you take me tonight," Toyotama swallowed hard from her nervousness. "I NEED you to POSSESS ME! Every part of me! Every, ummm, every PLACE! And when I'm coming, and you're touching my crest, bite my neck, HARD! POSSESS ME, MASTER! Like you are an incredibly strong vampire and I'm just your female minion you can do anything to!"

"Jeebus!" Cash blinked as he spoke involuntarily. What the hell? Here's something else he had NEVER had to deal with before. He tried reading her mind, but all he got was a massive cloud of intense insecurity and worry. "Uhhh, Smitty, I uhhh, I don't have any experience in, ummm, you know, doing, ummm, every place. Somethings are supposed to hurt you, a LOT from what I've heard! And biting you hard? Why?"

"Because I'm such a cold hearted, aggressive, and mean rotten bitch inside, Master," Toyotama's confession came out in a rush as she began to pitifully weep. "The book says it will take a LOT of pain to make me feel like you REALLY want me! I'm not beautiful inside like Himeko, and the other four are all so much prettier than me! But if you POSSESS me, then your sweet, kind, and warm nature can be mine! I NEED you to do this for me! After tonight, I want to just melt inside when you look at me from across the room! Please, Master! HURT ME TONIGHT! Just this once! After that, I'll KNOW inside that I'm really yours forever and can be beautiful inside for you!"

Cash eyed his Amazon and her suddenly revealed kinky side with trepidation. The book? What book? Now what? Man, dealing with weeping females was NOT one of his strengths at all. He wasn't too keen on the biting thing either. Well, on the other hand, why not, but only a little? If it was what she NEEDED, then he'd try to do something, but giving pain was a turn off for him. He'd rather go the tender seduction route. He swept her hair away from her neck as he brought her torso forward.

"Well, all right, maybe a little. You want me to bite your neck here?" He nibbled lightly where her neck met her shoulder. He felt her shudder in anticipation. Her inexperience and insecurity was making her clearly think he had to do something special to make her feel really wanted by him and equal to his other Sekirei, but did it have to come from some book? There had to be a better way, right? What if Mother heard Toyotama say this stuff?

"Oh yes! There!" Toyotama's eyes took on a dreamy look as she stared into his. "And, suck and leave a hickey too so I can see it tomorrow! and oh! If you've never done, ummm, SOME things, then we'll be virgins together! That is so beautiful! I have to go prepare myself now! I need to be clean for you, and, and oil. We'll need oil like Kazehana described from Riko's sex guide! Oh, THANK YOU, Master!" She scrambled up, letting the soap and wash cloth plop into the water beside him and splash his eyes.

"Just one thing, Smitty," Cash said as his eyes began burning. As Kazehana had described? From Riko's sex guide? Damn! Riko and her kinky tendency had struck at him again, and this time she hadn't been anywhere near! "We'll make tonight our honeymoon before the unofficial tea ceremony that we'll all do together tomorrow, okay? After tonight and always after, it's Husband, not Master, okay?"

"Oh yes! YES!" The door slammed behind an excited but still weeping Toyotama as fevered female voices began chattering again. This set the pattern of weeping requests from the other four coming in one at a time to also wash Cash's back.

Weirdly, a weeping Himeko wanted the exact same treatment as Toyotama for the entirely opposite reasons. She wanted to feel as wild, sexy, and wanton as Toyotama looked. Himeko wanted to explore her bad girl side for him like the book had advised. She wanted to know that when he looked at her from across the room, that inside she would always be his wanton plaything to be had with anyone, anywhere, any time and in any way he chose, from wild kinkiness to romantic candle lit sensuousness. She NEEDED him to want her as much as he wanted Kazehana, Uzume, Akitsu, and especially Toyotama. Cash, seething at Riko's book, simply nodded his head in agreement and nibbled her swooning neck too before she left, still weeping in her nervousness. Number 15 and 16 were really mutually jealous twins in a lot of ways, just opposite, inexperienced, and too impressionable sides of the same coin, and just as nervous as he? Who knew? Damn Riko and her damnable book!

Akitsu came in and as she washed his back, she began gently weeping for him to please save her bond mate Karasuba who would surely die if he didn't. Akitsu could already feel Karasuba's rejection agony. No Sekirei could survive anything that intense. He comforted Akitsu as much as he could and relayed that Natalie was going to try and save the Black Sekirei from her insanity, but don't get any hopes up too high. Akitsu left after more weeping in thanking him for fixing her mind and quietly reassuring him that she would always be ready to share his bed with anyone, anytime, and in any way he wanted, and she emphasized ANY way.

A teary eyed Uzume wanted him to whisper Chiho's name in her ear as they came together with him touching her crest. She wanted him to marry Chiho with her and make them both his wives, Chiho in spirit, Uzume in everything, and Uzume emphasized EVERYTHING in EVERY way while smiling very naughtily through her tears. Then she began weeping in earnest while trying to explain why Riko was Riko and not such a bad kid really. Please try to understand her, Joe. Don't hate her! Rejection WILL kill her! Please don't kill my best friend, Joe! More weeping. Natalie was on the job, Cash sighed in return as he tried to comfort his love. Riko was a wait and see worry for now, okay? Okay, Joe. I love you so much!

Surprisingly, a weeping Kazehana was the most nervous as she took her turn last. Her body was craving alcohol, very badly. She was trying to fight it, but she NEEDED him to help her and fix her, maybe even more than he'd done for Akitsu. She was losing control and NEEDED him to give her strength to fight her dependency. Speaking of fighting, they NEEDED Miya and Riko's powers to defeat Minaka and win their way to America. They had to be very careful and only travel when absolutely necessary and then only by subway tunnels, not buying tickets and using their bank cards. But first, please don't hate her while she was being so bitchy in trying to dry out! She was getting the shakes, yips, and yangs! The other four looked up to her as their older sister, and she was trying be that for them, but their Onee-chan was still a drying out drunk, weak and craving a drink very badly! Please help, Lover! Kazehana shivered as she buried her face in his neck and began outright pitiful bawling!

Cash did the only hing he could think of on the spot, kissing her gently, making soothing noises of love, stroking her in comfort, and sure enough when she began stroking him back, Little CJ rose to the mutually HOT occasion of quickly taking Kazehana on the bathroom floor. Fortunately, she went off early as soon as they joined and then again very hard with him a short time later. During their heavily panting afterglow, he simply turned her over, kissed her, positioned her like they would go again reverse French style, and tongued her crest to put her out for a few hours.

Cash got back into the cooling bath and finished washing while shaking his head and looking at his incredibly beautiful alien woman that was laying on the fluffy pink rug beside him. Her tousled masses of black hair looked very fetching waving down her bare back and ending almost at the curve of her exquisitely rounded buttocks. She also had a very suspiciously pleased smile on her comatose face. Had she gamed him again just now to get a quickie ahead of her turn, or was she really that strung out for booze? He hadn't been able to read her clearly while she had been weeping. What did it matter? In retrospect, since he was now very tired and still had an eagerly awaiting Toyotama to POSSESS, maybe he should have just slobbered on Kazehana's crest to begin with. No, not really, Cash smiled a little smugly to himself while moving to get his towel, because doing a HOT and loving Kazehana in any way, gamed or not, was worth confronting any weariness later, and, if they could escape Minaka's murderous Sekirei Plan, they would have a LIFETIME of continuously doing each other.

***scene break***

Karasuba heard the light rustles of the rooftops stones behind her, the movement made her grimace in disgust, but she made no move to turn and confront Miya. Instead, she added a little more Alizarin crimson mixed with Cadmium yellow to the skyline of her own "Shinto Dawn" painting on the easel before her. She didn't have much longer to finish her last gift to Sweetums, but she would be able to withstand her rejection pain long enough to let it dry with "Broken Silk Chains" and "Tears of Regret" that were already propped against the wall in his old apartment room on the sixth floor. She really didn't have time to put up with any more of Miya's crap.

"Well, well, here again?" Karasuba continued painting. "Did the Old, Cold Ashikabi Killing Bitch of the North come to gloat? Don't bother, and just go away. I really just don't have time for any more of your goody two shoe bullshit. I'll be dead soon, and you know it. You also know why. I took my best shot and missed thanks to your boozy pal and her damn wind. I'd have taken that smug head of yours, but then I'd still be dying now anyway. Funny, huh? I never really counted on how mentally strong Sweetums was and how much he hated killing, even if you so richly deserved it for being such a lousy Prime Pillar."

"I am no longer Prime Pillar. I have come to offer my neck to your sword and end our blood feud, Karasuba," Miya returned calmly but her voice quavered slightly while trying to control her own pain. "I admit I wronged you greatly by not being willing to share our Ashikabi and teach you the true powers of our race. I was criminally jealous of Takehito's love for you and his desires for you. I used his intense curiosity and need to investigate our Sekirei technology as an incentive to make him reject you. That blackmail eventually caused his death, and I am guilty of that too. I should have relinquished my designation as The One Who Kills to you, never caused this blood feud between us, nor allowed it to continue. It has greatly harmed the brood of our Nest and their future on this planet. My life is yours to take in order to redress the wrongs I have done you."

Karasuba slowly let her paintbrush drop to her side as she turned around. Miya was standing on the roof in her old and original Disciplinary Squad commander's uniform and cloak that was identical to Karasuba's garb except that Miya's wasn't wearing her sword. Miya's hair was a frazzled mess tied into a loose ponytail. Her eyes were dark shadowed, cheeks gaunt, and features pinched in great pain. Karasuba watched as Miya slowly sank to her knees, closed her eyes, and moved the long ponytail in her lavender colored hair to one side, completely exposing her neck.

"Ha! No longer Prime Pillar? Way too late for THAT! So, this is rich karma, isn't it?" Karasuba gave her crinkled and predatory smile in satisfaction. Her enemy looked and smelled almost as bad as she did! And dying from rejection shock too! That WAS rich! "And, from the way you look and feel, Sweetums finally saw through you, and you're dying from his rejection too. HA! Now at the very end you've done something that makes me happy, you old piece of shit! You know, I'm actually quite proud of him for that, and I always knew he'd make a great Ashikabi."

"I have accepted my deserved death at your hands, Karasuba," Miya went to all fours. "Strike."

"You can keep your lousy head, you old hag," Karasuba chuckled over her long hated enemy's distress, "and your smarmy ass confession too. It's years too late. There will be no quick cut from me to deny you the pleasure of getting ripped apart slowly either. I wouldn't DREAM of denying you the same pain that you've made me suffer. Besides, Sweetums didn't and still doesn't like the idea of me killing you. That's why I'm dying here, you silly fool! I also hereby officially refuse your offer to end our blood feud. Go back to Takehito's grave, bend over, piss on yourself, and all your silly flowers he didn't deserve to have planted over him. Then kiss your ass goodbye while you're THERE. I'm going to finish this painting for MY Ashikabi HERE, clean up, and put on my party outfit that Sweetums gave to me. Then I can go die under the window where Sweetums made me the happiest I've ever been in my life, and that was a LOT more happier than YOUR precious Takehito ever did or could."

"Please reconsider and end our feud before we die, Karasuba," Miya shook her head slightly at the total vitriol dripping from her ex-rival's tone. "I should have shared Takehito's bed with you, and accepted the fact that you're prettier and sexier than I can ever be. I'm truly sorry I hurt you."

"Takehito's bed with you would have been like trying to mate with two cold dead fish, all smell and no action. At least I had Aki-chan and Sweetums to really know the ultimate better difference! And you didn't. He didn't get you a party dress either. That is all sweet karma for me too." Karasuba turned to hurriedly add her last strokes to the edges of the glowing cloud rendition of her " Shinto Dawn". She eyed her efforts critically for a few seconds before adding, "Funny, I've always dreamed of besting you in a great duel. Denying you now seems a so much more satisfying way to win somehow, especially since you've once again assumed your favorite position on this roof. Now fuck off and die like the old vomiting dog you really are, Miya, and make it someplace else. I'm busy."

Miya stood up unsteadily, her normally stoic features registering disappointment and concern as Riko, invisible in her new Karasu suit, shot a drugged dart into Karasuba's neck from behind. The Black Sekirei gave one small gasp of dismayed surprise as she tried to weakly leap sideways at the sudden pain, but the drug acted too quickly once again. Karasuba slumped before her painting and was saved from knocking it over by a very surprised, shaken, but still super quick Miya catching her.

"Quick, Miya," Riko's disembodied voice sounded from Miya's right side. "Get through the roof's door before Minaka can train his lasers on you and Karasuba. I've got both of your new Karasu suits in the hall. I'll come back tonight and get her stuff when it's dark."

"No, we're safe and got some time." Miya said quietly as she lifted Karasuba's body into her arms. Karasuba's head lolled backward to match the droop of her cape and dangling sword. Her colored paint brush fell. "Number 02 Matsu has used her Norito from Minato and redirected Minaka's satellite coverage for this sector of the city for me. She advised she could keep us unseen and unable to be targeted for 43 minutes, and we've only used 7. She's got Karasuba's chip located at the Tokyo Dome in Minaka's computers now too. I had also arranged with her to come and get our bodies and bury us in my Inn's back yard together. You must have been working on tightening down your mind shield, Riko. I never felt you at all.""

"Natalie helped me," Riko explained quietly. "Listen, since her anti-matter containment cracks are fixed and she's getting more power from her core, she is going to put all three of us in stasis to keep us alive while she tries to fix our cracked tamas and, and my dreary personality."

"Mother, is this also part of the service you require from me too?"

_"Affirmative, Miya, The One Who Serves. You and your remaining Number One powers will best serve my Prime Leader, my brood, and me by staying alive for as long as possible. There is still a very powerful enemy that must be confronted and overcome. Your life will be needed until your death will be beneficial. I have recorded the honest ending of your side of your blood feud. You have done well."_

"I see, a sincerity test," Miya nodded thoughtfully, a stay but no reprieve. It was a novelty not to be directly online or even cognizant of her Mother's thoughts and plans. On the other hand she was not a leader now, but just a servant, a servant sentenced to a Nest beneficial death. So be it.

"I must make quick arrangements for long term care of Izumo Inn in my absence. Let's get Karasuba's belongings now and take them there, but be careful with her wet paintings. You also need to get her tracking chip out before we go. Did you bring your surgical equipment?"

"Yes," Riko nodded while forgetting she still couldn't be seen, "but we should really try to clean her up a little. She's a mess, and her hairs is, phew! She stinks! I'll do that while you snap into your armor, and then take her chip out before we put her into hers."

"You'll have to help me," Miya groaned weakly after trying to take a step. She slid to her knees but did not let Karasuba go. "I seem to have over estimated my strength. I haven't eaten much like Mother Natalie said to do before coming here to die. And I'm afraid I'm a stinking mess too."

Here," Riko mentally lifted them both, opened the roof door, and floated them all inside the apartment building and towards the bath. She paused at the door as the incongruity of their actions hit her. It hadn't been all that long ago they had been three healthy and insanely jealous Sekirei bent on besting each other for Cash Joseph's attentions. Now they were barely surviving, gaunt, sick, and decidedly unsexy messes, but at least she had bathed and put on clean panties before leaving Kamikura Island on this errand for Natalie.

Leaving her two sisters in the bath while her mental powers stripped them, bathed them, and washed their hair, she went back to Cash's old and almost totally bare apartment to see that Karasuba had obtained a small futon from somewhere and placed it under the window. Beside it was her red and black party outfit still on a hangar and a small pile of items that only consisted of one spare Black Sekirei uniform, three clean pairs of black lace panties, an old hair brush, an electric blow dryer, and a toothbrush. How sad, Riko thought, to have lived filled with hatred for so long and have so little to show for it. There were, however, over two dozen new oil paintings stacked along the wall with a short note attached asking that they be sent to the Tokyo Dome c/o CJ Archer the baseball pitcher. Some were quite good in Riko's opinion. She grimaced. At least Karasuba had decided to die with a little more dignity than falling head first off a skyscraper and leaving nothing of value behind. After using the blow dryer to harden Karasuba's three wet paintings, Riko floated her cleaner but still damp sisters into Cash's old apartment.

A few minutes later a fresher looking but still gaunt and hollow eyed Miya began using her cape for a towel on herself and Karasuba. She then began buckling herself into her new fitted Karasu suit while clad only in a clean pair of Karasuba's black lace panties. Miya took time to marvel at the soft feel of the suit's lining, its light weight and freedom of movement, and the electronics inside the helmet.

"Your battle suits are amazing, Riko," Miya complimented as she watched Riko begin to suit up the unconscious but cleaned and dried Karasuba now laying on her death futon. "I had no idea. How does it turn on?"

"It's keyed to my voice for now. We'll change that later," Riko bowed her head slightly to acknowledge Miya's praise while finishing up. "Just relax. I ate before I came, and Natalie's holding off most of the rejection pain for me. I'll fly us to your Inn to drop her stuff and then it's on to Kamikura Island because I'm pretty sure Natalie's anxious to get started on our problems with Cash Joseph right away. Computer, activate auxiliary suits 2 and 3."

Miya and Karasuba both disappeared.

"Incredible!" Miya exclaimed from nowhere.

"Eh," Riko grimaced, "mine isn't as good as yours. I didn't have time to move my suit's cooling line splitter that keeps poking me in my anus."

"Well," Miya chuckled lightly at the imagery conveyed by Riko's statement, "that just makes your suit a lot smarter since it's plugged into a genius."

An old man coming out of the apartment building and heading for a quick breakfast at the fast food noodle shop on the street corner, paused as he heard the sounds of two females laughing somewhere in the air above him. He peered upwards while frowning in curiosity, but saw nothing. Then he was confronted with the sight of a rolled futon tied with a long gray cape and a stack of what appeared to be oil paintings moving out of a sixth floor apartment window and disappearing up into Tokyo's dawn sky.


	18. Chapter 18

**The Game Changer**

**Chapter 18 – Coach's Meeting, Warm Up Drills**

Karasuba came awake and found herself sitting in a featureless room without windows that had a closed glass door lettered with "Coach's Office – Natalie Archer". She leaped off the chair into a crouch as her left hand went immediately to her hip, but her sword was gone. Sweetums was alive. She was only wearing her black lace panties? Why? Her head swiveled in short jerks to see that the small, windowless, and indirectly lighted room was empty except for the plain wooden chair she had been sitting on and another identical one along the opposite plain white wall. There was a distinct locker room odor mixed with leather and a strange smell of, what? Coconut oil? The tiled floor and ceiling were also plain white.

Karasuba touched her sternum. The piercing rejection agony was gone! How? Had Sweetum's unhappiness with her stopped? No, the coldness was still there, just not the pain. How could this be? A slim, long haired female figure wearing a dark business suit coat, knee length matching skirt, white blouse, and dark low heeled shoes shimmered into existence as being seated in the other chair. The image, one with very beautiful and delicately Japanese features, looked at Karasuba closely with a friendly, crinkled eyed smile before speaking.

"Number 04 Karasuba, The One Who Kills, you are safe. I am Number 00 Natalie Archer, The One Who Leads, formerly called Nest Sister, the One Who Kills Number 00."

"Nest Sister? Our ship's commander? I'm back in our ship on Kamakura Island? Why? How did I get here?"

"You are here on Kamakura because my Prime Leader and your Ashikabi has granted me time to speak to you before you die from rejection shock. You were shot with a tranquilizer dart from behind by Number 67 Riko, The One Who Builds at my request. She brought you here along with Number 01 Miya, The One Who Serves. All three of you, dying from rejection shock, are now still alive together in my stasis womb with the pain receptors in your brain blanked while awaiting disposition."

"Disposition? Floating in a stasis tank? Inside our Sekirei ship now calling herself Natalie?" Karasuba snorted in sardonic amusement as she stood up and frowned slightly while touching her sternum again. Once again her bonding with Sweetums had led her into another new experience, still being rejected but the pain WAS gone. So she had been saved, but for what purpose? That disposition word hadn't sounded too cute, and this Natalie's initial tone was friendly but very much too businesslike. "So you've got my head wired into some kind of holographic device that simulates the senses and movements of a real physical body while I'm unconscious? This is a Sekirei psychic dream state that's controlled by you and has been projected into my mind? My body is in your total control while you decide whether to flush it or not?"

"Affirmative to each question."

"Okay," Karasuba gave an indifferent shrug and nonchalantly sat down. She had already accepted her death as a done deal, and so there was going to be a little more conversation and a lot less action beforehand; kind of a reverse old Elvis tune before dying. Big deal. It still left her dead in the end. "So, Natalie Archer, The One Who Leads, what do you want to talk about? The price of rice in Rangoon, your name change, or what happened to the paintings I left for my Sweetums?"

"Your paintings have been safely stored at Izumo Inn. My name and international rice costs are irrelevant to you at this time, and your ignorant flippancy while facing imminent death is not very amusing to me. There is no pleasure for me in a child of mine dying so stupidly, and there is little time to bandy words. You are an immature, unschooled, undisciplined, highly damaged, and emotionally unstable Sekirei who is currently unfit to be of any use to your Ashikabi, this Nest, and yourself. Under normal circumstances you would have been left to terminate naturally and another more viable and mentally healthy One Who Kills would have taken your place in my Prime Leader's Circle. That is still an option as there are several candidates still available to my Prime Leader. However, if made viable, cooperative, educated, and trained, then using you're Number 04 strength, agility, and power is a better option for him, me, and my brood. It would be much faster than seeking a weaker replacement, gaining his bonding with her, training her, and consuming precious time while doing so. I must ask you an official question for my data records, Number 04 Karasuba. Do you wish your highly damaged and rejected tama to be healed and reconciled with Cash Joseph Archer, your human male Ashikabi, or do you wish to die and have your place in the Prime Leader's Circle taken by another candidate?"

"Naturally I don't want to die, and Sweetums happy with me again would be great, but a circle? I'm not sure I want to join any that would have me in it, Coach. I do have my standards, see?" Karasuba snorted again with amusement and began to lean back in her chair while nonchalantly crossing her legs. Reconciled to Sweetums and yet live? This little chat with Coach Natalie could get interesting. Intense pain from Karasuba's core lanced through her entire body, causing her to gasp loudly while doubling over, falling to one side, and collapsing on the floor.

"That is an improper response to an official statement of declaration," Natalie's features stopped smiling pleasantly. "I do not have to withhold your pain of rejection while in stasis and keeping you alive there, Karasuba. It does not please me to be harsh, but time is a harsh mistress to us both. Understand fully that your past arrogant and lawless life and any future days of your immature, undisciplined, and unschooled living, the uncaring speaking of your mind, and all killing as you pleased outside of your Ashikabi's desires and the restraints of your Ashikabi's Circle of Sisters are forever over. You will consent to conform to these constraints now and live in submission to them until you die, or immediately be allowed to painfully terminate while another is sought to take your place. Thus has it always been, and thus it will always be."

"You … haven't … brought … me here … to … insult me ... taunt me ... and ... then just ... let me … die," Karasuba panted angrily between breaths while glaring up at Natalie's impassive eyes. "You … need … me!"

"Negative. You are merely my best current option in fulfilling my Prime Leader's needs, but only if you will allow your tama and your mind to be repaired. You will be given one more opportunity to answer my official question before your termination is allowed to continue. I will give you a short time to contemplate with half of your pain alleviated while I further explain, and I strongly advise against any further flippancy. Weigh your words carefully for I too was a merciless The One Who Kills in my Nest Circle. I have little sympathy with your misplaced attempts at foolishly humorous and shallow bravado. We have much in common as persona, Karasuba, and, under normal circumstances, you would have become Prime Pillar once Miya was removed, however your homicidal insanity and refusal to end your blood feud with Miya has resulted in my Prime Leader making Number 03 Kazehana his Prime Pillar and rejecting your bonds."

"Kazehana took Miya's slot?" Karasuba gasped weakly in genuine surprise. "Sweetums re-winged Kazehana, the drunk?"

"Affirmative. My Cash Darling's Circle is now Kazehana, Akitsu, Uzume, Himeko, and Toyotama with yourself, Miya, and Riko still weakly bonded to him. Kazehana's chemical dependency is also being addressed. She is a VERY powerful, experienced choice and the most compatible to his more romantic and caring nature. She will do quite well as my Prime Pillar and is now very deeply and irrevocably in love with her Ashikabi. Already her more romantic influence is being felt throughout his Circle and affecting me as well. I like it. You three in stasis are the most combat powerful Sekirei in my Nest, and yet all three of you are too emotionally self involved to truly appreciate the very loving and caring nature of the Ashikabi you have bonded.

"It has taken your own imminent and very foolish self destruction to find out that he is, although he doesn't know it yet, also the most powerful male psychic on this planet. In addition, he psychologically cannot and will not ever tolerate a Sekirei using him to murder anyone, nor be grossly manipulated to act against his will and inherent emotional nature. He will, however, allow broad leeway in matters he deems of little importance, does not interfere with his love for baseball, and, most importantly, will keep the females that he loves, feels sorry for, or is fond of in his life, happy. I have used these wonderful traits to keep you, Miya, and poor Riko alive in hopes of giving him the strongest Circle still available from my Nest.

"As my Prime Leader, he should have had Number 02 Matsu, 08 Yume, and 09 Tsukuimi along with you, Miya, Kazehana, Akitsu, and Riko as his true Prime Circle, but Minaka's machinations have perverted what should have been, as well as disrupted all the other normal Circle formations in my entire brood. Now I am forced to improvise to defeat Minaka's plans for our specie's rape and destruction. Miya has responded favorably, but has a very bad distrust issue with my Prime Leader that must be overcome. Riko has a giant personality conflict with him due to her woeful immaturity and low social skills, but she too is trying to respond.

"You, however, are my worst problem child and the most immature by having ignorantly lived as a law unto yourself for much too long, unchecked, unloved, and unattached. As time is short, you will have to be quickly guided into your proper mature role in your Circle. Motivation by pain is the quickest way to accomplish what I need, and if you'd admit it, what you also want very deeply. If you do not respond properly and overcome your immaturity, I will be forced to seek an alternate to complete a viable Circle for my Prime Leader."

"So, I either shape up to what YOU want or get flushed quick, is that it?" Karasuba weakly struggled to once again sit down on her chair as her pain immediately moderated to barely tolerable levels. She sat doubled over, clasping both arms tightly to her torso and muttering ruefully to herself, "And aren't we glad to have had THIS little chat, Mommy."

"Karasuba, you are not an inexperienced young fool to throw yourself away on lost causes," Natalie frowned slightly. "Your mind has already weighed the hard facts of your situation, and you have already accepted your death as the most logical outcome. However, I am offering you a way out of your current lose-lose situation and get you exactly what you instinctively desire, an incredibly loving Ashikabi that you can deeply love and protect in return and still be the battle commander that you are. You have found no other happiness in your life that even begins to compare with that. You've not had it with Takehito, killing for Minaka's MBI, or in trying to gain revenge on Miya that has now led to your current stupid state. Think, child, think! Shaping up as you put it is a MUCH better option than a worthless, ignominious, and loveless death, right?"

"And I thought that jolt from Haihane's crew was bad," Karasuba groaned ruefully to herself as she tried to control her response to her still incredibly piercing pain and avoid answering that last question.

"Do I have your ATTENTION, Karasuba?" Natalie snapped out with impatience.

"Oh, you got my ATTENTION, all right! Damn!" Karasuba nodded while rolling her eyes at the irony of hearing Riko's words echoing in her memory from their first frosty confrontation atop their Ashikabi's apartment roof. Natalie had been certainly telling the truth about the merciless and harsh side of her nature as a former The One Who Kills.

On the other hand, there was a no bullshit approach in Natalie's statements that a gal could learn to trust, and living with a chance to favorably get back pain free into her Sweetum's arms once more was a HUGE incentive to listen to them. Natalie had also been right about Karasuba's automatically and dispassionately weighing her options from the onset of their chat. Karasuba's instinctive battle commander skills had also clinically calculated the potentially combined combat firepower that Cash's eight Sekirei possessed for his protection, and she liked what she saw in the group too. The only question was how in the Hell would she AND Miya fit into it now? One of them had to die. "Okay, just for analytical purposes, just exactly what do you want me to do? Sweetums is still a very cold blue to me. He's made his decision, and he's a hard headed guy. It seems to me either Miya or I will have to die."

"No, it is possible for you to now live in peace together since she has voluntarily left your Circle designation to you and become The One Who Serves. As a former Pillar, Miya will be the most powerful a nest could have at that position for you to command. The stronger Circles always have more widespread diversity of, ummm, shall we say interesting and not necessarily totally compatible personalities as their primary strength, but with TWO Sisters already having battle commander experience and powers to channel, this combination makes Kazehana's Circle incredibly more powerful. It also gives your Ashikabi more options and in-depth opinions for each decision he has to make. It will take training and hard work to learn how to achieve optimization, but I will teach all of you the necessary skills you will need to make proper and peaceful Circle relationships and realize your total potential for your Ashikabi's protection. So you see, for your Ashikabi's protection Karasuba, your battle commander skills and actual combat experience are as valuable to your Circle as is your raw and largely untrained powers. That is why I have interceded in your behalf with him."

"Untrained? Me?" Karasuba let out an involuntary mocking gasp of unbelief and was rewarded with another very sharp twinge of pain.

"Karasuba, never, EVER forget that I will ALWAYS be in charge of MY Prime Leader's protection, and that includes the training and discipline of his immature Sekirei from now on also. I am vastly more experienced in Circle relationships and how to keep them orderly, so just wise up and get used to me instantly correcting your bad behavior, or you'll greatly regret it. Or as humans put it, I have the hammer on you now and forevermore. You are no Pavlovian dog, and I detest having to use pain as my main teaching aid, but time is TOO short to do otherwise! I won't ever hesitate to use it and nail you down when I think you need it, but know that I mean you well as you are still a part of me and my child. My hammer will always be for your betterment in fulfilling your Circle duties and purpose in living happily.

"Your tama was badly damaged due to your and Miya's childish behavior. That never would have been allowed to happen if I hadn't been only 2.873% functional upon my initial awakening. The mistake was made by the humans experimenting during your maturation process that allowed you to become The One Who Kills instead of The One Who Defends in the Primary Circle as you should have been. It put you into a very unstable competition with Miya that would never have happened normally, and it led to your mutual jealousy and worthless murderous insanity."

"If I'm such a worthless chick now," Karasuba snapped back bitterly, "then why have you bothered to save me? I'm badly damaged goods, remember?"

"Badly damaged by rejection, but not beyond hope because your tama and mind can be repaired by your Ashikabi's love. Cash Darling is strong enough to do that IF you truly wish to live and tear down that high emotional wall that you were forced to build around your inner self when Takehito died. Your are so brutally honest and direct in your assessments of everyone else. Can't you be just as honest with yourself for once? Answer this question with all the honesty that you possess deep in your core. Do you want your Sweetums in love with you, Karasuba, and do you want to be in love with him in return? I will lessen your pain further if you will honestly assess that question deep within yourself."

A long silence ensued as Karasuba, aided by Natalie's inducement of lessened pain, battled within herself while shaking her head and then turning away from Natalie's piercing stare. It was tough getting past her years of bitterness and assessing how truly nasty she and her life had become and been. The Black Sekirei's internal war then went down into the painful depths of her core that she hadn't allowed herself to look at since Takehito had been killed. After several trembling minutes, a hard fought victory was won at the breached walls of her strong ego's self protecting fortress that had used total cynicism about true love as it's building blocks. Karasuba forced herself to examine what was behind her cynicism and finally saw the soft silk chains of Cash's lovemaking already wrapped around her heart, and she had placed them there herself. Almost a little surprised at how good they truly felt to her, she also saw that she wanted to always keep them there very, very much. She WAS in love with her Sweetums Ashikabi and always had been!

"I, I guess," Karasuba swallowed hard, clenched her fists, and squeezed her eyes shut at her coming admission, "I have, have always loved my big boy from the very first time we kissed, and I, I have been too scared to admit it to myself. And too blind in my hatred for Miya to see him for what he really is as well as what and how much he means to me. He's the only person that's ever just accepted me as he found me, demanding nothing in return, and not even asking me to change when he knew I was nuts. He, he believed in me to be his number one girl, gave me gifts, and wanted me in spite of knowing my nasty attitude towards life. And, and, now I've hurt him so badly, and damaged his belief in me, and I have no idea how to make it right."

"Have a little faith in me to begin with. Cash Darling is still VERY fond of you," Natalie covered her mouth with her left hand to conceal her tight smile of triumph. "and he was simply forced by his love for Uzume and Akitsu to put you aside for their protection. He only did that because he believed you would still live and go on murdering your way to become a world dictator, but it tore him up to reject you. You must seek an opportunity to get before him and apologize with the true honesty and sincerity you've just displayed to me. Now, for the second and last time, I will ask you to answer an official question for my data records, Number 04 Karasuba. Do you wish to live and have your highly damaged and rejected tama to be healed and reconciled with Cash Joseph Archer, your human male Ashikabi, or do you wish to die and have your place in the Prime Leader's Circle taken by another candidate?"

"I wish to live and have my tama healed and be reconciled to my Ashikabi, Cash Joseph Archer," Karasuba panted slightly with her eyes closed and head shaking again, not from Natalie's induced and still lingering pain that was now rapidly dwindling, but from the intense emotional release that the open admission of her deep romantic love for Cash had finally given her. The weight of years of all consuming hate began slipping away. The fact that she had finally triumphed over a thoroughly humbled Miya after all this time greatly paled in comparison and almost felt meaningless now. If anything, Miya now seemed like a badly flawed Sekirei to be pitied more than hated.

"Good!" Natalie's smile became instantly warmer and much more sympathetic. "I understand how hard that was for you, my Child, but now listen very carefully. I will set up your next meeting with your Ashikabi for your attempt to reverse his rejection of your bonding. First, to get your Circle's psychic power to aid you, you MUST submit yourself to Kazehana's leadership. This will also officially justify my actions in helping you to stay alive and free me to aid you even more. While in front of your Circle of Sisters, you MUST also officially and personally end your blood feud with Number 01 Miya, The One Who Serves. You will then officially and personally submit yourself to the constraints of your Circle relationship with all of them, forever. Sisters do NOT kill Sisters! EVER! You will protect Miya and the others with your life if necessary from this time forward. The reverse will also always be true. Circle bonds become very, very strong. In time, and even though you will still never share Cash's bed with Miya, you won't be able to conceive of living apart from her and your other Sisters any more than you would be separated from your Ashikabi. You will never be alone again, Karasuba, ever. We will all live and die together as one NEST!"

"We?" Karasuba frowned slightly in puzzlement. Never being alone again sounded VERY good after all her incredibly lonely and heartbroken years! But Natalie the Sekirei ship too? Now how did this work?

"Yes," Natalie's warm smile returned. "Cash Darling and I are bonded also, and he has been elected to be the Prime Leader of my Circle of Nest Sisters. Thus, I will always be with him until we die, as his Protector, as his Confidant, as his Sekirei, and soon, as his Wife."

"Wife?" Karasuba's puzzled expression went to her eyebrows raising in wide eyed surprise. She turned her head to look again at the lettering of "Coach's Office – Natalie Archer" on the bare room's door. She then turned to blink at Natalie with great interest and a question forming in her mind. Marriage? To Sweetums? With him that meant a lifetime commitment AND being treasured as much or more than his human mother and sister! THAT sounded even better than never being alone again!

"Oh yes!" Natalie's triumphant smile turned very smug and then conspiratorial as she leaned forward. "I can see that you like the sounds of this concept, and just between us, you, Riko, Miya, and I are ALL getting a permanent name change after we marry our Cash Darling, but for now let's keep it between ourselves, okay? He just doesn't know it quite yet, and he's REALLY struggled with marrying his first five. Four MORE will REALLY freak him out as humans say. Our Sweetums is just going to need a little more coaching to get used to the idea."

***scene break***

Cash, grateful for Natalie's small piece of coaching advice during his efforts tonight, sat on the edge of the Sekirei filled bed, panting heavily and covered in sweat from his big finish with a now safely comatose Uzume. She was still joined to him in Himeko's favorite Lotus position, her face buried between his left shoulder and neck as he held her, but the rest of Uzume's body was slumped against and resting upon him as dead weight. After catching his breath, he gently eased his Veiled Sekirei over and down to his left to let her lay alongside Akitsu. Pausing to straighten and make Uzume's limbs more comfortable and sliding a pillow under her head, he stood up on shaky legs, and pulled a light blanket over all five of his now crest activated and heavily sleeping Sekirei. He staggered his way through Kazehana's darkened apartment to the bath. He ran some warm water into the tub, sat down, grabbed the soap, heaved a deep sigh of weariness, and began to clean up.

While scrubbing and rinsing, he cautiously checked in the back of his mind and was relieved to find all five of his Sekirei now had glowing, deep blue strands running to his central globe that was still surrounded by Natalie's Saturn-like ring. So, Cash sighed again in exhausted relief, his somewhat sneaky but still Herculean efforts had paid off, and they were all now linked to Natalie. He was grateful for Natalie's somewhat sly and brainy help in this incredible accomplishment, but he couldn't help feel just a little smug in applying some slick ingenuity of his own to avoid the kinkier requests and any hurting of Toyotama and Himeko while doing so. Hopefully, once they awoke, he could then relay his strong adversity to any future s&m crap and counteract the more uncomfortable influences of Riko's smutty book on their young, inexperienced, and impressionable Sekirei minds.

Although he freely acknowledged the worth of Natalie's timely advice of using the power of suggestion to get her connected to Toyotama and Himeko, it still didn't detract from his own great spur of the moment inspiration. Loathe to cause any kind of pain and still slightly peeved at Riko's damnable book influencing his impressionable Sekirei, he had proceeded slowly while preparing for his bedtime marathon. Following Natalie's direction about the power of suggestion on a highly agitated and heated Sekirei, Cash had brought the extremely nervous and excited Toyotama into the bedroom and closed the door. What had followed, Cash thought somewhat smugly, had been nothing but sheer genius, mostly on his part.

Toyotama, having strangely slathered her body with coconut oil in anticipation, had knelt upright on the bed with her knees facing away from him, holding onto the bed's headboard with both hands, and panting heavily before he had even touched her. He had then offered her his leather belt to bite down upon because, and he had explained this very carefully, he didn't want her to alarm the neighbors when he POSSESSED her. Did she understand? The answer came back as some kind of weird "Yeth, Mathter, Yeth!" as if she was some kind of speech impeded Renfrew or perhaps a foot dragging, hunchbacked minion following along behind a cackling Dr. Frankenstein descending a musty, winding stone staircase down into the bowels of his haunted castle's laboratory.

Cash, with his right hand by his side, then proceeded to softly stroke his odoriferous and oily Amazon Sekirei with his left hand, pulling her masses of dark green hair away from her right ear and shoulder as she shuddered in anticipation. He nibbled lightly on her neck's juncture as he kept whispering that here was where he was going to attack for her POSSESSION, and she HAD to be POSSESSED because she was so beautiful, so sexy, so hot, and so damn desirable he couldn't afford to let her get near any other Ashikabi who would try to steal her from him. Her head had nodded up and down as he kept whispering praise for her sexiness and total desirability, nibbling her ear lobe, and letting his tongue poke and lightly lick all around and in her ear.

She began biting his belt hard and then almost went off when he had let Lex Luther join his kneeling reversed cowgirl. Toyotama held off, waiting for his simulated vampire strike while he used his left hand to lightly squeeze her breasts in further anticipation. His whispering, stroking, and nibbling foreplay campaign had worked incredibly well as he then took her excitement up another notch. He told her softly in her ear to get ready, for he was almost ready, and to tell him when she was coming so he could POSSESS her with the right timing. He dropped his left hand down between her thighs to let his well oiled forefinger gently probe her magic button. That did it. Again, she hoarsely proclaimed with even more enthusiasm, "Yeth! Mathter! YETH! NOWTH THE TIME!"

Her head went back against his, Cash brought up his right hand, bowed his head as she groaned loudly around his belt, and then Cash's tongue licked her coconut oiled crest as his right hand let his spork lightly prick her completely sensitized neck. Toyotama then nearly torn the bed's headboard off in her orgasmic crest shock before slowly slumping sideways, blacked out and nearly steaming like a bright torch suddenly doused into a pool of water.

The truly brilliant part for Cash was that Lex Luthor hadn't gotten his jollies at all as Cash had been too busy concentrating on doing everything just right for Toyotama's reassurance of her self worth and image as well as getting her connected to Natalie. Proud Lex could then help repeat his chicanery with the even more nervous and shuddering in anticipation Himeko. The only difference in the whole scenario was that he whispered to Himeko during their foreplay that she was so hot, so beautiful, so wanton, so slutty, and just such a nasty big girl that he couldn't afford to let her out of his sight for fear she'd burn down the neighborhood.

Of course, the ending didn't quite go along with Toyotama's "Yeth! Mathter!" script because the belt had dropped out of Himeko's mouth as she had felt his oiled finger slide between her thighs and go lightly over her magic button. Himeko had simply shouted "BINGO! BABY!" as this time Lex Luthor could not be denied, but Cash had still been able to lick Himeko's coconut flavored crest, keep his left finger on target, go off himself, and still lightly spork her neck all at the same time in a masterpiece of human male multitasking.

Bingo Baby? Cash shook his head and half chuckled in remembrance as he washed. What was with that? That had totally come out of left field? Himeko played bingo? Under the G spot, BINGO! Well, whatever, it HAD worked, and he had conserved a little juice to perhaps perform one more time before collapsing from exhaustion. And now, who could ever accuse him of not learning anything of value in his sojourn in Japan? Certainly not his Mother, Cash chuckled to himself, and good old what's her name, Angie? No, ummm, Abby? No, Adele? Andrea? No! Agnes! Yes, that was her, his lousy ex. Damn, he was tired if he had forgot HER name! That was because Uzume, peeking at his efforts with Himeko through a stealthily opened and cracked door, had nearly killed him after Himeko had fallen into crest kissing shock.

Akitsu had also peeked, and was ready for her turn before Uzume. Coach Natalie had then gently suggested to Cash that since Akitsu was already connected, maybe she would rather skip a turn now and be rewarded with a longer session with Lex Luther's usual morning wood after Cash woke up? Akitsu's face had lit up with a beatific smile of agreement because she already had some great experience in just how long Cash's morning wood could be REALLY counted on to stand up for a gal's multiple big finishes. Submissively following Natalie's urging, Akitsu had let Cash simply lick her crest and put her to bed beside the still comatose and still smiling Kazehana and the now happily sleeping coconut flavored big twins, Toyotama and Himeko.

He had then turned his attention to a naughtily smiling Uzume, and, she announced, he wasn't going to get away with any sneaky quick sporking of HER! What followed had then become an epic demonstration of how well the orally oriented Uzume had listened to Kazehana's description of THOSE sections of Riko's damnable dirty book. In sheer self defense, Cash had finally lifted her onto his lap and hung on while the athletic Uzume had bounced so energetically it had not only threatened to complete the half splintered headboard's destruction, but wreck the entire bed as well. Then more of Natalie's timely coaching in Cash's mind to whisper Chiho's name into Uzume's ear had immediately sent Uzume and her wildly waving white veils off into La La Land amidst his own crest clutching and Natalie connecting climax. Natalie had saved the day, or night as it were. She had also saved Cash's wounded and rapidly dwindling warrior, a seriously humbled and completely drained Little CJ.

There was, Cash admonished his bruised ego as he stood up and toweled himself dry, no way in Billy Hell he was ever going to keep up just with Uzume on a nightly basis, let alone Kazehana, AND his other three. Any prodigious feats of all night dallying in all the harem stories he had ever heard or read about had to be some giant crock of bullshit, Cash concluded glumly. Something MUCH more limited and almost platonic was going to be needed, like once or twice a week with just one Sekirei and then only one shot per gal per night before sleeping maybe? Man, he was gonna have to starting eating and liking oysters and stuff if this was the way it going to be, and he HATED oysters almost as much as fish. So much for the Great and Mighty Potent Potentate of Sekirei Harems, Julius Lex, Cash thought even more dejectedly as he donned a fresh pair of black boxer briefs and a clean matching T-shirt. He then stumbled towards the main room couch he had already prepared for himself with a pillow and large soft comforter.

_"Cash Darling, you were wonderful tonight! Simply wonderful! It was heavenly!"_

"Awww, knock it off, Natalie," Cash mumbled into his pillow. "I nearly fainted and barely lasted long enough in there for Uzume to finish, and you know it. Now lemme get some sleep, will ya?"

_"Yes, but you DID last long enough, my so handsome hero! And because of your super sporking efforts for us all, now I can proceed with making things better!"_

Cash cracked one already sleepy eye suspiciously. He was beginning to suspect that there was a very deeply devious side to his alien spaceship's female persona, one that adhered strictly to what she was told while granting herself plenty of leeway in how what she was strictly told was to be perceived, interpreted, and acted upon.

This was a fearsome female trait that he had already battled mightily in dealing with his younger sister and even his mother and her three spinster sisters as he had gotten older and begun taking the male responsibilities of the Archer household upon his shoulders. His coming to Japan to revive his baseball career had been a continuous running battle with all his female relatives for months until he had finally resorted to sneaking out one night with his duffel bag, bat, mitt, and guitar like a little kid running off to join the circus. Sometimes the only way to win against determined female resistance was to present them with a done deal as far away as a guy could get, especially if he wanted to be a professional minor league ballplayer that didn't get paid all that well in the States and even less in Japan. Now Natalie was giving hints of having that same worrisome trait that tended to flummox his efforts for direct, honest, open communication. Well, that meant he was going to have to get more specific in his questions.

"Better? How? State exactly what things you are going to proceed to make better, Natalie." Cash enunciated his statement as clearly as his sleepiness allowed.

"One, your personal safety. Two, your Sekirei's exact understanding of their relationships to you, me, each other, and other Sekirei on this planet. Three, your Sekirei's preparation to face adversity in thwarting Minaka's evil plans to exploit and harm you, me, and all Sekirei related life on this planet. I can now proceed to accomplish these goals by you sweetly connecting me to your flock tonight. You have also made it possible for more in depth training of Kazehana's Circle with your help."

"What do you want from me this time, Natalie?" Cash mumbled warily, "and keep it short and simple. I'm too tired to parse words about anything big just now thanks to Riko's damn sex guide. She needs her neck wrung."

_"Yes, she does need more discipline and maturity too. I will state my desires in baseball terms for you, Cash Darling. I'm afraid we have a very young team; very, very talented, but one that needs to learn how to do even the most basic warm up drills as well as team play and strategy. They don't even know the history of the game, let alone what base to throw to after they field a ball hit to them. They don't know how to lay down a sacrifice bunt or hit to the right side to advance runners into scoring position. And they don't know how to help keep a runner close while you're pitching or turn a double play. I want your permission to run a little coaching school for your Sekirei, give them the fundamentals so to speak. We need them to be able to play together and really use their all-star skills to help you win when you pitch. Would you help me? And would you at least let me train Riko, Miya, and Karasuba with them, okay? I need their help to teach certain aspects of total team play. You know, to make up the right numbers to teach defensive tactics, warm up drills, and things."_

"Train? Yeah, ummm, okay, I guess so," Cash murmured drowsily as that all sounded very safe to him, "but I'm not much of a coach. You do it for now, but you will make NO commitments concerning me to Riko, Miya, and Karasuba involving anything. And that means anything. From now on you will always be precise in your requests of me and clearly explain the reasons behind them. You coach your training school, and after I rest up, maybe we could get together just you and me on our first dream date. I probably could use some more spring training in how to keep my five sweethearts happy too, but I just gotta sleep first, okay?"

_"Yes, Cash Darling! Our first date! And Understood! No commitments to all three concerning you involving anything and precision in our future communications. Go to sleep now, and just leave everything to me! I'll be your coach in charge!" _

***scene break***

The classroom door next to the school baseball coach's office opened and a slim, smiling, friendly looking, Japanese woman in a dark business suit entered and strode to the black board to write "Natalie Archer, Number 00". Her long, almost waist length dark hair was neatly brushed and caught into a plain ponytail with a crimson "scrunchie" at the base of her neck. Her delicate facial features were very symmetrically beautiful with wide, almost too large, almond shaped dark eyes set beneath a widow peaked high forehead. Her nose was straight and slim, her lips full and slightly pouting, and her high cheekbones as well as her eyes were highlighted with exactly the right amount of makeup. Her long, perfectly proportioned legs, slim waist, and full breasts were also in the Sekirei propensity for matching Barbie Doll proportions. She looked, for want of a better comparison, like a slimmer, and head shorter fraternal twin of Kazehana.

Natalie turned and smiled even more warmly at her small class. Kazehana, Uzume, and Akitsu sat in three abreast school desks with Toyotama and Himeko aligned behind them. In an empty row apart sat Karasuba and Miya with Riko behind the former Prime Pillar. The eight Sekirei were all moderately dressed in the typical jeans, blouses, and tennis shoes type of outfits that anyone would find senior teenage girls wearing in a small Midwestern high school in the United States. The classroom was small, but it had a full row of wall length windows that overlooked a pretty view of large trees lining a wide clean street, a manicured lawn with mowing stripes, and other geometrically placed shrubs and lush greenery. The landscape also featured a Sekirei crest topped flag pole that was flying an American flag. It was as if all eight Sekirei and their teacher had all been transported to Springfield, Illinois and were now attending school on a nice, breezy, sunny, but slightly cool spring day.

"Welcome my children, and don't be alarmed. All will be explained. I am delighted to meet you all here together for the first time, and may I just say how proud I am that you have managed to mature into such beautiful and talented Sekirei despite such enormous adversity and abnormalities in your youth. I am Natalie Archer, your womb mother formerly known as Nest Sister, The One Who Kills, Number 00. This is a coordinated Sekirei psychic dream state projected into your minds that is being controlled by me while you are all in deep sleep. Five of you are here courtesy of the recently completed mind connections I have with you through my Prime Leader and your Ashikabi, Cash Joseph Archer. You are all sleeping together on the big bed in Kazehana's apartment bedroom after your Ashikabi placed you into a state of orgasmic crest ecstasy. You might want to know that he very tenderly covered you all with a blanket and placed pillows underneath your heads for your comfort after which he prepared his sleeping place on the apartment's couch."

Natalie walked around her teacher's desk that was sitting in front of her eight students and leaned back against it with her hands supporting her upper body on either side of her torso. She cocked her head to one side in a decidedly birdlike manner before continuing.

"What is the first thought you have when you come awake?" Natalie's eyes swept across all of theirs.

"My Sweetums is alive," Karasuba answered instantly without even pausing to think.

"YES! Very GOOD!" Natalie smiled warmly at her former problem child and then her voice hardened slightly and took on a little sharper edge. "And from this instant forward, all of you, your first thought will be my Ashikabi is alive and SAFE! I realize we had a very special situation for you five tonight so that you could all be here together, but in the future, you will never allow our man to place himself outside of your immediate protection! Kazehana, you should have remained as the last one alert and slept with him instead of sneaking sex ahead of your turn and passing out in the bathroom. Never let that happen again! EVER! I will ALWAYS be monitoring all of your senses from now on and be able to put you into battle alert mode even in while in crest ecstasy. My Prime Leader MUST and will ALWAYS be protected by all of you at all times, no matter where you are or what you're doing. That includes his visits to public rest rooms and any other place. How we do this and yet let him feel free and independent will certainly be tricky, but it WILL be done. Is this understood?"

Kazehana, Akitsu, and Uzume nodded slowly with slightly frowning looks of guilt while Himeko and Toyotama exchanged puzzled glances. Pain from their tamas lanced through both of them and made them gasp in surprise.

"Toyotama and Himeko, a question demanding a response was asked. Do you fully understand your protective duties towards my Prime Leader?" Natalie's warm smile cooled somewhat more. It returned when both quickly punished Sekirei began nodding their heads vigorously.

"Good! You are quick learners. I like that. I do NOT wish to cause any unhappiness in your relationship to me, ever, but as I said earlier, we are all in a very special and very serious situation where time is short. Therefore I will use tama pain to speed up a teaching and learning process that should have been already accomplished through much motherly tenderness and love long before now. Again, time is very short, so forgive me beforehand, and pay very close attention to what I MUST teach you about yourselves, me, and your Ashikabi.

"Now, you other three are here courtesy of being kept alive in my stasis womb and having your rejection pains blocked while attached to receptors leading to my central core. You each have been made aware of exactly why you find yourselves in such a state.

"Kazehana, as my new Prime Pillar and lead consort to my Prime Leader, you are hereby officially informed that I am working on restoring Karasuba and Miya to full health, having their tamas healed, and emotionally reconciled to your Ashikabi after they both so foolishly alienated themselves from him. Riko is a very special case that is going to take a LOT more effort and rapid growth to be made healthy and happy with her Ashikabi. Suffice it to say that she is still a viable and already lightly bonded option in the strongest forming of your Circle.

"For my data records, do you, Number 03 Kazehana, and your four current healthy Sisters have any objections to my actions in trying to complete the most powerful Circle available to your Ashikabi? You each must respond verbally while noting any favorable feelings and negative reservations. There are statistical limits upon me through quantified psychic readings that must be met for me to continue to aid your three rejected Sisters."

"I am very happy you're helping Miya and Riko!" Kazehana smiled happily, but frowned slightly before continuing, "but I have serious doubts about Karasuba. She was pretty nice as a kid, but since then she has always been very arrogant, unfriendly, rude, and unnecessarily vicious and murderous towards all Sekirei and humans. She also kept working and killing for MBI and Minaka even after we all found out what an insane scoundrel he really is and quit working for him ourselves. I don't know how she could be made part of us despite her bonding first with our Lover, but I guess if she can get our Ashikabi to forgive her, and she becomes more like the girl I knew and liked when we were very young together, then yes, I could be her Sister again. I guess, to be honest, all three have to love and be loved by our Ashikabi like the rest of us, and stop hurting him. That's the most important thing for me."

"Voice inflection, tonal qualities, and emotional response of my Prime Pillar noted and quantified for the record as a positive," Natalie simply nodded calmly. She looked at Akitsu.

"I very much want Karasuba, Miya, and Riko as my Sisters," a clear eyed Akitsu nodded emphatically and, strangely, almost defiantly, "AND no reservations! My Cash Joseph can heal them and love them! I KNOW he can!"

"I know Riko needs a LOT of help with Joe," Uzume shrugged while looking out the window and not meeting Riko's pleading eyes. "I like Miya, but she's been acting a little weird lately, and Karasuba has always been kinda blunt and arrogant maybe, but she's never bothered me personally. I can fight and protect Joe with all three as long as they want to do the same and lay off each other, so yeah, count me as mostly positive for each. They all three need to prove to my Joe that they love him for me to be solid in their camp though."

"I have no problems with any of them as long as they sincerely love our Ashikabi as they should," Himeko added simply. "All they have to do is win his heart, and he will make them become our Sisters. My sweet man will! I just know he will."

"I guess I never really trusted Miya very much, nor Karasuba at all with the way they both always got their hands on their swords. They both make me real nervous to be around them," Toyotama turned to uneasily frown at Riko. Public displays of emotion had never been a strength of Toyotama's, and it made her a little chatty. "Riko and I were never friends because she's always been so much smarter and way more beautiful and petite than me. It made me so jealous that I wanted to kill her, well, until a little while after she used me for a bathhouse mop. Then she actually got me to thinking a little more clearer, and, ummm, well, I wouldn't even be here if she hadn't gotten so pissed off at me. Then Karasuba said she would let me be on her team and gave her permission for me to be re-winged by my Mas, I mean, my Husband. And NOW, well, if my Husband can accept a big, mean, rotten bitch like me, and HE already has, then I guess I owe Riko and Karasuba a BIG debt of happiness now. I vote for them, but one thing about Miya that I don't know. She doesn't even have our Ashikabi's crest. How would that work?"

"Her hidden crest status as former Pillar will have to be altered by Cash Joseph Archer, Prime Leader, for Number 01 Miya to become your true Circle Sister," Natalie answered promptly. "That's one thing I'll keep working on since all of your responses fell within my statistical limits for continuing to aid in forming you into my Prime Leader's Circle. As to all of your other objections and reservations to Miya, Riko and Karasuba, let's deal with them now, go rapidly, and get the final legalities done. Each Sekirei awaiting your Circle's disposition will make a statement and lower their mind shields completely to let you see their sincerity in becoming your Sisters. Karasuba, you will become your Circle's second in command as battle leader, so take care of your official business for my records first. Come to the front and face your Sisters. Remember, no time wasting flippancy, and lower your mind shield now."

Karasuba nodded slightly in understanding while keeping her usual stoic face. She stood, took two quick steps forward to stand in front of Natalie, turned around, and faced the other seven Sekirei. She lowered her mind shield to stand with her head raised and squarely meeting each of her Sister's eyes; still totally true to Karasuba's usual self assured and unabashedly powerful nature while totally open for her Sisters' mental examination. Cash's Sekirei females, no different than any other intensely curious/self comparing females of any species in the universe, unabashedly canvassed every nook and cranny of Karasuba's mind. They especially noted that the Black Sekirei was actually proud of the fact that her intense adversity to ever experiencing true romantic love again had been finally overcome, but it had taken the most powerful Ashikabi on the planet to accomplish the feat.

"I am Number 04 Karasuba, The One Who Kills, and I officially submit myself to Kazehana's leadership as Prime Pillar to Natalie," Karasuba said calmly to all of them before turning to look into Miya's slightly surprised eyes as she too studied Karasuba's completely opened mind. "I now officially and personally end my blood feud with Number 01 Miya, The One Who Serves. I also officially and personally submit myself to the constraints of our Circle of Sisters, forever. I will protect my Ashikabi, Cash Joseph Archer, Miya, and all my Sisters with my life from this time forward."

"Good! Data recorded and brain pattern analysis states a sincerity factor measured at 100%. Sisters, Miya, and Riko, do you accept Karasuba's declaration of submission and intent to protect her Ashikabi and you? You must respond verbally."

"We do," all seven alien females said together as Karasuba for once gave them a crinkled eyed smile of self satisfaction instead of mocking them. She nodded to a pleased and pleasantly surprised Kazehana who was eying her former childhood friend as if she was finally seeing Karasuba again after a long absence.

"You really meant it!" Kazehana blinked in wonder. "I never thought anything this cool and wonderful could ever happen to us when we were kids, did you?"

"No, and I'd have probably broken your first bottle of saki AND my sword if I had known how bad it would get for us," Karasuba shrugged almost sheepishly, "but Sweetums … Sweetums has kind of been worth it all, hasn't he?"

"Oh, wow! Has he!" Kazehana rolled her eyes. "I knew at the bath that something wild was happening to you, but I was too drunk to really appreciate what you, Zoomer, and Aki-chan were really trying to say to us. Kicking the bottle ever since Lover accepted me has been TOUGH though!"

"Need help?" Karasuba smirked. "I'll kick your ass for you anytime you even look cross eyed at another saki bottle if you think it will help."

"I may have to use you for that," Kazehana smiled ruefully. "Aki-chan has been freezing them and Zoomer snatching them away. My whole stash has been wrecked now. I'm depending on you guys and Lover to help see me through."

"I'll help you, Windy," Karasuba nodded seriously while using her old childhood nickname for Kazehana, "and you can help me make things right with Sweetums."

"Excellent!" Natalie said as she gave a startled and flinching Karasuba a warm hugging sensation of pride from behind. "Sisterhood takes some getting used to, but you'll like it. I promise. Miya, you're next."

Miya paused to look Karasuba apologetically in the eye, nodded in acceptance, and smiled slightly in relief before turning to speak. The long years of living with her many failures and hiding them behind her false shaman persona and self flagellating remorse in a shrine to a weak Ashikabi she had killed were now over. So too was her insane war with a Karasuba that she had injured as much as she had injured herself. The two former enemies stood together, mind shields down. A truly relieved and hoping so anxiously to be accepted Miya nervously pulled her lavender ponytail across her right shoulder with her right hand before beginning in a soft, almost apologetic tone.

"First, I want to state for the record of the Circle that my blood feud with Number 04 Karasuba began because of my stupid jealously and continued for the same reason. Karasuba's pain and, and, her unhappy relationships with all Sekirei since have always been my fault. Then I spent way too many foolish years trying to deny my guilt and failures as Prime Pillar. My removal was the right thing to be done. I hereby officially and voluntarily vacate all claims of redress from my removal status as Prime Pillar, change my Circle designation to Number 01 Miya, The One Who Serves, submit myself to Number 03 Kazehana's leadership, and acknowledge that my blood feud with Number 04 Karasuba, The One Who Kills has been ended. I also officially and personally submit myself to the constraints of our Circle of Sisters forevermore. I too will protect our Ashikabi, Cash Joseph Archer, Karasuba, and all my Sisters with my life from this time forward, and, and I will NEVER abuse his or your love and trust ever again. And, and, please! I too desperately need your help to make things right between me and our Ashikabi!"

"Number 01 Miya, The One Who Serves, data recorded as 100% sincere. Sisters, Riko, Karasuba do you accept Number 01 Miya, The One Who Serves and her declaration of submission and intent to protect her Ashikabi and you?"

"We do!" Seven smiling Sekirei nodded enthusiastically. The old, reserved, and tightly guarded Miya had always been so mysteriously aloof while having a slippery feel to her mind shield that fairly crackled with intimidating psychic power. This new, true, warm, open, and very solid feeling Miya was still the same crackling psychic powerhouse, but now she was a Sister that REALLY needed their help and could be of tremendous help to them all in return.

"Data recorded. Number 67 Riko, The One Who Builds, please come forward," Natalie gave her young engineering genius a quick smile of encouragement as an intense wave of jitters suddenly hit Riko hard. When coaching Riko for her official declaration to her Circle, Natalie hadn't said anything about Riko being required to lower her mind shield to the other Sekirei females! She had NEVER done it before! But, but, she needed their help to finally be truly bonded to Cash Joseph! It had to be done! Without him she would die! And die still a virgin!

Terrified, Riko turned to speak and her mind went totally blank as she shakily dropped her mind shield for the first time ever. All her life she had done everything to hide her true self and the extent of her true powers from everyone, and now she needed to be accepted by them, even Toyotama? It was so, so, unnerving, and, and mentally NAKED! She stood frozen, tongue tied, and with eyes darting about helplessly as every aspect of her inner insecurities and life long fears were now exposed. Petrified, she gave Natalie a wounded look of abject horror. She couldn't even do this right!

"I, I, forgot what I'm supposed to say!"

"Please state for the record of the Circle," Natalie, having wisely omitted telling Riko everything about a Sekirei Circle confession, sighed and shook her head in long suffering sympathy, "your intent to totally submit yourself to Kazehana's leadership and the constraints of your Circle of Sisters. You will also declare your intent to protect your Ashikabi and your Sisters with your life from this time forward, forevermore."

"Y, y, yes, I do! I mean, I, I, I will, always, uh, uh, and, and, ummm, I CAN'T THINK!" Riko bawled in a complete meltdown. As Akitsu gathered a totally distraught Riko into a hug, Toyotama stood and came forward. The others gathered around while making their own almost clucking sounds of patting sympathy as they finally saw and understood the fears that had made the intellectually superior and yet so nerdy Reeker such a strange duck all her life.

Karasuba, squinting slightly with a small frown of disbelief, also examined the sheer raw power available in Riko's opened mind and core. Riko might be the smallest of Cash's Sekirei in size and a total social failure of epic proportions, but her mind's combat potential went way beyond amazing. Miya and Karasuba exchanged raised eyebrows looks of open mouthed incredulity, and then both turned to see a smugly smiling Kazehana and Uzume with expressions saying they had known about Riko's special place in their Sekirei pecking order all along. All four turned to give Natalie a questioning look. Riko was SO powerful and yet SO alienated from Cash Joseph!

"Yes, I KNOW," Natalie sighed while shaking her head, "and you ought to see the Karasu combat suits she's building for you all. They're better than anything that I can find that's even hinted at in my data banks. Cash Darling NEEDS her. Getting him interested though, THAT is proving to be a very daunting obstacle. We HAVE to get her more comfortable within herself and feeling accepted by her peers, then we can begin introducing the real Riko to Cash Darling, I hope."

"Reeker, I'm really sorry for all those years I ragged on you," Toyotama tried to apologize after taking Natalie's cue, but it only made Riko bawl harder as Akitsu patted her shoulders in mother-like sympathy and murmured reassurances that her Sisters echoed. It took several minutes of all of them calming Riko down to at least set the official record straight enough to satisfy Natalie's data needs. It took several more minutes until they could get enough peace to rearrange chairs and continue Natalie's coaching session.

"My, now wasn't that all very interesting? Circle life is NEVER dull!" Natalie smiled in rueful triumph as the eight Sekirei finally sat back down in seats that they had now moved into a semicircle around their coach, womb mother, and new mentor. "Okay, now, let me explain the REAL depths of your new Circle relationships to each other and your Ashikabi Cash Joseph Archer. In the very near future I will be with each of you individually, starting with Kazehana, and helping each of you understand your Ashikabi better and how to improve your relationships with him. However, I think a quick synopsis about our LOVER now would be very helpful.

"There are very sound reasons why Miya, Karasuba, and Riko are experiencing Cash Joseph's rejection, which he normally wouldn't do, but they each badly crossed a very basic line within his inner man's sense of what is right and what is very wrong. Our Cash Joseph is intelligent, calm, good natured, easy going, generous, very caring, and somewhat of a romantic artist in art and music. He has always been like that, because that is his basic nature, and it's why he connects SO strongly with our hopelessly romantic Kazehana. He is very ethical and moral largely due to his Midwest family environment. He grew up as the adored center of his conservative valued mother, younger sister, and his three spinster aunts, each doting upon him in a very protective and almost smothering manner as he very naturally became the strong male center of their family. That fact along with the war death of his very strong father when Cash was young then made him highly pacifist, VERY protective of his family, and treasuring life way beyond normal humanity. It also made him a very self confidant, strong willed, self assured type of leader, especially in sports. He used baseball to alleviate the heart pangs from his father's death, and its rules and mores almost became a surrogate type of mentor to him. It is the core of why he loves his athletic endeavors, especially baseball.

"His female dominated upbringing has also left him with a very high freedom quotient and very wary of dominating females outside his family. His mother and her spinster sisters also had very unrealistic standards for any girl to date THEIR Cash Joseph. That has left him too sheltered, socially awkward, and very naïve around other females. He is therefore very easily taken advantage of by tricky, gold digging, and male abusing types of female vamps like his ex-fiance Agnes Mortenson. While also pregnant from another man, she broke Cash Joseph's heart when he found her in bed with yet a third human male. She then stripped him of his financial resources and ability to play baseball as he desired while alienating him from his family. Agnes, like many human females that do not bond deeply with their males, really did a lot of damage to his strong male ego and his ability to trust any females again. It has directly led to our Circle's current woes with him as much as our three Sisters' past insanity.

"So, Miya and Karasuba both broke Cash Joseph's strong sense of trust and went very badly against his strong pacifist nature. Hurting any female he loves goes very strongly against this sense also. Riko has constantly managed to stomp all over his high freedom quotient, wariness against outside dominating females, and being taken advantage of again by a socially obtuse female that acted like good old Agnes in a lot of ways. He especially hates Riko's misguided sex guide advocating all kinds of hurtful and self satisfying kinkiness that does not express tender and romantic love. Riko also belittled his strong ethics in his love for baseball and was very critical of his artwork upon their first meeting. Those were NOT good at all, and he still hasn't forgiven her for them."

"I, I, didn't know they mattered that much," Riko swallowed hard as Cash's five strongly bonded Sekirei gave her a slightly sour look for so grossly offending their love.

"Well, it did, and you're now dying because of it," Natalie said very bluntly, "but he is VERY forgiving by nature, he appreciates blunt honesty, and he very deeply cares for females he NEEDS to protect. You three MUST understand these things about him if you want to live, but it will take a little time and effort on all our parts to make things right with him and our Circle. Before that can happen, we need all eight of you to understand yourselves."

With that, Natalie walked back around her desk and stepped to the blackboard, picked up a piece of chalk and drew an octagon with four diagonals through the center.

"Let's call this special group session Sekirei Geometry. A Sekirei Circle is formed with eight Sekirei and one Ashikabi ALWAYS in their center. In ancient times it was called the Nest Circle, but that has been shortened. An ideal Circle consists of four Sekirei combat pairs that have four individual Sekirei with ranged combat powers and four with close combat skills. Each ranged Sekirei forms a natural bond with a close combat Sister so that both are protected from attacks from afar and up close. Thus a Circle and their Ashikabi is most efficiently protected by four sets of two facing outward in each quadrant, and again, their Ashikabi is ALWAYS in the middle. Questions?"

Natalie paused and looked over her head to see that each of her students were avidly studying her blackboard figure with great interest, but no questions came forth.

"Each circle always has eight distinct and different types of Sekirei with eight distinct primary responsibilities to her Nest. They are, in chain of command, The One Who Leads, The One Who Kills, The One Who Defends, The One Who Watches, The One Who Senses, The One Who Heals, The One Who Builds, and The One Who Serves."

Natalie put names beside each octagon point going clockwise and went into pure lecture mode.

"In our Prime Circle this is Kazehana, leader and Prime Pillar, Karasuba, battle commander, Uzume, nest defender, Toyotama, nest sentinel and scout, Akitsu, nest distant threat sensor, Himeko, nest healer, Riko, nest builder, and Miya, nest servant. We have four close combat fighters arranged across from four ranged fighters. Draw lines through your Ashikabi and you can readily see that Kazehana is the natural combat bond mate with Toyotama, Karasuba with Akitsu, Uzume with Riko, and Himeko with Miya. Fighting, moving and protecting is always done in the four points of the compass. Kazehana and Toyotama are at 0 degrees and in FRONT of their moving Ashikabi. Karasuba and Akitsu have the right flank at 90 degrees, Uzume and Riko defend the Circle and Ashikabi from behind at 180 degrees, and Miya and Himeko have the left flank at 270 degrees. Or, if you wish 12, 3, 6, and 9 o'clock positions. This NEVER varies in any Circle! Each Sekirei always know EXACTLY where their Ashikabi is at all times as well as the positions of her Sisters! When threats, attacks, and/or movements are called, there will NEVER be positional confusion among you."

Instantly the schoolroom scene shifted to the eight Sekirei now standing with their weapons in a loose circle on a baseball diamond's outfield. They were dressed in spandex black shorts, tennis shoes, short white socks and pinstriped, personally numbered Yankee baseball shirts. As they stood blinking at the suddenness of their lecture changing to a field demonstration, Natalie, in the middle of them and now dressed the same as her class but with her 00 number on her back, began pointing with a small baton.

"Form your battle pairs, and take your positions! Now! Move! I am your Ashikabi, and I am in DANGER!"

Eight startled Sekirei leaped to obey with somewhat less than Natalie's desired results. Toyotama pivoted to find Kazehana, and, with an hard left elbow to the chin, knocked Akitsu backward into Uzume. One of Uzume's veils automatically lashed out to help her maintain her balance and caught Himeko by the throat just as Number 15 leaped. Himeko was yanked back down to land on top of Riko who was trying to get behind Uzume. The five found themselves roiling around on the ground in a giant tangle of arms, legs, veils, and one large, wicked looking double bladed sword thankfully still sheathed as was Toyotama's long lance. Kazehana at twelve o'clock grimaced in consternation as she glanced at a very displeased and impatient looking Natalie. Miya at nine o'clock winced in sympathy at Himeko turning a little blue from lack of oxygen and the smaller Riko being moshed at the bottom of the whole mess. Karasuba, somewhat leery of any more sharp tama pains, went to great lengths in smothering her outright laughter down to an unbelieving snicker at the sight she beheld. She got a sharp tama jab anyway.

"Don't stand their like a smirking fool, Karasuba!" Natalie hissed. "YOU'RE their battle LEADER! Your troops are a bunch of total screw ups! Your SWEETUMS life is in DANGER! What are YOU going to do?"

Galvanized into instant action, Karasuba's sword hissed out of its scabbard, and she began laying about with the flat side and yelling at her people to quit screwing around here! Backsides and egos stung, Toyotama and Himeko both scrambled away and crawled on all fours towards Kazehana and Miya respectively. Uzume bounced up and grabbed Riko around the waist to bring her out from underneath a still floundering Akitsu. Karasuba grabbed her battle mate's right hand, yanked her to her feet, and whirled herself and Akitsu both into their three o'clock position. Four battle pairs turned as one to sheepishly give a sour looking Natalie an apologetic look.

"OKAY! So I was wrong! We DO have a positional problem!" Natalie rolled her eyes in disgusted disbelief. "You can't even read a clock? FINE! Work on it! Now! As one! RETREAT! ... NO! NO! Back towards your Circle's SIX o'clock, AKITSU! Not NINE! You trying to kill your Ashikabi? It's a good thing I'm simulated here, or you would have!"

For the next few minutes and what seemed MUCH longer to her beleaguered charges, drill sergeant Natalie bawled out defensive movements and potential threats around the clock. Then she added offense.

"Toyotama! For Pete's Sakes! You never THROW your primary weapon at an enemy! So you kill one or two! Big Deal! What are you going to use when the other hundred threaten you and Kazehana? And now one of them has your lance to stick you and your battle mate and your Ashikabi! Battle pairs UNITE their powers by using their abilities for psychic meshing as they attack! Think, girls, THINK! Toyotama! Use the point of your lance as a hose to guide the myriad of Kazehana's little cutting wind shears she's forming for you! Sweep the ground and air before you like a giant hose! Then think of other ways to mesh together! Okay? You other three pairs! What are you doing just standing there? Combine your primary powers and sweep your fronts! Karasuba! Get WITH it!"

"I don't have any big psychic power to add to Akitsu's!" Karasuba snapped peevishly without thinking. "I kill with my sword!"

"I don't have any big psychic power," Natalie mocked in more dripping disgust. "Where's your brains after all these years? So you kill a few hundred enemy with your sword and take WAY too much precious time to do it! Big Deal Again! Meanwhile your Ashikabi gets MURDERED! And you laughed when I said you were ignorant and untrained? THINK! You're Number 04 in the Prime Circle! You're an ELEMENTAL! What is it you do that no other Sekirei can do better than you? Number 05 Mutsu is your fraternal twin! What does HE do the best?"

"A psychic stun?" Karasuba frowned uncertainly, "and he can shake the earth, really HARD!"

"PSYCHIC stun, good!" Natalie crowed in triumph. "Notice the focus on the word PSYCHIC? Now who was it that PROJECTED a city wide PSYCHIC wolf sex dream and Akitsu's orgasms? Could that have been Number 04? Silly little old KARASUBA? A psychic projector of incredible power that has only used her primary psychic mass weapon and power as a little TOY for all her life? Well, perish the thought! Now empath Akitsu can certainly conjure cold fear for you. Do you think that together you could PROJECT that over a larger group of oncoming enemies? Maybe add in a little searing frost to burn them and their lungs and freeze their equipment at the same time?"

Karasuba and Akitsu exchanged dubious glances and shrugged together in silent agreement to give something, anything, a try. As Akitsu pointed her right hand outward to send out her usual attack of ice shards along with her fear of further displeasing a very displeased Natalie, Karasuba squinted to mesh her mind with her battle mate's. Instantly a large and rapidly widening cone of white frost blasted out from them across the outfield grass to turn a distant row of healthy, green leafy trees waving sedately in the spring breeze into stiff, starkly frosted, and frozen white statutes whose leaves began to shatter in the wind.

"GOOD! Good! For a first try at least! It can get MUCH better when you both use your Noritos!" Natalie shouted in encouragement. "Use your imaginations, girls! See how many combinations of your powers you can utilize! Akitsu! Try forming a giant sword of ice that Karasuba can use as a scythe in front of you! You're only limited by your minds! Expand your thinking Girls! Uzume! Why are you still confused?"

"I, I, uhhh, I can only form and use my veils!" Uzume chewed her bottom lip in consternation. "Riko could throw me if I made them into a hard point maybe, but you already yelled at Toyotama for doing that. I, I don't know what to do!"

"How do you form your veils?" Natalie sighed impatiently while repeatedly smacking her intimidating baton into her open palm.

"Well, I don't know, actually," Uzume blinked in surprise at the question. "I've, I've always been able to do it ever since I was a little baby."

"Oh great!" Natalie mocked anew in more scathing sarcasm. "The skin on your precious baby butt felt a linen diaper and imitated it. Then you could move your diaper around a little as you got older and even make more diapers to use at the same time. How sweet! Say! Did you ever think to bump it up a notch and make silk diapers? You know, have a LITTLE class? No? Mind boggling to use your brains, isn't it? All these years and you're still stuck thinking like a baby? RIKO! What is linen made out of?"

"Uh, uh, ummm, cellulose polymers?" Riko stammered while staring in confusion at this new side of Natalie's persona that had never surfaced before.

"And cellulose polymers are made out of?" Natalie waved her baton back and forth impatiently to encourage a better answer. A sharp twinge of tama pain hit all eight Sekirei. "GET WITH THE PROGRAM HERE! ALL OF YOU!"

"Uh, glucose polymers, uh, carbon, and, and, hydrates, oxygen, hydrogen, and, and, ummm," Riko shrank back as Natalie advanced to stick her nose almost against Riko's.

"Would YOU call carbon an element, RIKO?" Natalie demanded loudly as Riko began nodding her head vigorously. "AND would Number 10 Uzume, a Prime Circle back up, be an ELEMENTAL user? Capable of pulling Carbon, Oxygen, Nitrogen, Hydrogen and other trace elements out of the air to form her little linen diapers? Do you both think it just might be possible for SOME of those same elements to be used for anything OTHER than baby Uzume's diaper making? You ARE capable of pressing things together and shaping things once formed, aren't you baby Riko? I mean, if by some wild stretch of the imagination, baby Uzume here threw you a few carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, and nitrogen atoms taken from the AIR around her, you could form SOMETHING useful, maybe? Like a thick polymer plastic and bullet proof dome that would be highly small arms, cannon shell, and even Ashikabi killing missile resistant? Hey! Here's an idea! How about some laminated carbon or even nanofiber darts for a continuous barrage at the enemy? Diamond tipped too, maybe? How many freaking organic and metallic organic polymer combinations are there on this planet? Millions? Could you make just ONE for a weapon or at least a defensive shield for your Sisters? AND your Ashikabi who is getting KILLED here? Now could you two KIDS try to think of something other than whatever covers your butts to soak up your body excrement?"

"Y, y, y, yes!" Uzume and Riko stammered together as a small plastic dome sprang up out of thin air over their heads. Horrified at the now angrier look Natalie gave them, the two instantly expanded and thickened their dome out to cover the entire baseball diamond.

"Now what ELSE can you two do? Riko, you're The One Who BUILDS! I'm expecting GREAT things out of you! Out of you both! And more than just defense Uzume! Throw a bunch of rocks in the air and let Riko zing them down range if nothing else! Do something! Anything!"

"Natalie, what about me?" Himeko asked with her own helpless horror. "Am I supposed to project my healing?"

"No! Of course not!" Natalie relented a little, "but you CAN add you psychic power to whatever Number 01 Miya wants to throw out there, can't you? Just mesh with her mind like you did with Toyotama to get Cash Darling to re-wing you both. And that big double sword of yours has two blades and two points to direct, sweep, and focus whatever Miya wants to use on the enemy, right? Miya is STILL the strongest psychic of your group and has a wide range of ways to use her mind. They don't call her the Hanya of the North for nothing! Just put your heads together and PRACTICE! ALL of you MUST PRACTICE, A LOT! What you also have to remember Himeko is this, and listen, all of you! Himeko is your Circle AND your Ashikabi's medic! Next to him she MUST be protected at all costs because she can not only save your little wounded bodies, but she can put you back into the battle! Got it? All right! Enough of this for now, but practice when you are awake! Form your battle pairs and move together! Learn to fight! Together! Learn to PROTECT YOUR ASHIKABI! Together! Next time we will try combining the psychic powers of two battle pairs and then all four. Think of ways that the four and eight of you could mesh your powers and minds to form weapons and defenses! Okay, back to class."

Instantly the scene shifted back to the classroom where business suit and calmly teaching Natalie was adding a few touches to her chalk rendition of Sekirei battle group formations. Karasuba was frowning in almost feral glee and intensity at all the enormous potential for mayhem she had seen displayed while thinking of even better possibilities. Miya looked at her former rival and then at Natalie who nodded back in silent understanding. Yes, Miya smiled slightly in new found contentment, she HAD made the right move for once in her life, but the scars of all her failures would be with her always. That was okay as long as Cash would let her be in love with him, and he would take her back as his Sekirei.

"Are there any questions? No? That's nice." A slightly smiling and internally smug Natalie turned and then calmly continued. "You WILL improve. Now, the make up of a Nest's womb is based on multiples of eight Sisters to one male. Picture an eight sided crystal rod, or what we call a jinki. If you think of one Circle as a combat platoon, then eight Circles meshed around one Prime Ashikabi forms an effective combat company. Eight combat companies around one Prime Leader makes a Sekirei battle division called a Nest of Sisters. Those eight companies form the base of the rod. ALL control and meshing power of all the Circles is gathered, focused, and directed to their Ashikabi, then on up through their eight Lead Ashikabi, and finally up to THEIR one Prime Leader. Coordination and execution of that control and power is done through the Prime Lead Pillar, down to Lead Pillars, and then on down to Lead Sekirei. Do you see how integrated Sekirei combat command and control ALWAYS works?"

"I, I don't understand," Akitsu bit her lower lip in worried confusion, an expression also mirrored by Toyotama.

Natalie quickly drew an eight sided figure with lines going up to a single point to form a picture of an eight sided crystal rod. She lightly shaded the sides to further illustrate a 3D eight planar solid or pyramid converging to a tip.

"Here child. In every Nest of Sisters, or jinki battle division," she pointed at the base of the eight sided rod illustration. "Sixty four Nest Circles of eight Sekirei each are the jinki base. Eight of these Circles elevate to form the jinki sides and are called the Lead Circles. One of those Lead Circles elevates to form the jinki point which is THE focal Prime Circle. That's YOU and your seven Sisters. The Prime Ashikabi of YOUR lead Prime Circle." She moved her pointer up to the crystal rod's tip and finished with, "is ALSO the Prime Leader. In our case, that ONE male Ashikabi is YOUR Cash Joseph Archer. Only HE can form and mesh a combat company of Lead Circles AND the entire battle division made up from sixty four meshed Nest Circles. Does this help you understand?"

"Yes," Akitsu nodded before Natalie continued.

"Then also understand this. Although we only currently have enough Sekirei and Ashikabi to make eight Lead Circles, it is VERY powerful once meshed together; hopefully enough to protect our new home planet. An entire Nest of Sisters battle division of 512 female Sekirei around 64 Ashikabi would have enough combined flower power to protect and dominate a galactic arm. I say this because the pyramidal rod in three dimensional space, a fractal octet of octet of octet divisional formation, viewed from head on is also called a Sekirei Battle Flower because it looks like eight petals around a glowing golden center. Eight Battle Flowers formed by a Prime Ruling Leader can dominate an entire galaxy. There are pictures of some ancient Battle Flowers operating in space and near planetary orbits in my historical archives for your to view later if you wish. So, now you know why a womb ship always have octet based numbers. Questions?"

"Ummm, wait. The math doesn't add up since we had 108 Sekirei in your brood." Riko frowned as she studied the surreal looking "jinki" drawn on the blackboard. "I mean if we only need 64 Sekirei and 8 Ashikabi males to form a Lead Circle group, why are there 32 other female Sekirei and their 4 males in your womb ship? And why are there sex changeable Sekirei like Homura and Shiina? And I thought jinkis were just crystalline control rods, one from each of the eight Sekirei ships. Doesn't Minaka have seven and Matsu stole the other?"

"Yes, good questions, Child," Natalie smiled while nodding in understanding, "and here's the answers. Those crystalline jinki are really psychic power focal rods. Each ship has eight apiece and a longer focal rod for their Prime Pillar to use in battle. The crystal jinki are needed to help focus combined Nest integration, meshed weaponry, AND for controlling Sekirei psychic communication while Nests travel at warp speeds outside the normal space-time continuum. Mind speak is not subject to normal space time laws, but it does have to have a very tight focus to connect. Much more than that, and the truly dangerous part now, is that the crystal rods can also be used to transmit a Circle of Nests' self destruction from their Prime Leader. That is done rather than experience a slow starvation or any other always fatal calamity making a quick mass death the preferred option in interstellar space.

"Minaka insanely plans to use THAT feature to devastate this planet's population, kill all Sekirei, and quicken his ascension into a world dictatorship. How he is going to shield himself, wife, daughter, and son, from that self destruct command has yet to be understood, but he IS brilliant. I'm sure he has thought of something. What we have to do is make sure he never gets all eight and finds a way to activate them, but at the same time preserve the jinkis for battle and our descendents future travel to and among the stars."

"I see," Riko mused thoughtfully to herself. So, her original idea of ending Minaka's stupid Sekirei Plan when she had first escaped from MBI just needed a little modification now, and a lot of hard work whenever she got the chance. Well, if she could survive long enough to get Cash Joseph's love to even be able to work on it. Still, the idea needed to be kept in the back of her mind and maybe acted upon when the time and opportunity presented itself. Riko nodded gloomily as she turned her attention back to Natalie's lecture. Getting Cash Joseph's love had proved impossible so far unless Natalie hopefully had a better plan.

"Now as to numbers," Natalie continued while smiling at Riko as if reading her still gloomy thoughts. "There are 96 females and 12 males in each colonizing womb ship. Thus the number 108 in my original brood. The reason is that ancient specie preservation still exists. Although every nest contains 12 males like Number 05 Mutsu and can form 12 Circles, the nest also has at least 4 MORE androgynous male/female Sekirei like Number 06 Homura and Number 107 Shiina. These can change sexual orientation in order for wounded circles to complete their nests as a fail safe backup in case of large scale calamities. In those events, the androgynous male/female can become what is needed for fertile eggs to be hatched and force grown in the stasis tanks for damage replacement.

"In other words, just like most other avian, oceanic, and reptilian species, ancient Sekirei formed more ova than actually needed for their octets because as a species we KNOW that life is never mathematical perfection, right? Some life forms literally spawn millions of eggs in order for the Law of Large Numbers work to insure a few hundreds survive to propagate the species. Even then some hatchlings have to change sex for viable population preservation. If everything did work out perfectly for each Nest's first eight Circles, then the other four Circles would form naturally around the remaining four males. Then the Nest's four androgynous Sekirei males would become Ashikabi's of native females to immediately make a second Nest of eight Circles with the womb's second strongest Sekirei male as their second Prime Leader. However, I suspect that kind of perfection only happens rarely in our galactic colonies. Life is too harsh among interstellar travelers."

"A little side note here about Sekirei sex," Natalie stopped drawing and labeling her Sekirei chain of command and control to turn and look over her shoulder at her eight students now looking at each other with new understanding. "Combat bond mates does NOT necessarily mean bed mates, although occasionally it does happen in rare Circles. That largely depends upon the personality and character of that Circle's human Ashikabi, but still remains rare in spite of Minaka's perversion of our Circle formations during your maturation years. We Sekirei have avian forebears, and like most birds, form lifetime monogamous bonds with our Ashikabi. Cash Joseph Archer, due to his DNA, upbringing, and natural personality, is a part human/part Sekirei male that forms intense one on one bonds with his females and is not really too comfortable with multiple partners at once. He has tolerated Akitsu, Uzume, and Karasuba double teaming him a few times, largely in part to Akitsu's empathic projection powers I think, but he is much more comfortable with one on one sex. Big group and female on female action is way too intimidating for him to function as he wants. Five of you have have already seen this to be true, and Riko, he REALLY detests the more your kinky sections of your sex book, but we will talk about this more in depth in our individual training sessions which I have named Understanding Your Ashikabi."

"For now, let's finish Sekirei Geometry," Natalie turned back to her blackboard and again pointed towards her eight sided rod drawing. "Sekirei have always been migratory. As an interstellar traveling race, we traverse the galaxies in Circle Nests of eight Sister ships around a Prime Leader, seeking Human and other Sekirei races compatible to our own and combining our DNA with them. Thus, our combined species benefit and progress from increased diversity. My data banks suggest that there are untold numbers of planets that we use and have used for our migrations. My Nest Circle of Sisters met disaster on our way here a millennium or more ago. My Prime Leader and all seven of my Nest Sisters are now long dead, and only I and my 108 chicks remain of that entire original Nest Circle. However, some of my Sisters survived long enough to see a few out of their broods mated with human Ashikabi to begin our interbreeding on this planet ages ago. Almost half of this world's descendents have some Sekirei DNA. One such descendent has become your Ashikabi and my Prime leader. As far as my limited data can verify, Cash Joseph Archer has the most powerful Sekirei/Human psychic capabilities on this planet, and happily for all of us, he was raised in a truly loving and intensely caring household with an extended family of females. Other than that, remember, I will cover all each of you NEED to know about our man in our individual sessions."

Natalie laid down her chalk and slowly turned to somberly eye her Prime Circle.

"It is time for you to awaken and begin your duties as Prime Pillar, Kazehana. Don't be afraid to lean heavily upon your Prime Sisters to aid you in all things, especially in keeping our Lover safe. It is why we Sekirei have formed our Circles from the dawn of our awareness. Why we birth our female young in very uneven ratio to males that necessitated protective Circles I don't know. It is just one of those things we must accept as the way we are wired as a race. I do know that other Circles in Tokyo are finally forming if somewhat unnaturally and despite Minaka's interference. In fact, a large Sekirei battle between opposing Ashikabi to wing Number 06 Homura is about to begin as we speak.

"The current very weak and unnatural one on one Sekirei bonding is getting replaced by the more stronger Ashikabi while our Nest's Sekirei are naturally seeking their Circle Sisterhoods, but great things are going to be needed and expected from YOUR Circle, my children," Natalie continued quietly, "great things because we all have a very great and formidable enemy.

"YOU are the Primary Leader's Circle! Everything centers around you! You must quickly learn how to fight, move, and defend together, and it appears we are going to be very tightly constrained by our Cash Joseph Archer to accomplish our Nest's survival WITHOUT a wholesale slaughter of humankind life. Again, how this will be, I really don't know. We Sekirei are VERY good at killing. Just like the birds of this world, we are predatory and voracious killers by our very nature. Cash Joseph is NOT. To him all life is very precious, even those that must die from their evil deeds. Those few deaths he will tolerate, but not much more. We will conform to him, because it would break his heart for us to make him do otherwise. Which one of us wants to break his heart now? You, Kazehana? I thought not. This is from a Nest Sister formerly designated as The One Who Kills that has absolutely no reserves when it comes to killing my Prime Leader's enemies, or my Nest's either, yet I MUST please my Prime Leader in this just as you all MUST. He has also demanded precise communication between us in the future. It will be very hard for me to gain the wiggle room with him that I NEED to lead in saving us all."

"I got a feeling, Coach," Karasuba smirked with her old self confidence as she leaned back in her chair and turned to grin at a sighing Kazehana who very much looked like she needed a drink, "that you might just pull it off anyway, but only if WE help you."


	19. Chapter 19

**The Game Changer**

**Chapter 19 – Psyching Up, Game Day Prep**

Number 05 Mutsu staggered as he tried to concentrate very hard on keeping his feet, supporting himself with his still usable left arm and hand against the rough bricks of the adjacent buildings, and yet keep moving down the dark and trash strewn alley to find a place of safety. His legs were too unsteady and weak from shock for another leap away from the human hounds that were closing in. He had sensed them hunting him all day, casting back and forth to locate him even before the Battle for Homura. The pressure of being hunted was still impinging on Mutsu's psychic senses very heavily. His unknown human pursuers, somehow keeping a pretty decent shield on their thoughts but not so well on their emotions and locations, were getting closer, and they had fanned out in a semicircle behind him. He could feel their resolute determination to ensnare him. He had to keep moving and find the strength to move more quickly to elude them.

To say that the four way Battle for Homura had went badly, Mutsu grimaced in pain, was a significant understatement. What had started out so promising in following Number 06 Homura, who had suddenly and insanely became bent on assassinating Hiroto Minaka, had turned into a gross miscalculation of favorable assets by Mutsu to accomplish Homura's winging by Mikogami. It had then went into battle terms of a complete fiasco and defeat after Seo and his damnable eight Sekirei had arrived on the scene. Following their blasting stun attacks in concert with Sahashi Minato's forces and driving off Homura's pursuit, Minaka had decided to start a little early on his Sekirei Plan's Phase Three in eliminating potential enemies. He had targeted Mutsu and opened up with MBI's satellite lasers. That's when Mutsu had nearly met an early demise in the whole endeavor even after such a great beginning.

Sensing Number 01 Miya was absent, Mutsu and Mikogami's full contingent of Sekirei had set up a surveillance system on Izumo Inn before midnight. Mutsu had carefully assessed the opposition inside the Inn. Minato's seven Sekirei were a formidable force, and Taki of the Mists had enough psychic power and sensitivity to forestall any surprise attack. Even unwinged, Homura was well able to defend himself against multiple attackers as was Number 09 Tsukuimi if forewarned. Mutsu had wisely decided on patience after conferring with Ikki. The object after all was to safely gain an undamaged Homura, not start a Sekirei war with Minato, a war that would certainly weaken Mikogami's still largely "untuned" flock.

This was another worry Mutsu was trying to fix since Mikogami had become totally infatuated with Ikki's bedroom talents to the point he had neglected "tuning" the rest of his female flock. It was, Mutsu had mused while watching Izumo Inn with his mind, a study of human male inconsistency when a now perpetually horny young Ashikabi decried his duty to deflower his 17 very willing and anxiously waiting virgin Sekirei by constantly mating with the 1 hot slut who REALLY knew what she was doing in the sack.

Tactically, it seemed to Mutsu, Mikogami should be doing his best to turn them all into experienced and empowered bedroom artists while binding them tighter for the coming war with Minaka. Mutsu had tried to point this out several times in the past few hours, but Mikogami's response had been to shove an unopened case of Twinkies at Mutsu before opting for even more sack time with Ikki. It had been all Mutsu could do just to get them to stop their constant rutting to go after Homura. Perhaps winging the hermaphrodite Homura would bring another very intelligent voice of sanity to encourage Mikogami's optimization of his assets.

Further pondering of his troubles with Mikogami had been put on hold when Homura had suddenly burst from an Inn's window and began powerfully leaping across Tokyo. The immediate problem then became keeping the swiftly traveling Homura in sight. They had trailed Number 06 while keeping a prudent distance, searching for an advantageous spot for Mutsu to get in a psychic stun blast to knock the leaping Homura helpless and then call a following Mikogami to wing the hermaphroditic fire user. High atop Tokyo on an unknown skyscraper's roof, Homura's incredible powers over fire had went violently unstable when suddenly attacked out of nowhere by Higa's five remaining Sekirei.

The battle of one on five had been fierce while Mutsu had carefully bided his time, watching for an opening to get Homura unharmed. That had been forestalled when Homura's unstable body had began self immolation and Homura began screaming his death curses in the direction of Minaka's MBI towers off in the distance. Just as Mutsu had decided to move all of Mikogami's Sekirei to Homura's side in order to protect and aid Homura by stunning him unconscious, Seo and his glowing group had shown up along with Sanada of the West and his three Sekirei followed by Minato of the North and his seven. A quick stunning blast ordered by Haihane and directed by Benitsubasa had simply knocked Higa's five Sekirei out of the sky to literally land at Sanada's feet on the skyscraper roof below.

Seo had then set up a defensive ring around Homura while calling out a mocking greeting, "Hey Muts! How's it going, big fella?" He hated being called Muts! Minato's Tsukuimi had summarily and somewhat haughtily doused Homura. Musubi had airily demanded the fire user to pay his back rent or live until he could, and Minato had kissed Homura at some considerable risk to himself and his heavily singed hair. Wings of fire had then sprouted from Homura's back, and Minato's dark red Sekirei crest was simultaneously implanted between the fire user's shoulder blades. The battle had ended with little more than a few anti-climatic wisps of remaining smoke and little else.

Conceding defeat, Mutsu had given the order to retreat back to the Mikogami's new wine red limo now loitering below the battle zone. His group had just reached the vehicle when Mutsu's earth powers had felt a fiery and disturbing danger coming towards them from the reaches of the upper atmosphere. Mutsu, sensing that he had been targeted, had blasted out a mental warning to all Sekirei in the area, yelled for his group to scatter as he would try to draw Minaka's fire away from them all, and had made a prodigious leap himself to the east. With only seconds to spare, Seo and Sanada had gathered Higa's five now groggy but awake Sekirei and leaped to the west away from danger like a big retreating flock of birds. Minato and his new group of eight Sekirei had bounded away north. Ikki and five other of Mikogami's strongest Sekirei that had been "fine tuned" to him had simply snatched their Ashikabi and jumped off to the south as ordered by Mutsu. Mikogami's remaining group of lightly winged and untuned Sekirei had simply scattered in all directions as a laser beam of lancing fire came out of the heavens and completely destroyed Mikogami's latest new limo.

A second laser shot definitely targeting Mutsu came sizzling down out of the sky and exploded a gasoline tanker below him as once again he leaped to evade being fried. Bounding sideways, a sharp, hand sized piece of metal from the destroyed truck flew high from the force of the titanic explosion and caught a turning Mutsu in the back just below his right shoulder blade. He quickly made another leap sideways to gain a subway entrance and escape. Riding the tops of the trains, he had tried to make his way back south, but weak from shock and loss of blood he had inadvertently went north. Finally realizing he was going the wrong way when he recognized the station near the Tokyo Dome, Mutsu had turned around only to feel his unknown human pursuers abruptly home in on him and the waves of pain he couldn't keep emitting from his mind. Then the current chase had begun. Determined not to be caught like a rat in the subway tunnels, Mutsu had instinctively sought open air and height, but his legs had given out after a few leaps. Ironically, he now found himself less than a block from where he had originally gotten wounded.

He paused as he reached the alley's corner with another cross alley. There was a highly agitated Sekirei around the edge of the building to his left. It was Number 107 Shiina, another hermaphrodite like Homura, and he/she was worried greatly. Mutsu staggered around the edge of the building, breathing heavily and cursing to himself that Mikogami had never "fine tuned" Himeko and had let her get re-winged by Archer. Mutsu could certainly use her healing powers now. Matter of fact, he could still sense her mind in a general way somewhere north of his location. Could he find her and ask for her help? Or would Archer have his Sekirei attack him for Mutsu's not so veiled threat made in the bathhouse?

"Who's there!" Shiina was startled out of his/her funk to realize there was pain and danger approaching from nearby. The more male than female youngster, although dressed like a girl, leaped up and put himself between his unconscious Ashikabi and the large dark shadow staggering towards them. He started to shout "DEATH GARDEN!" when Mutsu almost casually waved his left hand and sent a mind stun that knocked Shiina off his feet and back against the building behind him before he could unleash his lethal attack.

"I mean you no harm, or you would be dead by now. You've got such great power, Number 107," Mutsu began conversationally as he pulled the groggy Shiina to his feet using his sheathed sword as an arm extension, "that you forget you're still vulnerable in so many ways. Never attack an unknown enemy you haven't scouted first. Never overestimate your strengths while underestimating his. Sometimes negotiation is the best way to win your objectives. You really should read Sun Tzu's Art of War before you commit yourself to indiscriminate killing out of unreasoning fear and wield great power that you have not learned to use wisely. What's wrong with this girl? Who is she?"

"She is my Ashikabi, Sahashi Yukari, Minato of the North's sister," Shiina muttered while trying to blink his eyes back into focus. The big guy REALLY packed a wallop! "We were on our way to find Number 06 Homura and Number 108 Kusano when Yukari got knocked down by this wild eyed crazy guy on a motorcycle. She got mad and kicked him. Then we ran towards the sounds of a Sekirei battle above us when an explosion occurred and knocked us both out. I, I, just came to a minute ago. She's alive, and I don't think she's hurt bad, just knocked out. What should I do? I, I want to take her to MBI's hospital and her mother Sahashi Takami, but, but somehow I feel unreasoning rage and hatred coming from that direction."

"That would be Hiroto Minaka who is probably highly distressed that he missed killing me," Mutsu nodded in understanding. "Listen. I'm wounded and too weak to jump, but if we work together, I think I can locate Number 15 Himeko who can heal your Ashikabi and me. If I carry your Ashikabi, can you leap us away from here towards the north? Decide quickly. I have been pursued all day by unknown human hunters, and they seem to be closing in. I have no idea of their intentions, or if I am even their sole target."

"Yes, I can jump all three of us," Shiina responded by scooping up his precious Ashikabi and exchanging her for Mutsu's sword in the wounded Sekirei's hands. Grabbing the wincing Mutsu around the waist and hanging onto the bigger Sekirei's sword, Shiina made the leap up to the rooftop above them. The heavy psychic pressure from his pursuers faded in Mutsu's mind as they made their escape across the night sky of northern Tokyo.

***scene break***

Hiroto Minaka zoomed in on the blast site as much as his satellite lens would allow and visually searched every square foot of the blackened area for signs of a fallen Mutsu. Nothing. Keying his throat mike, he switched back to infrared and expanded his search pattern. Still nothing. Damn! Mutsu, the most capable Sekirei out there besides Miya and Karasuba, was just too dangerous to be left alive!

"All tracking stations! Report to command central! Is there any sign of Number 05 anywhere?" Minaka's harsh voice boomed around the command bunker and caused more than a few to wince in irritation.

"Negative," one tinny voice came back in a flat monotone. "We had him on a visual just as the gasoline tanker blew then nothing after that. Infrared was down because of the heat of the blast and resulting fire blinded our sensors. He's either hiding in a nearby building, in the sewers, or he made it to the subway station entrance about a block away. He did not show up in any station cameras afterward though. Multiple Sekirei heat signatures scattered away from the area before and after the first laser shot. None appeared injured and left the scene at a high rate of speed. Number 06 Homura's baseline heat signature has lowered 2.3 degrees. Cause unknown but still traceable. It looks like a clean miss on Number 05 Mutsu for both shots."

"DAMN!" Minaka stood up and began striding back and forth while looking at all his wall mounted monitors. "How did Mutsu know? How about 01 Miya and Karasuba? Any sightings of them yet? Has Archer, Kazehana, and his other Sekirei been located?"

"Negative. Nothing further from our last reports on Archer and his crew. Last visual of Number 01 was in her back yard garden over thirty hours ago. Karasuba gave us the slip somewhere near Archer's apartment building not long after that. Unable to confirm because unknown hackers redirected our satellite cameras to the outdoor studios where the new and revised Takeshi's Castle Game Show is being broadcast. Apparently, the new format is going to be more closely identified with the American Most Extreme Elimination Challenge remake because of the MXC program's popularity of the episodes involving the Rotating Surfboard of Doom, Wall Bangers, and the ever popular Sinkers and Floaters."

"Rotating Surfboard of? Security! Arrest that unfathomable fool! Lock him up and make him watch 30 straight hours of old Rawhide reruns! I want hard reports people! Not TV game show programming updates! Find those low number SEKIREI and ARCHER! IMMEDIATELY" Minaka grabbed his hair on both sides of his head and began to yank in frustration, as he keyed his mike again. He was surrounded by imbeciles! "Research! Report!"

"The boys in the dolphin tanks think they have hit a home run, sir. One male dolphin's brain managed to stimulate a jinki into glowing as it was being hit with high frequency sound waves. That established a baseline for our new Theta brainwave generator. We're working on gaining the other six frequencies of the jinkis we have as soon as we get more dolphins to fine tune the generator a little better. Apparently each jinki must take a very precise wavelength into the third decimal place to activate."

"Excellent! Any further speculation I should know about?"

"Sir, a few of us think that what we have with this Sekirei jinki set up is like an octave in music, you know eight distinctive notes, each with a precise and different tone or frequency. Striking all eight with the right exact Theta frequencies may produce a brainwave chordal response that acts as the Sekirei ship's unlocking key. It's speculated that it might take eight different Sekirei acting in total psychic concert and using different Theta brainwaves to make these jinkis activate correctly. From what we've been able to see in the rough resonating pattern responses while varying the Theta brainwave generator, we're missing Fa."

"Missing Fa? Like in Do Re Mi Fa? A long, long way to run?" Minaka's eyes glazed over. Gads! He HATED that damn old Sound of Music movie! But his idiot mother had loved it! Another reason to kill the old bitch.

"Yes, sir, Fa. Also, we got the mass spectrophotometer and spectrum analysis boys doing a complete work up of one jinki to try and determine the crystal lattice structure and elements that form the rod. It's quite possible we may be able to manufacture the rod Fa to complete our psychic octet."

"How soon will you know?" Minaka's face flushed in triumph. If this was true, not only would they not need Archer's brain, they wouldn't need Phase Three to start the process of reclaiming the stolen jinki at Izumo Inn! He could attack the ship as soon as the manufactured key was perfected!

"Uhhh, that is still unknown at this time, sir. To precisely fine tune our Theta brainwave generator we have to get more dolphins because the sound waves fry the psychic parts of their brains after only a couple of hits. Male dolphins are getting a little hard to come by. We think the ones we fried and released have somehow warned the rest to get out of Japan's coastal waters."

Minaka sagged back down into his command chair while shaking his head. How could supposedly brilliant people be so damn dumb? Why hadn't they just turned those moron dolphins into shark chum or something? They had missed Mutsu, lost track of Miya and Karasuba, failed to find that dolt Archer and his Sekirei, and were watching old Japanese TV game show reruns? There was a whole planet to conquer, and his security teams would rather watch Wall Bangers? There would be some big changes made when he finally got control of that alien spaceship. In the meantime good old "too dangerous to live" Number 05 Mutsu better hang onto his ass while trying to duck laser attacks every time he stuck his beak out in Tokyo where it could be seen.

***scene break***

Young Cash stared intently at the lowest corner of the chalked rectangle on the side of Old Man Warner's barn. This would have to be the perfect pitch against the opposing team's best hitter to win the game, he told himself, a forkball on the outside corner that would be a totally unhittable strike. With the bases loaded and two out in the bottom of the ninth of the seventh game of the World Series and the score 2-1 in his favor, there would be no margin for error. He was only twelve years old, but he could do it! He could win the most important game in the world ever! He coolly reviewed his motion and all the muscular keys he would have to get physically right during his pitching motion. Concentrate hard, he reminded himself, and make the throw just like he had done when he had won the Little League Regional Championship game last year.

Satisfied he was ready, he began his wind up, still concentrating fully on his target. Just as he released the ball, the white rectangle on the side of the barn turned into a perfect octagon? What the heck? Surprised inside his own dream, Cash released the pitch a tad too early, and it floated over the heart of the strike zone to get creamed for a grand slam home run in his sleeping fantasy although the ball actually bounced weakly off the barn and rolled slowly back across the tufted grass towards him. RATS! Cash thew his mitt down on the sandlot pitching mound's dirt by the now traitorous baseball in total disgust and then kicked dust over both of them. He had just LOST the biggest game of his life 5-2! Why and how had his chalked barn target suddenly changed?

Cash looked around suspiciously. Was this some more work of that screwy teenage girl, his new neighbor named Riko Somebody who had moved to Springfield from some big city named Tokyo? She had been messing him up worse than his brain dead younger sister ever since Riko had moved next door a couple of weeks ago. Man, wouldn't that just be like some stupid big city girl who didn't know a darned thing about baseball? Changing a fella's strike zone just as he was making his best pitch! What a crock! Where in the heck was Tokyo anyway? Somewhere around that crazy San Francisco place?

He looked up at the side of Old Man Warner's barn and saw that his chalked strike zone had reverted back to its normal wavy rectangle. Now what in the name of Aunt Prunella was going on? He flinched badly at a throat clearing sound behind him. There WAS an Asian looking girl there that looked about his age, but it wasn't that screwy Riko who he had to secretly admit was pretty darn good looking for a total screwball of a girl. This one was REALLY beautiful! For a girl. Had she messed up his strike zone?

"Haroo. Watashi no namae wa Natalie!" The female newcomer gave Cash a friendly half wave and a very pleased looking, crinkled eyed smile of girlish anticipation as if she had never even HEARD of the World Series before. Girls! Didn't they understand anything?

Cash just silently stared at the new young beauty who was wearing a VERY short, red and green plaid skirt, a long sleeved white blouse sporting a black tie, long, mid thigh high, white stockings tied at the top with crimson ribbons, classy looking black shoes with square high heels, and a crimson "scrunchie" that was tying her thick, waist length black hair into a loose pony tail. The newcomer's smiling face was incredibly symmetrical in its perfection, looking like it had been sculpted for the best modeling career a young female could have. Mother was going to hate her, Cash thought as he stood blinking in frozen awkwardness. That school uniform skirt was WAY too short for any kind of Springfield, Illinois modesty. It barely covered her panties!

Cash broke his stare to guiltily look away before his Mother caught him ogling the new girl's very interesting thighs. What in the heck had this girl just said? It was some kind of foreign gibberish that he'd never heard before. What should he do or say in return? She looked very wealthy, and he was dressed very poorly, but his old jeans and t-shirt were all they could afford to buy from the Goodwill Used Clothing Store. Mother was having a real hard time feeding and clothing him and his sister even though she had Dad's too small military pension. Darn! He HATED being made to feel like a goofy looking and ragged jerk all the time! And Mother would certainly bitch a LOT at him if she caught him talking to strange looking and weird sounding young females! He didn't have time for any screwy and scantily dressed girls anyway, especially those that messed with his concentrating on the strike zone. This one was worse than that crazy Riko chick next door! Besides, that big hit had been called a foul ball, and now he still had a World Series game to win! Turning away, young Cash picked up his mitt and ball, dusted them off by banging them once against his best patched up blue jeans and began pitching again, doing his best to totally ignore the slightly frowning and wounded looking Natalie now staring silently at his back in frustrated and pouting consternation.

***scene break***

When the front door buzzer sounded, Cash looked up from the box of toilet replacement and repair kits he was price tagging and hanging for display in his uncle's hardware store. He blinked in silent shock at the breathtakingly beautiful Asian girl who had entered and was now walking shyly down the store's merchandise crowded aisle towards him. She had a very friendly smile and was wearing a sort of conservative Catholic school uniform that featured a very modest knee high skirt. She had flowing, thick, and very long black hair, and she was carrying a load of school books cradled against her rather impressive chest with both arms. She was simply a total knockout. She also looked familiar somehow, and she was wearing some kind of strange looking tie chain that sported a shiny metal octagon shaped pendant.

"Hello, Cash Archer," she said warmly in greeting as she stopped a little too close to him. Her perfume was just the right and light floral scent to make his Little CJ go instantly stiff, but the deep and sexy challenging interest in her almost too large almond shaped eyes was very disconcerting. "My name is Natalie Somebody, and I'm a new girl in the sophomore class with you in high school. Our counselor advised that I'm a little behind in my mathematics and English lessons. She recommended you as a tutor and a study partner since I'll be living next door to you, and you have the class's highest grades in both subjects. Would you please stop by my house after you've finished working and tutor me? I could bake some cookies and make hot chocolate while we study! It would be a real fun way to get acquainted and stuff too!"

"Uhhh, ummm," Cash fumbled in red faced embarrassment as he looked back down at his toilet kits, edged away from her, and began price tagging again to keep from ogling her rather large breasts that her books were pushing up to give him a peek at cleavage between the now gaping second and third buttons on her white uniform blouse. There was little doubt in his mind just what kind of "stuff" she was interested in besides cookies and homework, but he was a virgin! Oh sure, he had secretly read a few smutty stories and listened to all the locker room bragging from his male peers in gym class, but he'd never even TOUCHED a girl before, let alone make out and try to "Do IT" with one. What in the name of Vic Romano and Kenny Blankenship was this rich looking super model doing talking to him anyway? He was wearing his old blue jeans and a shop apron for Pete's sakes! Man, he hated these kinds of things that made him feel too self conscious! It was like trying to cure atomic zits on the end of his nose overnight and then pretending nothing was wrong the next day while walking down the halls between classes at school!

There was NO way Mother would ever allow him to go inside some strange girl's home to do schoolwork anyway! Let alone bake cookies and "stuff" even if Natalie turned out to be the most nicest, modest, and most wonderful girl in the whole world! But what could he say to this beautiful Natalie now? Did he sound like a total wuss and blame his Mother's heavy handed control over his life, or did he try to preserve some kind of macho male dignity with a polite refusal? He didn't want to hurt Natalie's feelings, but what did it matter? He had to turn Natalie down or endure constant and nonstop heavy bitching and weeping from his Mother and her spinster sisters. Life was too short for that kind of total grief. Someday, after he grew up, maybe he could get free and do some things he always wanted to do, even date a girl of HIS choosing and do some "stuff" too, but not now. Besides he HAD to save his money for next spring's baseball training camp. It had been all out WAR to get his Mother's permission to do even that! He just didn't have the time for this super model Natalie, or girls in general. Besides, he was having enough trouble in fending off that super kook Riko Somebody that lived next door and was worse than his obnoxious younger sister.

"I, uhhh, I think you'll have to find another tutor, Miss, ummm, Somebody, maybe your relative Riko could help you better than me," Cash finally gulped out while grabbing his box of toilet parts and awkwardly standing up too fast. He turned to flee into the back storage rooms. "And, uhhh, I gotta work here after school, Saturdays too, and save up for next spring's baseball camp. Besides, I'm not very good at, uhhh, doing tutoring and stuff, uhhh, alone like that, and uhhh, please excuse me!"

With that Cash hustled into the back room to leave Natalie standing in open mouthed shock and frowning in wounded disbelief. She stomped an angry foot in pouting frustration at yet another failure to break past the total damaging psyche job Cash's Mother had done on her only son while growing up. No wonder he had been such an easy target for that selfish bitch Agnes Mortenson! And it explained a lot about Cash's total ineptness in dealing with his alien Sekirei females as normal people now, let alone as psychic powerhouses. Now, how could she get him to take her on their first dream date if he wouldn't even TALK to her?

***scene break***

Cash, sitting on the big, wooden slatted front porch swing and morosely rubbing lanolin into his baseball mitt to keep it nice and limber, started and looked up as a light tapping came on the old Archer house's screened front porch door. There was an incredibly beautiful young Asian woman, perhaps eighteen years old like him, standing on the top step. She was wearing a very conservative, bulky knit navy sweater, white low cut sneakers, and simple blue jeans that weren't tight enough to be called slutty. Her long, thick black hair was pulled back and held by a simple hair band, and the style emphasized her high forehead's very cute widows peak and her delicately beautiful facial features. She was staring at him with a kind of sad fondness while still smiling in a warm and inviting fashion.

Cash had seen her before someplace, and he recognized seeing the shiny octagon shaped brooch pinned over her heart. It kinda reminded him of his Mother and her sisters' old college sorority pins. Now what did this strange girl want? Her type had NEVER shown one small turd of interest in guys like him. He was in no mood to talk anyway since he had ran into another brick wall with his Mother forbidding him to try out with the Chicago Cubs lowest farm team next spring. Well, they'd just see about THAT! By hook or crook and Mick Jagger's ancient underoos, he WOULD be pitching minor league baseball next spring! All he had to do in the meantime was try to get his damn forkball to fork better. And maybe figure out how to talk to a girl or two without stuttering about maybe getting a cheeseburger and a coke someplace when all he could really afford was peanut butter, macaroni, and cheese whiz. This too healthy seeming and nicely dressed young female at the door looked like she had been raised on Kobe beef from the size and jutting firmness of her decidedly interesting chest.

Cash swallowed hard and looked nervously both ways to beat a hasty retreat back into the house, but all she had to do was open the door, step inside, and she'd have him trapped like a rat in the corner. She had kind of a determined look about her too. This wasn't good. He would have to talk to her then, but it would have to be quick. Mother and his aunts had gone to the supermarket and would be back any minute. They would go absolutely NUTS if they found him still talking to a strange, young, built, and incredibly beautiful female by himself while they had been gone. How had she come here? There was no strange car in the driveway or parked along the road. It was like she had appeared real spooky like right out of thin air.

"Cash Joseph Archer, may I please sit with you on your swing and introduce myself?"

The sound of her musical, low alto voice made him start and his face instantly flush in confusion. Man, she couldn't be caught IN the house! And especially not swinging on the porch with him! Cash glanced quickly over his shoulder through the big picture window behind him. His GIANT snitch of a younger sister was nowhere to be seen. Cash rapidly thought through his options. He couldn't simply knock this girl aside, flee inside, slam the door in her face, and be that rude. He couldn't be caught swinging with this knockout beauty either. The best thing was to join her outside and move together out by the road in plain sight as if she was lost and asking for directions or something. Out there he could claim total innocence by being so blatantly open about her casually dropping by for? Wait. Just why WAS she here? No girl had ever asked to be self introduced to him before! Especially one this beautiful! What was he to do? Damn! He wasn't prepared to deal with this kind of pressure! He NEEDED to go throw his baseball against Old Man Warner's barn!

"Uhhh, well, I'm afraid my folks wouldn't like me having company while they're gone," Cash finally managed to say as he struggled to stand up. He tripped slightly as he pushed open the screen door and clutched his mitt to his chest like it was some kind of lucky talisman or even a ward against impending doom. He stepped out and past her to leave her frowning and following him away from the porch. "Ummm, would it be okay if we talked out by the road? My kid sister is a big snoop, and well, my folks don't like strangers just coming around here unannounced, see?"

"They don't?" The young woman raised her eyebrows in surprise. His statement made her cock her head sideways as if she was considering new information and analyzing it. She looked around while her psychic mind memorized every tiny detail of the scenes he was projecting for her in his induced dreaming. Her eyes strayed to the the small and unusual flower symbol carved into the header above the porch door. Now what was that? As Cash sidled past her, she noticed the same symbol on Cash as a small, dark red tattoo just inside the hair line behind Cash's left ear. If she hadn't been avidly trying to remember every tiny pixel of his psychically self projected dream image, she would have missed it. She frowned slightly while turning to stride after him, catching him by the mailbox where the Archer home's large and nicely manicured front yard met the country road leading into Springfield, Illinois.

"Uhhh, Miss, ummm, what do you want? I mean why are you here? Say, are you selling Mary Kay cosmetics and stuff or something?" Cash fumbled to be socially acceptable and not offend her while trying to get rid of her. On the other hand, the more he overtly ogled her, he sort of hoped she would stick around even if his Mother and his weird aunts came back and saw them together. Maybe it was time he finally put his foot down and shucked their heavy handed control over him and his nonexistent love life. On the other hand, he'd have to give up any hope of playing professional baseball if he tried going so blatantly against his Mother's demands for his celibacy until she found the "right" girl for him. The leagues had changed age of contractual signing consent to 21, and he needed his Mother's signature to play until then. His only bargaining chip to get that signature was a "cross his heart and hope to die" promise to stay away from all non-family females.

"Well, no I'm not selling cosmetics. I came by on purpose to introduce myself to you, finally," she replied with a trace of smiling irony. "I'm Natalie Sekirei, and I've just moved here from Japan to go to your school. I've seen you around and decided I wanted to meet you. So, here I am! Hi! Let's get to know one another a little, okay? Hey, here's an idea! I heard the junior-senior prom is coming up, and I'm going to need an escort. Cash Archer, will you be my prom date?"

"Prom date? Me? At a DANCE?" Cash's mouth dropped open in total surprise. This was way too quick work from total stranger to the prom in less than thirty seconds. There was something VERY wrong here. Besides, he had never been on a date, any date, not even to a co-ed bowling party, let alone have a girl ASK him for a prom date! Shoot! He didn't even know how to dance, and quite frankly, had been the social laughing stock of his schoolmates for years. He had finally grown big and strong enough and gotten into top athletic shape to where he was one of the biggest, hardest hitting, and least messed with guys in school, but he'd gotten his ass whipped on a regular basis from kindergarten right up through ninth grade. What few girls had shown any interest in him then and since had quickly gotten the cold shoulder and frosty reception from his overly protective mother. Most of the girls in his school still mocked him openly for his inability to break his Mother's apron strings and called him Quick Pitch to Ditch if he tried to show any interest in them. Man, he hated being called QPD!

"Yes! I want to be your prom date!" Natalie nodded emphatically. "I want us to be a dream come true together!"

"Dream come true? You're kidding, right? Me? But, but, you, you don't even know me! I, I, mean, geez! Are you NUTS?" Cash stammered as he recoiled slightly in horror. Oh, talk about generating a giant soap opera scene from HELL if this ever got out! Mother would hit the freaking roof! Not to mention the total ragging he would get from everybody in school! Hey, dummy, you just called this gal crazy for asking you out. Have a little couth in your life for once, will ya?

"Wait, ummm, I'm sorry. I take that being nuts thing back! It's just that, uhhh, girls like you don't want to be with me very much, well, not at all really, and I'm just not the dream come true type of guy, see? I, I, don't know how to dance, or, or, even dress nice enough to not embarrass you. You, you, ummm, can do a LOT better than me for a prom date! Besides, uhhh, I'm afraid I let the barber cut my hair too short because my baseball hat fit too tight, and now I can't be seen in public without a bigger hat or until my hair grows back. Mother was REALLY pissed about that. I'd really look like a total dork wearing a suit and tie with a baseball cap at the prom, right?"

"So, your Mother doesn't want people to see that red flower tattoo behind your left ear?" Natalie's eyes narrowed in speculation. "Why not?"

"Well, I don't really know, actually," Cash shrugged as he answered honestly and self consciously rubbed the small red symbol behind his ear, "and please don't say anything to anybody about you're seeing it now, okay? It's some kind of gig my Mom, her sisters, and my Dad joined when they were young, kinda like a sorority/fraternity that had other tattooed folks visit us sometimes, but then my Dad got killed in the war. I've only seen other folks come around with that tattoo twice since. And, well, they weren't very happy visits, but I'm not supposed to say ANYTHING about all that to anyone, so forget I talked about 'em, okay?"

"Okay, and I'm really sorry about your Father's death," Natalie nodded sympathetically and then added almost wistfully, "and I know how hard it is to grow up without a father because I never knew mine. I've recently began to wonder how nice it would be for children to always have two loving parents. What kind of flower is that inked into your skin?"

"It's a Dryas Octopetala, I think, a mountain and/or colder environment cousin to the rose family," Cash frowned in concentration. His Mother had told him about the flower once and how important it was for him not to display it except for the "right" people, whoever they were. That had been right after he had ran away from home when he was nine years old when she had refused to let him play Little League baseball. His adamant intention to play even after he had been caught thumbing a ride miles down the road by the county sheriff was really the only major victory he could point to in his life when it came to dealing with the females of his family. Of course he had to promise not to ever run away again as long as Mother let him play baseball, but still, it HAD been a victory.

"An odd flower with EIGHT petals as a society symbol?" Natalie's eyes narrowed again with great interest. This would require some highly in-depth investigating if she was to ever get Cash cured of his Mother's insanity, save his three dying Sekirei, and get them all married to him. Besides, although Natalie had "ridden" along during Cash's bonding adventures, it would be a whole lot more emotionally satisfying for them both if they could "lose" their virginity together on some nicely orchestrated dream date that simulated their bodies as realistically as if they were together in the physical world.

For just such a treasured occasion, Natalie had already programmed her body's responses to her meticulously quantified specifications of Akitsu and Uzume's ultra sensitive breasts and lips, Toyotama and Himeko's very responsive "magic buttons", and Kazehana's experienced HEAT, moves, and knowledge. Natalie was going to give Cash the best of all five, and someday, the best of all eight, and she would have his dream world every night all to herself for as long as they lived afterward. But first, she would have to break through his Mother's misguided upbringing that had damaged his self confidence around females so badly. His Mother's intransigence against Cash normally courting and interacting with his peer females might be connected to this eight petal flower secret society in some way. Maybe Cash showing her his home town would be a nice cozy beginning to break the ice, and she could ask more about this Dryas flower society. Maybe she could get him to park someplace where they could kiss and he'd be brave enough to fondle her very sensitive breasts.

"Well, I can see that you're a little nervous here," Natalie clasped her hands together and held them under her breasts, molding the sweater to show her size a little better for his straying eyes. "Let's forget about flowers and worrying about offending your mother with my presence here while she's gone. Why don't we go for a nice ride this sunny afternoon, and you can show me around Springfield. We can get a little better acquainted and maybe plan our prom date in such a way that you'll be comfortable at the dance and with me meeting your Mother's approval. You can drive, okay?"

"Drive? Drive what?" Cash swiveled his head quickly to see that a late model red Honda sedan was now suddenly sitting in the driveway. Now how had that sweet ride gotten there? There was something really screwy going on here, almost like that time his strike zone had changed from a rectangle into an octagon and made him lose the World Series. Things like a total heartbreak of an unknown girl asking him out of the blue to go with her to the high school prom, wanting him to take her on a ride in a magically appearing car, and deliberately displaying her really fine set of firm mammary melons for his covert enjoyment could only be the stuff of dreams, nice dreams, but still just a dream. Now, he could go along with all that just fine IF it was a dream, but IF it wasn't, there would be sheer HELL to pay once Mother got home, and then he could kiss goodbye any plans to pitch minor league baseball next spring. Could he risk that with this unknown Natalie?

"No, no, I'd better not leave," Cash shook his head while frowning uncertainly at Natalie, "and you'd better go now. I gotta be real careful about not messing up my plans to play baseball next spring. Ma has to sign for that, and I gotta keep a low profile until she does. There's dozens of guys at school that would just drool all over you and take you to the prom too. Why don't you go ask one of them? You don't need a total clod like me anyway."

"I don't WANT them!" Natalie began impatiently. REALLY! How truly nasty was this brow beating and confidence shaking Mother of his anyway? "I WANT you! Just once, forget about what your evil Mother thinks about girls, and do what you REALLY want! Take me for a ride now, and then we can plan on how we can go on a beautiful prom date together, okay?"

"Evil? My Mother?" Cash's eyebrows came down in instant defensive and heavily frowning anger. "You don't even know her! Or ever met her! She isn't EVIL! I don't even KNOW you! Maybe you're the evil one here! Please go away now."

"OH! WAIT! I'm SORRY! I didn't mean to insult your Mother!" The expression on Natalie's features went from abject surprised horror at her stupid mistake, all the way over into complete confusion at what to say and do to recoup a situation that suddenly needed a toilet repair kit, and then settled into total frustrated self disgust. Cash's lips thinned as his face settled into a very unforgiving stoniness, his shoulders hunched as if he was being beaten up as a kid on the playground again, and he turned away from her to walk back towards his porch swing while angrily pounding his right fist into his slick baseball mitt.

"Cash Joseph! This is just a dream!" Natalie called after him in desperation. "You gave me permission to meet you in your dreams, remember? I'm Natalie! Natalie the Sekirei! YOUR Natalie! We're bonded in your mind! Look and see that I'm telling you the truth! Please come back!"

"Mother wouldn't like that either, IF it is true," Cash called back over his shoulder as he kept walking. "Go away! And If you are some kind of dream girl, then stay out of mine! From now on, I'm just playing baseball! That's what I REALLY want to do!"

Natalie stood in stunned amazement at how quickly this whole simulated dream scenario had went so wrong. No wonder the poor romantic Riko had never stood a chance of winging Cash on her own! Natalie's amazement then turned to a fiercely stabbing pain of loneliness as Cash's mind went suddenly and completely blank to her. Somehow he had found a way to cut off the upper wavelengths of his mind that she had opened for herself. She could feel that he was alive, but that was it, no warm thoughts, no feelings of his deep tenderness and caring for those he loved, no inner strength of the stubborn willpower his Mother had inadvertently pounded into him, and no wealth of badly needed data about his human world and how to relate and fit herself into it. Natalie's carefully constructed psychic dream world faded to a blank gray as she began to weep in total frustration, loneliness, and fear.

***scene break***

Shiina, uncomfortable being closed in by dark concrete walls, struggled to get the unconscious Mutsu up into the back of the panel van parked in the apartment building's basement just a few spaces away from the stairwell. Mutsu's pursuer's had been closing in again, focusing on the intense pain that the big Sekirei had been experiencing. Thankfully, Mutsu had passed out, and his brain had automatically closed down tight. Yukari was still unconscious also. Shiina stared down at them while listening with his own strong psychic senses. There was no psychic feel to either of them. Good. Mutsu had said that Himeko was in this building before he had lost consciousness, somewhere in the apartments above this parking garage

Shiina clenched his fists to control a small spurt of rising panic. He HAD to find Himeko and have his Ashikabi healed! And Mutsu too. Okay, okay, he could do that, calmly. He would go floor by floor, door by door until he found the Healer Number 15. He must keep his brain tightly shielded as Mutsu had just taught him on the way here, shielded and quiet, no emotions. He must be calm, very calm. The woman part of him was fading since he had been winged. He could be very calm now. Shiina softly closed the van's panel doors. Should he go up the stairs or start on the roof and work his way down? He would go up. Mutsu was sure his pursuers were humans on foot and limited to the streets. Sekirei also had the sky.

***scene break***

The one thing that baseball had taught Cash about life in general was that no matter how well prepared a guy was physically, no matter how mentally psyched up a guy was to pitch well, and no matter how well a guy pitched in the bullpen warming up, sometimes things just happened to really screw up a fella's actual performance in the game. A bad call from an ump on a close 3-2 pitch, and the opposing batter walks to first. A good sacrifice bunt puts him on second. A broken bat bloop hit just over an infielder's head brings in a lousy run. Cash had lost several real heartbreaking 1-0 games in just such a manner. A fella just had to shake his head and go take a shower when it happens, knowing that there were very few perfect games pitched in relation to the the total number of games played. The next game could easily see Cash giving up 10 hits, 4 walks, and have 3 defensive errors behind him but still win the game 12-10. That was just baseball.

Then of course, there were the REALLY weird things that happened too. Time and time again, Cash had either been pitching in a game or just watching when something totally freaky happened that left him shaking his head in wonder. And it could happen at any time whether the ball was pitched, hit, fumbled, lost, hidden, kicked, or even a routine pop foul ball snagged out of the air by a passing pelican like that time Cash was playing at an instructional league camp in St. Petersburg, Florida.

"Man," some old coach had said with mouth agape after the big bird had almost lazily fielded the foul fly ball in its giant beak and slowly flapped away over the right field tree line. "I been in this game for 30 years, and I ain't ever seen THAT before!"

Of course, Cash had never seen anything like that either, but hey, he had just been a snot nosed kid at the time. That routine, easily caught pop foul would have been the third out of the inning and a game winner, but the lucky batter had then drilled Cash's next pitch for a double. The next guy homered on the first pitch that was way outside, and Cash had lost that pelican game 2-1. So, that confused pelican did teach young Cash that a fella just had to play through the freaky stuff too, even when it hurt, and keep doing his best even when his best/worst stuff was getting gleefully pummeled by the opposition. Tomorrow was going to be a better day. That had pretty much been his whole life's credo until he came to Japan, but what baseball hadn't taught him was how to deal with freaky, irate, pouting, and weeping Sekirei alien females today, let alone what in the name of Billy Martin he had to do to keep them happy tomorrow.

Things had seemed real peaceful and quiet when Akitsu had tenderly kissed him awake while gently caressing his usual albeit still slightly sore morning wood. Kazehana, although feeling a little strangely fuzzy in his mind, had just given them what appeared to be an approving sleepy smile as he and Akitsu had stepped over her and her futon laying on the floor by the couch. Caressing and kissing as they went, he and his Kitty had headed for a little fun time together in the hot bath Akitsu had already drawn. Fortunately for them both, they had both gotten some nice vigorous, laughing, splashing, and cleansing carnal relief and had began a mutual tender and satisfied smooching love talk while toweling off before all hell broke loose.

Angry yelling, surprised squalling, loud weeping, and incoherent wailing began just before there were two heavy thumps against the bathroom door amidst the sounds of broken glass and then even more yelling. Cash winced as a suddenly agonized Akitsu grabbed the sides of her head with both hands and began her own tortured loud groaning while sinking to the bathroom floor on her knees. She stayed there swaying and now weeping while Cash hopefully eyed the small frosted bathroom window for size. Could he fit through the frame and take his chances on whatever was on the other side? Even a twenty floor drop sounded like a better alternative than facing whatever was happening on the other side of the closed bathroom door. The bathroom closet was just too damn small to hide in, and just staying real quiet behind the bath's shoji screen didn't seem all that safe either. He had just about decided that maybe standing Akitsu up while hiding behind her and opening the door to face the onslaught almost head on was really his only viable option, when the bathroom door was blasted open sideways by a VERY irate Uzume in full eye glaring, fist clenching, and veil snapping battle mode.

"YOU!" One of angry Uzume's veils formed a lethal looking point about an inch in front of a suddenly flinching and cross eyed Cash. "YOU said I could yell and bitch when things weren't right! WELL, I'm BITCHIN'! You're in here playing Splash With Cash with Aki-chan and left Onee-chan drunk on the floor beside the couch! She downed two more bottles while you two were in here, and I was still sleeping! You couldn't sense something was something wrong with her while you're laying right next to her? WHAT kind of future HUSBAND is THAT? WHY didn't you two check on her and call ME before coming in here to screw? Better yet! WHY didn't you get Himeko and use her healing powers with your mind to help Onee-chan? What the HELL, Joe! IS your brainless dick running your brain ALL the time? YOU don't really CARE about Onee-chan? About ANY of us? Wasn't last night and today supposed to be SPECIAL? And is that why you can let my best friend in the whole world DIE like a damned lonely dog while you whoop it up in a hot bath with Aki-chan? Not a CARE in the world, is that it? And especially about us? Well, PISS on YOU, JOE!"

"I, uhhh, I mean WE, ummm," Cash began defensively as his suddenly wooden arms let a more heavily weeping and now guilty feeling Akitsu slump sideways to the bathroom floor. He swallowed as he blinked at the righteously accusatory Uzume in mind racing consternation. What to say? What to do? Damn! He HATED these kinds of totally helpless female confrontations! Especially when the female was right! He should have checked on Kazehana's strange fuzziness in his mind instead of letting the sight of Akitsu's spectacular naked chest override common sense and concern. What HAD made Kazehana fall off the wagon so suddenly?

"YES! I CARE! Dammit!" Cash wrapped his sodden bath towel around his waist in an instinctive if somewhat very ineffective gonad defense. "Rose did feel a little fuzzy when I woke up, but it didn't feel serious! Just like she and I were both still a little sleepy is all, and yes! Seeing and kissing Akitsu made me morning HORNY!"

"ISN'T that just GREAT! AFTER last NIGHT? You're HORNY? HAH! IT is to LAUGH!" One of Uzume's veils snagged Akitsu's right arm and yanked her up into a sitting position. "AND YOU! AKI-CHAN! YOU'RE the empath around here! YOU let your SISTER DOWN! YOU couldn't feel her PAIN? WHAT were you THINKING? YOU'RE supposed to be our Circle's early warning sentry? WELL THAT'S BULLSHIT! THAT'S IT! If YOU guys aren't gonna do YOUR parts and help each other, then WHY should I? I'M NOT COOKING ANYMORE! OR doing ANY laundry either! SCREW YOU GUYS, AND YOU TOO, JOE!"

With that, Uzume's veil dropped from Akitsu's arm, snagged the door's handle, and yanked it shut, sort of. The force she used tore off the top rail to let the bathroom's sliding door hang tilted at a slight angle before it slowly collapsed onto the bath's shoji screen and both items fell over into the bath. Uzume's angry shouts then continued as a still stunned Cash stood over a now miserably bawling Akitsu.

"YOU two blockheads! GET OUT OF MY WAY!" More loud thumps sounded as two bodies must have been tossed against the bathroom's wall again. "AND GET SOME CLOTHES ON! DAMN you TOYS! YOU'RE supposed to be Onee-chan's bond mate! WHY weren't YOU on WATCH with HER? And WHY didn't YOU do SOMETING for Onee-chan already MEKKO? DAMN YOU BOTH!"

"She didn't wake me up! HEY! STOP THAT, or I'm gonna KICK your ASS!"

"I was still sleeping until you started yelling! We don't HAVE any other clothes, and ours are in the LAUNDRY!" Himeko's voice snapped back angrily. "WE can't MAKE our clothes out of thin air like some SPECIAL fairy bitch godmother named UZUME! AND get these DAMN black strings OFF OF ME!"

"YEAH!" Toyotama yelled. "What SHE said, ZOOMER! GET these damn tight strings OFF of US! AND watch out for that broken GLASS you NITWIT!"

From there the situation went entirely downhill. Uzume's towering and red eyed anger didn't abate at all after that nitwit call. Toyotama and Himeko's ire also increased in volume and intensity as they struggled to free themselves from Uzume's new found ability to make carbon nanofiber strings at will. Kazehana's pitiful weeping and wailing while verbalizing a stream of slurred self pity also went up a guilty notch or two, and Akitsu collapsed at Cash's feet while whimpering loudly in a fetal position at all the anger, recrimination, and some fairly inventive name calling that was being tossed around like three veteran sailors making the finals of a huge naval fleet cursing contest. This was followed by the sounds of the apartment's furniture being used and splintered as impromptu clubs amidst even more angry yelling and heated invectives. Cash, doing the only thing his now numbed mind could think of as being wisely prudent, hunkered down in the corner between the bath wall and closet while cradling the curled Akitsu in his lap and calling for help.

"Natalie," Cash murmured out loud. "How about a little help here? What's going on? What happened to Kazehana?"

_"I'm NOT talking to YOU!"_ Natalie's voice came back with a very pouting and angry overtone.

"Well, why the hell not? What did I do?" Cash stared up at the bathroom ceiling in total wounded bafflement. More sounds of flying pots and pans started coming from the kitchen along with more glass and pottery breakage along with some good old fashioned tag team female wrestling. From the continued swearing, grunts, and squeals, Cash winced at the thought that Himeko and Toyotama had finally gotten close enough to tackle the smaller Uzume despite her battle veil advantages.

_"Well, if you don't KNOW, then,"_ Natalie began with an even more heated tone, but Cash had had enough.

"Oh no you don't! I DON'T know! You ain't pulling that on me even if I have to pull out your Prime Leader ultimatum crap. Explain EXACTLY why you are upset with me now."

_"You PROMISED me our first dream date, refused to even TALK to me when I came to you THREE times last night, and then you went away with your mind TOTALLY closed to me! And you already gave me your permission to do research there and keep your mind open forever to me so I wouldn't ever feel ALONE again! You, you, HURT me!"_ This started Natalie hysterically weeping too, and the overwhelming pain in Natalie's response put Akitsu's empathic circuits into overload. With a hard gasp she froze, her eyes rolled up, and she then became dead weight, her head lolling against Cash's right forearm.

Cash slumped back against the wall and let his head thump into the corner with the closet as he slowly and gently let Akitsu roll comatose onto the floor to once again assume a curled fetal position. Had he PROMISED Natalie a date? Hadn't he just said that they would go on one sometime? He couldn't remember, and his dreams last night were pretty hazy too. Yeah, he had met this strange girl, and then she had insulted his Mother, hadn't she? Had that been Natalie? Well, whatever had happened last night, the results and the weeping today were real. How had he closed his mind to her? Better yet, how could he fix this whole mess now? Everything that had happened sounded like more of that damnable too sensitive Sekirei rejection shock working against him again. If Natalie had broadcast that to Kazehana, then that explained the sudden fall off the sobriety wagon resulting in Uzume's incredibly righteous rage. Geez, she had a TEMPER worse than his kid sister! Damn! Damn, damn, DAMN! He HATED these kinds of soap opera tantrums! And it pissed him off! They were just like what his Mother always hit him with when she couldn't make him do what she wanted!

Was this the way his life was always going to be from now on? There HAD to be a better way! Well, nothing effective was going to get done until everything and everyone calmed down, especially Uzume. At least his Mother had taught him that. It looked like the big five way wedding plans for today were on a big hold now too. Maybe that was for the best if he couldn't deal with all this unhappiness any better than stutter around like a frightened schoolboy and hide behind Akitsu. What he needed to do to was prepare for the calm after the storm. For that he needed to go throw a baseball for awhile so he could THINK! The apartment building's basement parking garage wall ought to be a decent substitute for Old Man Warner's barn, and a great way to work off his own rising anger at the now total stupidity of his Sekirei involved life.

Cash stood up, looked down at the still comatose Akitsu, sighed, and marched out past the now ruined door. He stepped gingerly around the total shambles of completely wrecked furniture in the main room, eyed the ongoing three way wresting match in the kitchen, shuddered at the mess still being made there, and went into the bedroom to get dressed. Kazehana, looking very sloppy and mussed in her short nightgown, was now passed out on the bed while smelling like a brewery. Cash checked her pulse and got a strong beat. He laid a hand on her crest and got no response at all. She would just have to sleep it off until Himeko got done with her fight with Uzume. Maybe by then he could have a plan to get this morning's emotional train wreck back on the tracks of some calm common sense. Cash put on his blue jeans, t-shirt, socks, and sneakers, grabbed his mitt and the ball he always kept inside it, and marched back out past the still ongoing fray in the kitchen, heading in a mini huff of his own for the apartment door. By Honus Wagner! There would be NO more intimidation of HIM by this crew ever again, and especially by Uzume and Natalie!

"WAIT! JOE! WAIT!" Uzume yelled in alarm as she tried to keep Toyotama's strong right bicep from choking her. "TOYS! DAMMIT! MEKKO! JOE'S LEAVING!"

"Just keep it up, you three! If it helps, then just wreck the whole damn building while you're at it!" Cash commanded firmly as he turned the door knob and then viciously yanked it open. "I'm going down to the parking garage and pitch. Stay here and get it all out of your system, because I'm NOT going to deal with it now!"

"NO!" A horrified Himeko yelled as Cash slammed the apartment's front door shut behind him. He walked down the carpeted hallway towards the elevators, punched the down button, and angrily folded his arms to wait patiently. Make him feel like a little wuss schoolboy scared of his own shadow again, would they? Well, they'd just see about THAT! Himeko and Toyotama, both buck naked, boiled out of the apartment door followed by a panicked Uzume. They stood frozen as he gave the three Sekirei an intense, mind blanked glare of hard eyed impatience.

"Joe, you can't go out! It's not safe!" Uzume, fists still clenched but this time in deep worry, took two hesitant steps towards him with her battle veils drooping around her and trailing behind.

"Since when has throwing a baseball against a concrete wall become a huge danger?" Cash returned with one frowning eyebrow arched in sarcasm. "Anymore than being in a madhouse with stuff flying all over the place and three lunatic Sekirei wrecking everything? I need time to think about all this! Alone! Silky, you and Smitty need to get dressed for crying out loud! There's gotta be some building rules about running around the halls in your birthday suits. Go back!"

"But Natalie!" Toyotama began, but Cash interrupted by chopping his gloved hand down at her.

"Isn't talking to me or happy with me either," Cash shrugged while shaking his head as the elevator door opened. Cash stepped in, punched the basement button and continued mostly to himself as the door started to close."It seems I have a fine talent for pissing everyone off this morning by simply breathing and last night by having the audacity to have a few weird dreams. Well, and taking care of Akitsu who missed her turn last night. Just another bright and cheery day in Cash Joseph Archer's Soap Opera Life, RUINED WEDDING DAY, and Goofy Neighborhood! Say hello to Mr. Rogers for me!"

Several minutes later, Cash was getting into a pretty good rhythm of throwing his baseball at the mostly empty garage wall, setting his feet on the follow through, and then fielding the ball bouncing back at him. He'd done this a million times to where it became totally automatic and let him retreat back into himself. He'd always done his best thinking this way. It would've probably worked this time if Natalie hadn't begun talking to him again. But that was okay. Here was where he needed to start anyway. It was time to get her situation with him under control, one Prime Leader Directive at a time.

_"Cash Darling! Please go back up to the apartment! You're too exposed in an open area and alone!"_

"Oh, talking to me again now, are you? And I'm suddenly Cash Darling again? You got a faucet you can just turn your waterworks on and off whenever the old female mood swing suits you? I'm a trained master at dealing with that kind of crap. It won't work. Besides, how do you know where I'm at? You got your spies following me and peeking at me from behind some cars?"

A long silence went by as Cash threw the ball and caught it again as he let his mind drift around behind him. The spies were there all right, all five of them. Well, they needed to hear some of this too.

"So, you still DON'T really want to talk to me, huh? I tell you what, do you want my mind open to you again, Natalie?"

_"Yes. Very much. And I want it always to remain open."_

"Openness is a two way street, Natalie. Last night just before I went to sleep, I felt a little slippery maneuvering in the way you talked to me, and it made me feel a little suspicious. My folks back home used to do that to me all the time. I don't like it at all. That may have been the cause for the unhappiness you experienced in my dreams. I'm not sure because I can't remember much of what I dreamed about. The question I want answered now while I'm awake is this. Have you been manipulating me for your own purposes, Natalie?"

More silence.

"Respond, Natalie. Prime Leader Directive."

_"Affirmative."_ Natalie's response was very flat and monotonic.

"All right. Now listen up. If you want me to be your Cash Darling and have me feel the same way towards you, then all manipulation of my will and emotions by you will totally cease now and forever. That also applies to my Sekirei. Further, you will always tell me the complete truth about, and always inform me of, everything you are doing that involves me, my Sekirei, this planet, and our universe, but your feelings about everything will always be your own. I will be totally open and honest for you. You will be totally open and honest for me. You will not parse my words for intent other than what I have directly stated, now and in the future. If you need further explanation of my intentions, you will ask for clarification. In case I am totally incapacitated, a condition that you have not caused in any way, you will be free to use your best judgment for whatever you need.

"In return, I will do everything in my power and within reason to keep you happy with me. You will have the power to remind me of this statement at all times. Otherwise I'll still be in contact with you and available to keep you from feeling alone, but my mind will never be open to you again. We will have a working but untrusting relationship where you will be free to screw over and around with everyone and everything as much as you want, but nothing else. I will not be jerked around by you or ANY of my Sekirei, EVER! So, Natalie, Prime Leader Directive, decide what kind of relationship you want with me. You can take your time to decide."

More silence. Cash kept throwing and fielding his baseball while waiting patiently. After a dozen throws or so, she spoke.

_"I want you to be my Cash Darling and have you feel the same way towards me. I accept all conditions and caveats that you have communicated. I must confess that it makes me feel very nervous. I have never had this kind of relationship with my Prime Leader before."_

"We're dead even then, Natalie. I've never had a relationship with a sentient and romantic spaceship before either," Cash sighed in relief. Now to road test this new mutual vehicle of improbability. "What is your greatest desire that would make you happy and I can easily fulfill right now?"

_"Total forgiveness and acceptance of Number 01 Miya, Number 04 Karasuba, and Number 67 Riko so that they can immediately join the Sisters of our Prime Circle."_

"I had to open my big mouth," Cash muttered to himself. He had been on a real roll up until now, but he should have thought that last one through a little better before speaking. Overconfidence will kill a guy with a gal every time.

_"You asked,"_ Natalie returned with a trace of smugness in her tone.

"I do not wish to have Riko as my Sekirei. Please present other options where she could live and be happy without me as her Ashikabi."

_"There are no other options that meet your criteria, Cash Darling. Without you as her Ashikabi, she will and is already dying. May I make observations and suggestions to overcome your dislike for her and lead to your acceptance of her as your Sekirei in ways that you would be able to at least tolerate?"_

"Okay, I guess," Cash gave a huge sigh of defeat. If Riko died, Uzume, Akitsu, AND Kazehana would NEVER forgive him anyway. That much was plain from this morning's blow up. If kissing Riko once was the price for peace with them, then that would be worth it, maybe. "Give me what you think I would need for that to happen."

_"First, she is basically a good hearted person but socially challenged personality such as yourself, and you both have a LOT in common emotionally. Her mind already operated on your wavelengths before you met. Your rejection since has broken her self confidence, but not her spirit. If handled carefully and given words of encouragement, you can let her instinctively mold herself to your personality like all Sekirei do with their Ashikabi. Second, she has a very sharp and clinical intellect that you will rapidly appreciate as a very valuable and straight forward resource. Blunt openness is a very high virtue in her world as it is in yours. Third, you will quickly come to appreciate the sheer power she brings to our Circle to protect us all. Fourth, she is a virgin eager to give you all of her heart. She wants to view you as her knight in shining armor coming to rescue her from a life of imprisonment and unhappiness. Fifth, she has absolutely no reservations or hesitations in order to please you physically even if …."_

"Okay, okay, so she's a potential pervert," Cash interrupted wearily. "That's just great, but I don't have to participate in that crap. What are her other downsides to our eternal bliss together besides her damnable temper, lack of a sense of humor, and her jerking folks around all the time?"

_"None, and with my help she's working hard on all three areas to alleviate the most irritating aspects of her stunted personality. She should eventually be very, very compatible with you in all aspects, but it's going to take time." _

"We're talking an awful long time here then," Cash grimaced in continued self disgust. "All right. How about Miya and Karasuba? Can they be trusted to not hurt each other and my Sekirei in the future? Can their mutual insanity be cured to a point where the world is safe too? No more killing? If so, then I have no objection to accepting them both again, but they gotta convince me they REALLY mean it, even Riko, okay?"

_"Yes. All three will meet your sincerity standards, my Love,"_ Natalie's voice went up a notch in undisguised emotional triumph. _"And this will go a long ways to solve your current problems also. Our Prime Circle needs Karasuba's strength of will, experience, and self confidence. Miya brings an adult's wisdom and patience and willingness to cooperate. Riko is a great technological genius as well as a one of a kind kinetic Sekirei. All three with Kazehana and Akitsu give you the most powerful Sekirei psychics in my nest except for Number 05 Mutsu."_

"Natalie, did you emotionally manipulate me into this position?" Cash asked suddenly as the suspicious thought hit him.

_"I was planning to, Cash Darling,"_ Natalie returned promptly, _"but you've simply done the right thing without any interference from me. May I have one more request for my happiness?"_

"If it can be done within my earlier parameters, yes," Cash simply nodded.

_"I wish for us to be married, Cash Darling!"_ Natalie's voice now took on a slightly nervous tone.

"We just were, Natalie," Cash gave a low chuckle as he caught his last pitch against the wall that had bounced back to him. "Probably more deeply than any other couple on Earth too. I assume you also want a DREAM wedding ceremony too. Do you still want to date first though?"

_"Oh YES! Very Much!"_ Natalie almost gushed her happiness. _"But we'll need to PLAN a wedding ceremony for us! And, and I want you to propose to me too! After we date, okay?"_

"Oh sure," Cash agreed affably while thinking that here was something entirely new and a one of a kind relationship on planet Earth; dating and a wedding ceremony that didn't cost the poor schnook male involved one red cent. "Now, you can have your spies behind me someplace come out of hiding, okay?"

Cash's five Sekirei, led by a sheepish Uzume, came out from behind a parked van. Toyotama and Himeko were holding a stumbling Kazehana up under each arm as Akitsu supported her leader from behind. Uzume had dressed them all in Yankee's baseball uniform shirts, black spandex shorts, and black sneakers.

"What? No hats?" Cash eyed them with a slightly amused arched eyebrow. "And couldn't you at least wear Cubs' shirts?"

Instantly Uzume modified the shirts and gave them all blue Cubbie hats. So much for any future clothing deficiencies, Cash nodded in approval, no matter what the occasion. Now if they just had some way to instantly manufacture cheeseburgers and fries, a safe place to stay, and a few bucks to spend, as well as a workable schedule for Little CJ, his worries about a now soon to be eight way living arrangement might be solved.

"That's better," Cash grinned as he held up his open arms and moved towards them. "I'm sorry I lost my temper with all of you. I'll try to do better from now on."

Kazehana lowered her head and began to cry, blubbering about being such a failure and a lousy leader. Akitsu began to cry along with her, thanking him for saving their three sisters. Toyotama and Himeko both teared up and began blinking while attempting apologetic smiles. Uzume simply wrapped them all up in her battle veils in a giant group hug. Her mouth wound up right against Cash's left ear.

"I am going to SCREW you, Joe, hard and often," Uzume whispered as her hot breath tickled his ear canal. "We all are. And I did warn you before we first kissed that I can be a cranky bitch, right?"

"Yeah, you did, and it's okay. I can live with that," Cash nodded agreeably as he turned to kiss her lightly. If this was the price he had to pay for saving Riko, then why not?

"Cash Joseph Archer?" A female's loud voice from behind made Cash's Sekirei instantly leap into position, Toyotama facing the threat, Akitsu on his right, Himeko on his left, and Uzume behind him as Cash snagged onto and held up the stumbling Kazehana.

"Yes?" Cash replied as he turned to eye what appeared to be a racially mixed group of more than a dozen or so females with varying sizes, heights, clothing styles, and facial features as well as skin and hair color. They all appeared to be about Cash's age or at least late teens, and quite lovely in facial beauty and build. It was as if the top twenty contestants of a Miss Universe contest had suddenly been transported into the apartment building's basement garage. They in return were eying Cash with great interest while totally ignoring his five Sekirei.

"We have come for you, Shushō Sākuru no Musuko, Our Center," the leader bowed her head respectfully as she spoke. She was a very pretty and slim looking Asian woman who was dressed in a fashionable navy business suit coat, skirt, and heels that emphasized a strikingly good figure. "I am a Shushō Sākuru no Musume, and my sisters and I are all Virgin Petals of the Flower."

"Natalie, translate please," Cash whispered urgently.

_"She called you a Son of the Prime Circle, and they are all a Daughter of the Prime Circle. I have no data on either reference! They are NOT from my NEST, nor are they Sekirei! They are human, but Akitsu senses that they do have very strong psychic minds for human females! She also senses that they all feel very sorry for you being found with five very shoddy, low class, and unkempt looking women that have obviously been drinking and possibly fighting too much. They feel they are here to significantly upgrade your very tacky love life."_

"Who in the HELL are you?" Toyotama took a threatening step towards the group while yanking her lance out with blurring speed from her back sheath. "Back off! What do you want with OUR Ashikabi?"

"We are the First Petal Virgins of the Order of Dryas Octopetala," the leader returned calmly while not taking her eyes away from staring at Cash. "We have given the Ancient Greeting as required by our abdicating Prime Pillar. She has chosen Cash Joseph Archer as our Prime Center. I, specifically, am now the current Prime Pillar, Sayomi Archer."

"I got a bad feeling about this," Uzume muttered to herself as she frowned at the large group of beautiful human women in front of them. Kazehana tried to stifle a hiccup and failed.

"Natalie! Investigate!" Cash whispered before continuing much louder. "Just, uhhh, what does all that mean, Miss, ummm, Archer?" Cash clutched a sagging and yet struggling to stand Kazehana a little tighter as she had started to slip. She hiccuped again as she used his t-shirt to pull herself back up. This action dragged two buttons open on her Cubs baseball shirt and let a very eye popping amount of her incredible chest exposed. A few of the newcomers exchanged looks of eye rolling unbelief at the tackiness of her appearance.

"It means Cash Joseph," Sayomi smiled warmly while holding out her hands to link up with the other females around her. They all started sending him a BIG psychic wave of sexual desire, "That your Mother, the abdicating Prime Pillar, has chosen me and seven of my Sisters of your choice for the Prime Circle. We are here for you, my Lord, and you are now our new world leader, The Prime Center of The Order of Dryas Octopetala."

"My Mother CHOSE you?" Cash groaned while closing his eyes as if in great pain. "And I'm supposed to choose seven more? Does this mean, uhhh ..."

"Yes, my Lord," Sayomi smiled again while giving the five Sekirei around him an arched eyebrow of cool dismissal. "We are now your wives according to the Ancient Decrees of Anu."

Cash, as was his five Sekirei and even a very nonplussed Natalie, seemed mind frozen in stunned amazement. Slowly, Cash started shaking his head. Whoever had said that life was like baseball had certainly been a wise old coot. He had started the day out so nicely with Akitsu, watched his Sekirei go into a total emotional melt down, made his peace with them, agreed to restore three more to their ranks, and then essentially marry an amorous spaceship. That in itself would make a full nine inning day for any guy. Now he had become a cult world leader with another instant and competing harem courtesy of his smothering Mother who had actually been some kind of cult priestess all his life? This meant that he had pitched well to start, gotten in trouble, pitched his way out of it, gotten a lead, and now he had just gotten blindsided by another kind of freaky, ball stealing pelican incident. Cash just sighed. Sometimes a fella just couldn't really prepare for anything, and tomorrow? Tomorrow just didn't seem to be looking like a better day at all.


	20. Chapter 20

**The Game Changer**

**Chapter 20 – Team Leader Woes, Pregame Jitters**

Panic seemed to be the appropriate word of description aboard the Sekirei spaceship now officially designated as Natalie Archer, The One Who Leads, however, not a whole hell of a lot of leading was being performed at the moment. Natalie's highly agitated and darkly muttering holographic figure was simply pacing back and forth in front of the giant digital screen on the ship's central command deck. She was dressed in some kind of crimson body suit complete with a long flowing black cape trimmed in crimson, long black gloves also crimson trimmed, a wide, black weapon's belt, and over the calf, high heeled black boots. Her long black mane of hair was being held back by a large, two pointed crimson tiara and bird mask combo that framed her face and gave it a somewhat demonic look. A large black insignia of a simple octagon connected by a radian from 90 degrees to a black circle in the middle adorned the fabric covering her bulging chest, and a smaller version was on her tiara. A much larger crimson octagon connected to the center insignia marked the back of her black cape.

The whole ensemble's effect was as if she had made up a hot cos play costume of some comic book villianness/battle leader that mixed the best attributes of the Scarlet Witch and Cat Woman's attire and then gave it an eagle's beak. The digital screen beside her was filled with with all kinds of rapidly shifting images, blurring lines of downloading text, and constantly flickering pages of different internet web sites being devoured by her data banks. In spite of all the seemingly positive activity going on behind her, Natalie's pacing figure was alternating between fist clenching rage, shuddering nervousness, and helplessly shaking impotence.

Karasuba and Miya, both panting heavily with effort, hung onto each other and the now open gray metal iris that led into the ship's command deck. Riko half floated, half stumbled behind them while trying to help her two older sisters stay somewhat upright. The woefully gaunt and bedraggled trio then lurched and staggered their way to a table against the right wall that had three curved seats supported on single pedestals. On the table were three large steaming bowls of rice mixed with soft slabs of some dark and gelatinous looking substance. Beside each bowl was a large spoon shaped utensil and a large container of fruity smelling liquid.

Not even bothering to ask, speak to, or even look at Natalie, all three Sekirei homed in on the desperately needed food and began scooping the decidedly plain tasting fare into their mouths and swallowing as fast as they could. Pausing only for a quick drink occasionally, their bowls rapidly emptied only to have a small robotic server bring them more along with a large flask of more liquid. After her third helping was finished, Karasuba turned her head to quizzically eye the still pacing and muttering Natalie.

"That's a new look for you, Momma," Karasuba observed dryly. "What's with the snappy outfit?"

The sudden sound of oral speech made Natalie start and then angrily whirl around. Her fists clenched in impotent rage as she glared at Karasuba.

"We are at WAR!" Natalie snapped out, and then just as quickly she shook her head from side to side in almost weeping frustration, "And I can't DO anything!"

"Hey," Karasuba shrugged indifferently as she leaned back while glancing at another bowl of steaming rice arriving via robot waiter. It still looked very inviting, but it could wait a few since there was a war on. "The three of us here can still throw a pretty good punch, and you must have enough power online to activate at least some of your defensive weaponry. What are the number, makeup, and disposition of Minaka's forces? Do you have a visual on them?"

"Not with Minaka, not yet anyway!" Natalie snapped impatiently. She glanced back at the data screen and then turned to once again level a baleful eye at her three problem children. "We are at war with our Sweetum's MOTHER! She's trying to steal my Prime Leader AND your Ashikabi with her human female minions! And, and, I CAN'T stop her!"

"That didn't much sound like the whip cracking Mommy Dearest we just met down at the schoolhouse," Karasuba frowned in amused disbelief. She cocked her head to study the giant screen behind Natalie, but it all looked like random digital gibberish. "You going spastic on us or something?"

"What's happened, Natalie?" Miya asked quietly while still continuing to eat. Whatever was facing them was going to require strength and energy. Miya also frowned slightly. There was a slightly hysterical tone to Natalie's voice that didn't bode well at all.

"Fifteen human psychic strumpets calling themselves the The First Petal Virgins of the Order of Dryas Octopetala," Natalie stamped her foot in further frustration. "That's what happened! And my Cash Darling's MOTHER, who calls herself the Prime Pillar of the Order, sent them to Tokyo to MARRY him and make him their Prime Center! And, and, and, he just married ME!"

"I don't understand," Riko frowned as she stopped her spoon halfway to her mouth. Her eyes slid to the data screen. She too cocked her head and frowned slightly at what she was seeing. "How could Cash Joseph MARRY you? What about our other sisters? Did he marry them? What about us? What about ME? He still feels very cold to my mind."

"Speaking of which, I'm COLD and freezing my ass off here!" Karasuba began rubbing both of her bare arms very rapidly. "Can you turn up the heat and get us something to wear? At least a change of panties and a blanket. And can I take a hot shower? My hair stinks like the puddles of blue goo we woke up in, but at least we woke up and didn't get flushed. You must have done something right for us, Natalie. We're still physically alive, starving, stinking, and cold as hell, but at least alive. And all of my tama pain is gone. What kind of deal did you make with Sweetums to do this? And another thing. You said you were working on all four of us getting married to him, even going to give us some one one training. Are we three now out in the cold on all that too? What gives?"

"I, I, made a bad mistake, well, two!" Natalie stopped pacing and simply stood wringing her hands and shaking her head in agitation. "Now my ability and options to rectify my errors have been cut off by my agreement with Cash Darling! With that agreement he's open to bringing you three back into his Circle IF you can sincerely convince him that you won't ever try to connive against and/or kill one another, or anyone else, nor hurt his first five. In his mind he has only consented to tolerate you three to keep his other five happy IF you behave. To do anything deeper emotionally with him you'll have to use your own initiatives because I can't do anything to manipulate his will and emotions ever again."

"Uh, oh, we're on our own again for that?" Karasuba muttered as she winced and defensively hunched her shoulders slightly in anticipation. More new territory for happily relating to her strong minded Ashikabi was going to be crossed. She could feel it. Convincing the big boy of any peaceful and harmonious sincerity from the three of them was not going to be easy either, let alone get a deeply desired two way hot romantic loving restarted along with a totally committed and permanent name change. The things a recently reformed serial killer of a gal like her could do to accomplish those were pretty darn limited too. Even the direct approach of, "Hey Sweetums, I'll never cut off your head or slice open your chest, ever. I promise. Marry me." just seemed to lack a little something on the romantic end, but she'd figure something out. Something a little better than just jumping his bones on an apartment roof this time too. Maybe an accompanying gift of some kind first, but what did she have to give?

"But, but, you, you PROMISED to give us some one on one training to understand our Ashikabi!" Riko burst out in desperation. How would she ever be able to attract Cash Joseph's romantic interest without Natalie's help now? EVERYTHING she had tried had been such an epic fail! "I don't want to live the rest of my life just TOLERATED by Cash Joseph!"

"I'm sorry, Riko, but I CAN'T go against my agreement with him, even if I did make it too hastily!" Natalie threw up her hands as she whirled about and resumed her frustrated stalking back and forth like a caged predator desiring freedom to attack prey just out of her reach while now muttering fiercely to herself. "His Mother needs a BIG lesson in leaving MY Prime Leader alone! And I can't give it to her like she DESERVES! Her butt would be spanked raw for a week! But Cash still LOVES her and doesn't want to disappoint her anymore than he already has! To think he was going to explain his Circle to her as a stupid blues band of Japanese females called the Wagtails when they are GODDESSES compared to females of this planet! There would be no more pussyfooting around that BITCH if I hadn't tied my own hands while SHE can still MANIPULATE him! Why didn't I negotiate better? DAMN! damn, Damn, DAMN!"

"What happened Natalie? Please report," Miya repeated while adding a little firmness to her tone. She hadn't liked the sounds of Natalie's terms at all. It felt very suspiciously as if too much female prerogative in a relationship had been sacrificed there, and she'd also been hoping to get a LOT of help from Natalie to get back into Cash's arms on a screaming in ecstasy basis. On her own she felt like she had the sex appeal and spousal attraction quotient of a recently used and not rinsed toilet bowl brush from a dirty bathroom in some grungy fish market like she currently smelled. Why hadn't the original Sekirei designers of the ship and the genius who had invented the stasis fluid make it smell a little more feminine friendly, or at least put in a cleansing apparatus once the container had drained? Her tama pain was gone, but this was a VERY dubious restart for getting Cash's romantic affections back.

"I tried to go on my first dream date with Cash while he was sleeping, Miya," Natalie kept pacing in nervous and angry agitation, "but he refused to TALK to me! And I saw how badly his MOTHER had treated him all his life, and it, it, just kind of slipped out when I got suddenly angry about it! I said she was EVIL, which she IS! That was my first mistake! And he got very unhappy with me, closed off his mind, and it HURT me! I just CAN'T ever be ALONE again, ever! Kazehana felt what I was feeling and, and she got DRUNK! It made Uzume get mad at Cash and her other sisters for not watching and helping her leader! Then Cash left them to think after they all started fighting, and, and, it wasn't SAFE! I had to talk to him! And, and he, he gave me a choice of always being ALONE or stop manipulating his and his Sekireis' will and emotions forever, to always be completely honest and open in every communication, and to inform him of everything I am doing. I, I, I, HAD to agree, or be ALONE! That became a mistake too, because I should have negotiated a little better, but I panicked! Now, I can't do anything to counteract his MOTHER'S evil plans! She's sent these rich and beautiful female human Virgin Petals to steal him away from us! RIVALS! I can't compete with human female RIVALS!"

"What are you doing now?" Riko, giving Natalie an unhappy, frowning, unbelieving look of "Teacher, Where Art Thou?" before standing up and walking closer to the big data screen to study what was being downloaded, but it all looked too chaotic and uncorrelated to be of any use. Natalie was all too capable of screwing up with Cash as badly as Riko had? Who knew? And they had been relying on her for help? This was NOT good.

Riko shivered from Natalie's heavily transmitted fears. The ship may have gotten her a new lease on life, but it didn't sound like much of anything was going to get Cash Joseph to recognize her as even once every one hundred year quick mating material let alone the deeply romantic love she had always dreamed her Ashikabi would give her. Then, considering how DREARY her personality had been pointed out as being, the odds of her ever capturing his intimate loving interest were now about as good as the survival odds depicted in a drawing she had once seen of a cartoon mouse standing bravely on top of a barn roof and flipping off a starving owl swooping in and pouncing on a quick snack.

What could she do to improve her situation with Cash Joseph? The Tibetan cave and Pavlovian hostage snatch was definitely a non starter now, as was another attempt at a sky high Popsicle act and even the not so innocent looking school girl panty and boob flashing gig she had decided to steal from Natalie. Riko had tried everything she could think of and had been heavily counting on Natalie to help her somehow. Now what? She wished could just start completely over with Cash Joseph, a total redo without any very dubious masterpiece criticism of his dreadful looking "Shinto Dawn" and accompanying mental manhandling that had so turned Cash Joseph off to begin with. How could she get him willingly agree to a relationship purge and reboot? Half of Riko's mind pondered that imponderable while the other half listened to Natalie's distraught explanation of the incoherent garbage still flashing across her command screen.

"Cash Joseph ordered me to investigate these Virgin Petals, their Order, and their Ancient Decrees of Anu, but there's NOTHING! They paid for their travel tickets in cash! No bank accounts! There's nothing in their very meager personal files online anywhere that says anything about them belonging to The Order of the Dryas Octopetala! They're all just common, ordinary, human beauty queens from totally ordinary backgrounds! And there is NOTHING, NOTHING anywhere about their Order, past or present! There is not one bit of data or decrees linking the Sumerian sky god Anu to it either! I'm failing my Prime Leader just when we need me to help him the MOST! And my Pillar is DRUNK and can't help me!"

With this Natalie sank to her knees and began weeping, her holographic image beginning to waver and break up around the edges.

"I think you just need to calm down a little, Mum," Karasuba advised coolly while leaning back and crossing her legs comfortably. "Your Prime Leader is WAY too stubborn to let his Mother ever choose a wife for him, let alone fifteen, even if she is some hotshot cult priestess. And he's not going to let anything, his Mother, or anyone else hurt our five Sisters if he can help it. We're almost living proof of that, right? Let's all just have a little faith in our lovable blockhead. He seems to have a nice ability to continually muddle his way through deep shit and keep coming out smelling a LOT better than we do right now. I always knew his Mother and her attitude problem was gonna have to be dealt with anyway. Now is as good a time as any. Hey, your deal with Sweetums. Does that mean you can't hit me with tama pain ever again? Have you lost your HAMMER on me, Mama Dear?"

"Yes, yes I have, but don't get too smug about it," Natalie shot Karasuba a small look of wicked triumph. "I can't do anything to manipulate Cash's will or emotions, or yours, and I can't use tama pain to teach, so I gave those powers to my Prime Pillar Kazehana! I can still tell her what I want and let her go to work on him for me as long as she agrees to it! AND she can go to work on you too! And if you try to do anything to hurt her Lover or her Circle ever again, what will MY Pillar do?"

"Rip me a new ass," Karasuba grimaced at Natalie's shrewd sneakiness in very nicely circumventing a huge part of Cash's relationship demands on her and then shrugged. She had agreed to be Kazehana's second in command already anyway, and Karasuba had meant it. It kind of hurt not to ever be Sweetums number one girl again, but then again, there was no shame losing out to Kazehana, well, as long as she was sober anyway. It was good to yet be alive, and Karasuba was still second in command, not number eight like Miya. In the meantime, maybe it would be better to back off a wee tad on tweaking Natalie's a little too sensitive ego.

"What is Cash doing now, Natalie?" Miya asked as she too finally sat back and took a break from feeding while feeling her own rising angst. The robot server came through the command deck door carrying three large squares of thin insulation material to act as blankets for the three awakened Sekirei. "What is his position, and where are our Sisters?"

"They're all in the basement parking garage of the apartment building where they've been hiding out from Minaka," Natalie returned dully as she turned and looked at the totally useless data still flashing across her screen. Her dream attempts to relate to Cash had almost went as badly as Riko's when awake, and Natalie's emotional meltdown at the end had largely contributed to this current mess. Why hadn't she been a little smoother and kept her big mouth shut about his Mother? She felt like worthless scum now, and it was so very humbling. "Cash is stalling these Petals waiting on information I can't give him. They're demanding that he call his mother and confirm their acceptance as his Virgin Petals. And they all feel our Sekirei Sisters are very much beneath their Prime Center as female consorts. Tacky, tacky, tacky is what they're projecting to Akitsu, and that Toyotama needs to put away her big spear and go be caged in a zoo."

"You need to ask Cash to quickly get back out of possible public view," Miya advised while chewing on her lower lip in worry about her own situation. If the three of them were largely on their own to get back into Cash's good graces, what was she going to do to accomplish it? How could she reestablish any kind of trust and sincerity with Cash when she had failed at doing that so badly already? Hindsight said that she just should have went to him openly and ask for his help in saving Natalie's brood instead of fine lining, abusing, and finally failing to hold his trust while acting independently. Karasuba and even Riko still had a lot more innate sexiness and were both much better looking. Miya didn't even have his crest and had no idea how to approach him now. Just jumping him on the pitching mound was definitely out. Should she just ask him to go back to the park bench and sit? What would she wear? What to say? She wished she had just a smidgeon of Karasuba's vast self confidence.

Miya had lost most of hers after she had panicked during the star's explosion on the way to this planet, made several bad moves since, and then completely shredded her last sense of inner well being when she had then inadvertently killed Takehito. Years of prayer and Zen like contemplation hadn't really helped much since. And now they all, and especially Kazehana again, had beautiful human females to compete against. This could go quite badly for their Circle from what she had seen from human males in the past, especially Minaka who had chosen a very plain looking, flat chested, and nerdy female with no butt over a super sexy looking and sweet hearted Kazehana. On the other hand, Cash was a much more loving and caring type of man than most. Now how could she tap back into that side of him? Her mind stayed blank and bereft of any ideas of restoration into Cash's good graces, let alone how to solve this current crisis with his Mother.

Miya, shaking her head slightly, looked at Karasuba and saw her coolly contemplating calm Riko's interest in the data screen in contrast to Natalie's near hysteria. Yes, Miya thought, if there was one of her new Sisters that could bring research order out of total emotional chaos, it would definitely be the super geek Riko. Then maybe they could counteract his Mother's big move to freeze them out of Cash's affections and get back into his arms where they all belonged.

"Natalie," Miya said while reaching for an improvised blanket being proffered by Natalie's robot server and calling on her old battle commander skills, "tell Cash to really stall a lot more and give us some more time to get organized here to help him. Ask him to move everybody back to Kazehana's apartment or somewhere private and fix a meal or something. Say he needs to eat and take a hot bath, get a massage, meditate, or consult with Anu before he talks to his Mother. Anything, just get him to give us more time. We need to work our problem here, right?"

"Good," Karasuba gave Miya a nodding glance of command approval as she too took a blanket, "and Riko, tell us what you're seeing and what you're thinking over there. Wrap up in this blanket looking thingy first. You're got goosebumps bigger than my nipples, and you're shivering worse than me."

"Well," Riko turned and gratefully grabbed a warming cover without comparing her goosebumps' size to Karasuba's reference points, "I was just thinking that if these human women were sent by Cash Joseph's mother, these human psychic Virgin Petals want him for their Prime Center, and they got so much nomenclature about their group that sounds similar to us, then there's a LOT more to Cash Joseph than what we know. I mean first of all, his psychic mind is so STRONG for an Ashikabi, right? That's why we all have bonded so deeply to him. Well, you, a lot more than me, but, uhhh, I FOUND him first. Anyway, a really strong Ashikabi like him has to come from somewhere, doesn't he? And didn't Natalie say that, as the strongest of Ashikabi, he has a lot of Sekirei DNA mixed in his genes? What if Cash Joseph has been carefully bred over a long period of time to be what he is?"

"And that's where this Order of the Dryas Octopetala comes in?" Karasuba nodded at Riko's logic, but the purpose of it all was puzzling. "But why did they bother breeding a super strong Ashikabi?"

"Not just one strong Ashikabi, but many," Miya also nodded at Riko's logic, "and the reason was to get ready for the next Sekirei migration and make sure that there would be plenty of psychic human males to bond with the next generations of females that would arrive in their Mother's Nests. We were in the third migration to this planet and plans had already been made for a fourth when we left Kouten's star system. If our Circle of Nests had arrived safely as planned, then a coordinated breeding program would have been established to prepare for our younger Sisters' arrival in the fourth migration, but with the catastrophic problem we had in hyperspace, we came down scattered and not at the same time. So, since Natalie spent so long with us in stasis at the bottom of the ocean, we're now essentially the advanced scouts for the fourth wave, not the preparers from the third we were intended to be. Now we find ourselves in competition for the same strong Ashikabi with the offspring from Natalie's Circle of Sisters that landed ages ago. The last time my ancestral psychic memories shared with my dead Pillar Sisters can confirm that any violent competition like that happened was a two Circle war here in Japan around 700 A.D."

"But we don't find the Virgin Petals of Dryas Octopetala mentioned in current Japanese folklore at all. These human females trying to take Cash Joseph came from someplace else. They paid for international flights to get here, right? So, the Nests didn't come down at the same time?" Riko mused thoughtfully, "What kind of time intervals between the arrivals of the separate Nests of the Third Migration are you talking about, Miya?"

"Well, who knows?" Miya shrugged and shook her head doubtfully. "I have no idea how to relate ancient Kouten time to this planet's history. I only know that an exploding star damaged all eight of our Circle of Nests severely and took out our Prime Leader's ion drives for in-system maneuvering. After we came out of hyperspace, four Nests that had suffered the least damage were behind our Prime Leader's to use our tractor beams to slow him down when we entered the outer reaches of this system. I, I panicked and used too much of Natalie's reserve power to help, and that's what blew Natalie's ion drives. Anyway, I know that his Nest made it down safely on Earth because we were all still able to use the gravitational pull of this system's largest planet called Jupiter along with the Moon's to slow us down enough to achieve unstable planetary orbits long enough for the rest of us to let him land with weakened tractor beams. His Pillar signaled that they would disembark and begin their interbreeding program while repairing their womb ship for her return to Kouten. Repair time was estimated to take at least several hundred orbits around the Sun due to the scarcity of raw materials that would have to be located and mined.

"Then, the unstable Earth orbits of each remaining Nest decayed at different rates. The One Who Serves crashed almost immediately into the Arctic ice cap and was destroyed. Natalie's repair robot got one ion drive online long enough to let us not burn or explode in the atmosphere before it blew again, and we crashed into the Pacific Ocean off a volcanic rift near the current coast of Japan. I activated the stasis modules as we sank, and Natalie's systems shut down due to her extensive damage. I don't know what happened to the other five Nests, other than they had to have come down sometime after we did. Maybe they were able to effect repairs for a safe landing better than we could. We might be able to compare Natalie's navigational charts of this end of the galaxy to get a time reference to when we landed."

"That navigational data has been irretrievably lost," Natalie added tonelessly, "along with all the other historical records of our transit from Kouten. I do have a last message in my personal records from my bond mate The One Who Senses wishing us good fortune as we entered the planet's atmosphere. She was going to be coming down behind us, but she had said it would take a lot more time before a landing could be attempted and further repairs made for her return to Kouten. She asked me to wait in Earth orbit for her, and we'd go home together if we could, but she probably went home alone or hopefully with the ones who could join back up with her and the Prime Leader's Nest.

"Cash has taken the Petals up to the apartment building's penthouse ballroom to wait for a meal Uzume and Akitsu will prepare. Himeko is trying to speed up Kazehana's recovery while Cash stalls for time. Those Petals think he's contacting the spirit of Anu, but he's actually meditating on the lifetime statistics of an ancient pitcher named Cyrus Young. Toyotama is guarding him to make sure those Petals don't try anything sneaky."

"Good," Karasuba nodded again in approval as she waved a hand at Riko. "Okay, you're the intellectual whiz here, Reeker. Maybe there's some kind of historical data on this planet somewhere that might help us connect these harpy Octopetala gals to being here in Tokyo now. What can you find? First, what is a Dryas Octopetala?"

"Ummm, the name sounds like a scientific name for an eight petal flower," Riko gestured at the data screen. "Natalie, would you please put a time line of human history on the top half of your command screen. Along the bottom put up any hard data you have on Dryas Octopetala, other eight petal flowers, and the Ancient Decrees of Anu. Wait. That octagonal symbol on your chest with a round center, what does that signify?"

"Even though I was the youngest Sister, it was my Kouten rank as battle commander, The One Who Kills, in my former Circle of Sisters," Natalie glanced down wistfully, "who all went home without me except for the poor One Who Serves. It, it, just doesn't feel right to now wear The One Who Leads uniform yet since I can never travel the stars again and find my bond mate, The One Who Senses."

"I see," Riko nodded sympathetically. Being a part of a Circle and then not was hard to fathom now, and Riko had basically been loner all of her life too. It hadn't been all that pleasant. Sisterhood and its warm acceptance was much, much better, and they all had a lot more room to grow closer. "Let's research anything that resembles your insignia historically too, okay? Matter of fact, do a search on octagon symbols in general."

The giant data screen became an instant blur of activity as both Karasuba and Miya stood up to join Natalie and Riko, the three recovering Sekirei now standing and still shivering under their blankets as information began to fill in the top and bottom halves of the display.

"Dryas Octopetala is a white, eight petal flower of the rose family, and that number of opposing petals is pretty rare," Karasuba began reading another section. "It's a mountainous and/or cold tundra type of plant. So, Sweetums was supposed to accept this Sayomi as his leader and then choose seven more from the rest of her Octopetala crowd? I guess that kinda explains the flower symbol then, but it doesn't necessarily mean that they are a Circle of Sisters. Too many alternates, but Natalie, here's a thought. Do a quick work up on anything relevant about ancient aliens visiting Earth from space. Then tie them into your time line above. Maybe we can get a line on your other Sisters that way."

"Wow, a LOT of data on octagon symbols for humans!" Riko exclaimed as she quickly examined another section of the screen. "Universal symbolism of balance, harmony, and cosmic order, widely used in astronomy, religion, and mysticism, and it also symbolizes attempts to understand order and unity in Creation. In ancient astronomy it marked the 4 points of the compass, 2 solstices, and 2 equinoxes. Octagonal symbolism used extensively in most ancient empires, Hindus, Sumeria, China, Babylonia, Akkadian, Indo-Iranian, Elam, Egyptian, Greek, Roman, and even later in the Japanese Art of War as representing a fortress. It is still used everywhere today in the Islamic countries' culture, religion, and even on their country flags. Can you give a quick synopsis of their details, Natalie?"

Natalie began a monotone report responding first to Karasuba's request and then to Riko's while Miya studied yet a third section that had captured her interest.

"Data shows most early empires in the Middle East, Central America, India, and Far East worshiped winged gods and goddesses. One or more of them were a major creation type deity in the form of a bird man/entity described as extraterrestrial beings of rebirth and resurrection. These religious systems had these deities in a central theme as coming from the sky to begin a civilization, leaving, and they would return again. Anu, for example, was the Sky/Sun god of Sumeria and king of the gods with his goddess Ishtar, the Light Bringer. Their symbol was an eight pointed star with the sun in the middle, and the ancient Chaldean city of Ur has had many pieces of jewelry excavated that are eight petal rosettes depicting their symbolism.

"There are many examples of bird/human major gods with extraterrestrial links or origins. Egypt had Ra the Sun God with a bird head. The ancient Chinese had one of their Eight Immortals, Lei Kun, as the God of Thunder with the head of a bird, wings, and claws. The Olmecs in Central America had their Winged Serpent, Mayan had their winged god Kukulcan, Aztecs had Quetzalcoatl, the Creator God-Bird, and Virachoca, the helmeted creator/destroyer God of the Incan city of Tiwanku was found depicted near the Nazca Lines which have been theorized to be extra terrestrial oriented guidance symbols. The Dogon of Africa, or Sirius the Dog Star people, believe they were created by gods who came from the sky in space ships and who will someday return again. Their Yondion Dances are about circling around two bird figures representing Sirius and worshiping Amma the Sky God and his four pairs of twins. Indigenous Australians have a similar ritual as a rite of young boys passing to manhood by dancing the Bora Rings. The India-Hindus Supreme Brahman has humanoid and partial humanoid avatars and devas said to have come from and/or rode the skies.

"There are also several ancient religions besides the Sumerians that extensively used the number eight as a basis for some kind of deity worship or system of beliefs; The Eight Paths in the Way of Buddha, The Eight Immortals in Chinese tradition, The Eight Petal Womb-Container Lotus Mandala of Hinduism, and the The Eight Dieties of Ogdoad worshiped in the ancient Egyptian city of Heliopolis. One of whom was the bi-sexual creator he/she god named Atum who impregnated itself by masturbating in order to birth male and female offspring. They became the nine great Osirion Gods of the Ennead, eight lesser gods around a main center. In Japan we have the Eight Goddesses who are worshiped in their Shinto shrines, one is Izanami who is the consort of Izanagi, the Creator and Death God and Goddess. One side note here. Sekirei, or wagtail birds, are sacred to the divine god Izanagi and goddess Izanami in Japanese mythology and folklore for it was through these birds that these divinities first learned the art of love."

"The primary purpose of our interstellar Sekirei migrations," Miya nodded in confirmation to this last item, "was to find a way to breed for learning how to love and also have a stronger will to restrain from making war on each other. Scout ships were originally sent out to find a race sexually compatible with ours to interbreed for those characteristics. Our ancestors on Kouten realized that as a race we were instinctively hard wired to be entirely too cold hearted, warlike, and emotionally impulsive to become a great civilization of the stars without destroying ourselves first. The Human race was found, and that's when we began sending out our womb ships to seed their populations and bring back humans to breed with the populations of Kouten's empire. Thus both races would strengthen, stabilize emotionally, grow, and become one to benefit the other cosmic civilizations with great technological power as well as the ability to discern when not to use it. In this way we Sekirei learn how to love while our Ashikabi are protected from the less civilized races of the cosmos before we become totally united as interstellar good citizens."

"Interesting, we forcibly married the human race? Our technology and protection in able to enjoy Sweetum's ability to deeply love us and get some of his thickheaded stubbornness in our kids, huh?" Karasuba's eyes narrowed as she studied Natalie's displays. "Okay, fine, it seems to have worked if I'm any kind of example, but I don't want to get dumped by my man again, so let's get back to our immediate problem of keeping Sweetums for ourselves. So, everywhere I look I see Sekirei Circles and their activity and influence all over early human civilizations, but no hard facts or explanation pointing to our current Virgin Petal problem. What do you see, Riko?"

"Well, looking at Natalie's time line of human history," Riko pointed to one end. "Up to the Lower Paleolithic not much was happening in hominid development, then in a very short time span, the much smarter Neanderthals replaced their Heidelberg Man forbears and began burying their dead. I think this might be the results of our First Sekirei migration to this planet. Then in the Middle Paleolithic modern humans suddenly appear and the Neanderthals start rapidly decreasing in numbers until they totally disappear in China around 50,00 years ago and in Europe about 30,000 years ago. Let's postulate that was a result of our our Second Sekirei migration. Then in the more recent Upper Paleolithic we have what some scientists call the Great Leap Forward in modern human behavior. Almost overnight in geological terms they have finely made tools. They are bartering, fishing, using pigments and jewelry for display, and creating artwork of figurines, petroglyphs, and cave painting. They have music and games, and now more elaborate burial of their dead. Here could be the start of our third Sekirei migration of approximately 45,000 years ago and possibly the best evidence that Natalie's Prime Leader and his Nest of our Third Sekirei migration survived and prospered."

"And then after that, other Nests came down later at different times to reinforce his Nest's influence on human civilizations?" Karasuba nodded slowly in understanding. "Okay, if we factor in the much longer Sekirei life expectancy that can last anywhere from 2 to 3,000 years, then Natalie's Sisters more or less made some kind of planet fall where at least partial Circles survived. It's easy to see that one made it down around 5,000 B.C to influence Sumeria and the Hindus Valley. That at least explains Anu and his Ancient Decree bullshit. Another came down around 2,500 B.C. to influence the Far East and China. One came down in Central America around 1,200 B.C to begin their bird/god cultures, and the last landed in Japan around 700 A.D. where at least two Circles survived and made war on one another competing for the same Ashikabi, right? That would explain the abnormal amount of Ashikabis now here in Tokyo for Minaka to exploit in his Sekirei Plan. That's four Sisters. What happened to the fifth? And all that still doesn't really explain those Virgin Petals."

Riko shook her head sadly and cast a glance at Natalie and Miya who were both frowning as they had already begun examining the human historical era Riko was about to point out.

"I believe," Riko began quietly, "the answer to that is found near the end of the last glacial period and beginnings of the Mesolithic Era of humans around 12,800 years ago. It was called the Younger Dryas climatic period marked by pollen spores of the Dryas Octopetala flower found in glacier ice core samples. Here we find the earliest evidence of mass warfare in human behavior, and the mega beasts beginning to disappear possibly due to over hunting and human competition. Then shortly thereafter in the start of the Neolithic Era, we find the first cave drawings depicting war and religious scenes, the beginning of wholesale harvesting of grains and grasses, and the oldest city known was begun in Jericho not too long afterward."

"Okay, so that marks the approximate time of where The One Who Senses landed?" Karasuba raised on skeptical eyebrow. "Other than the name of the flower spores, what links this to the problem we got now?"

"Well, uhhh," Riko continued hesitantly, "this evidence does indicate The One Who Senses made it down, hatched her womb, and began her interbreeding program from the human events' time line. However, she also must have taken a long time for repairing her damage to attempt a return to Kouten, but I don't think she survived.

"Around 11,600 years ago there was a sharp climate change called the Younger Dryas Impact Event marked by a mat of rare quantities of carbonaceous chondrites found at over 50 Clovis excavation sites in North America. Some scientists theorize that a comet exploded in an air burst somewhere over the Laurentide Ice Sheet north of the Great Lakes. This caused devastation much, much larger than the Tunguska event of 1908 in Siberia because it set vast areas of the North American continent on fire, caused the death of the Clovis culture, and the extinction of most of the large animals in North America.

"The evidence strongly suggests that something must have went horribly wrong with The One Who Senses when she tried to return home, and she exploded before clearing Earth's atmosphere. Those excavated chondrites at the Clovis sites were full of nanodiamonds, fullerenes enriched in helium-3, iridium, metallic microspherules, magnetic spherules, carbon spherules, and charcoal. They are a perfect match for most of the materials used in Sekirei womb ship construction. Since the Dryas Octopetala is a very common, cold climate, tundra type of flower, I think here is where you'll find the beginnings of our Virgin Petals of the Dryas Octopetala breeding program. Their name was probably chosen by her womb's children to honor the death of Natalie's bond mate, The One Who Senses."

"Natalie," Miya said gently to the female hologram in battle gear now staring at Riko in total agonized horror. "Our mission succeeded. The proof is that these Virgin Petals are your bond mate's descendants, and possibly 5 of your Circle of Sisters survived to return to Kouten. That was much more than any of us expected when we were first damaged by that exploding star. And you are now alive to begin and end your contribution to your Sister's mission and even start a new Circle. Take comfort in that."

"My bond mate died so bravely," Natalie's voice broke as the command data screen went completely blank, and her image once again sank weeping to her knees, "and I couldn't help her, or even say goodbye!"

The three blanket clutching Sekirei stared in silent sympathy as Natalie's heartbroken holographic form faded entirely. Karasuba was the first to shrug and sit back down to resume eating, but it wasn't long before Miya and Riko joined her.

"So, what have we got?" Karasuba paused between mouthfuls. "Sweetums and these Virgin Petal vamps are the result of a carefully concealed, tightly controlled, twelve thousand plus years of a Sekirei breeding cult that now has his Mother as the abdicating High Priestess? And now she has decreed this Sayomi as the new High Priestess and Sweetums as her crew's Prime Stud? Well, screw that! They aren't getting MY Ashikabi! And neither is their screwball rogue Minaka gonna get his hands on Natalie or rule this planet either! Let's KILL them all!"

"Oh sure," Miya gave a weary sigh of head shaking disgust. "Your well thought out solution will land us right back in the blue goo as you called it. Remember Cash's terms for even letting us talk to him again? No killing, anyone. What we have to do is make our Circle a better option in his Mother's opinion. After all, we ARE the ones this interbred human cult has been waiting on to arrive. These human females may be strong psychics, and they've had thousands of years to get their mind linking and projecting act together, but I'm betting they still don't have our elemental powers. We could, ummm, demonstrate our superior credentials somehow without injuring them. They may not be the only Order of Virgins wanting Cash either since there were four other ships that made planet fall after The One Who Senses. There could be hundreds of their Orders on this planet just like the many Ashikabi here in Tokyo."

"All right, no killing to keep Sweetums happy. I'll buy that," Karasuba nodded reluctantly and then smiled grimly at Miya. "But maybe we can get these human chicks to fighting amongst themselves while we squirrel Sweetums to a better hiding place. Then we gotta start working on getting him to accept us as his bonded Sekirei again. I got no clue of how I'm gonna do it yet, but I'm damn glad I'm not in you two's shoes. He's got you pegged as another interfering and controlling female like his Mother, and Riko as another edition of his brain dead and too pushy sister. I may be a recently and forcibly reformed serial killer, but at least he's never gonna think of ME as his Mom and Sis, not with the way we used to go at it in the sack, and other places."

"We're supposed to be in this together now, aren't we?" Miya snapped back while arcing her back in instant anger. "What we need is ideas! Not gloating! And you're right," Miya just as quickly slumped back in despair. "I have no idea how I'm going to approach him either. It feels like I'm supposed to attack, but I don't have any assets to send. Being perceived as having the worst qualities of Cash's Mother is a total non starter to get him to heal my tama and wing me properly now that I've lost my Pillar status. And now Cash's mind shield is too tight for us to use any kind of combined push of desire that worked for Toys and Mekko. I have to find a better way, more honest, more open, and totally sincere. We all do."

"Yeah, that might do it, for me at least," Karasuba's black eyes took on a faraway expression of interest, "the old straight forward, no bullshit approach, but I'd want it at a time and place where I can be alone with him. And I'd want a very snappy looking outfit too, one like Natalie's but with a VERY short skirt and naked thighs. That means we got to get back to Tokyo to get one made and some clean underwear. I'm down to my last pair of black lace panties thanks to you two thieves, and they were ruined in that blue goop."

A silent Riko sat gloomily with her head down as she listened to her two companions talk. Instinctively she recognized that Karasuba had squarely and finally identified Riko's problem in getting Cash Joseph's sexual interest. Only really weird perverts entertained any desires to kiss their sisters, or in her case, a female that acted like one, and Cash Joseph ever kissing his sister would induce an automatic gag response. How in the world could Riko break that damnable perception of her by him? Especially since it was probably pretty accurate from the way he had compared them once at the Tokyo Dome when he had gotten his first baseball check. Then she had used his money for things in spite of his objections and without his permission while projecting a superior attitude of knowing what was best for him, just like an obnoxious know it all sister. What a complete dunce about attracting his desires she had been! There had to be a way to get him to see her as a sincerely passionate lover now, but how? Maybe Karasuba had some insight for that too.

"So what do you suggest, Karasuba?" Riko asked earnestly. "If I ask Zoomer to instantly make the snappy outfit and panties you want, and Kazehana to give you some time alone with Cash Joseph, will you help Miya and I with him too? What have we got that he might want?"

"Well, since you put it that way," Karasuba grinned in agreement while finally leaning back and relaxing in calorie satiation, "and tossed in a couple of very nice bribes, here's what I think. Miya has an ace up her sleeve because she can really cook. Me, I can't make butter toast without burning it. So, my old chum, all you have to do is learn his favorite foods, make 'em, and then serve 'em up during a little candlelight dinner for two while wearing a VERY brief French maid outfit. The old naked apron ploy might work well too. There's no way he'd ever see his mother do those, right? As for you Reeker, you've got all the beauty, body, and brains in the world and use them to have all the sex appeal of a bad tempered turnip. It's amazing. You should have jumped him the first time you met him and got a real charge going like the rest of us did.

"If I were you, what would I do now? What have you got to work with? That is a tough one, and I've got nothing off the top of my head. I'll have to give it a think. For now, I'd advise you to keep your mouth shut and act as natural around him as you can without pissing him off. Other than that, if we all three go down in flames with him again, we might as well try to be that stupid blues backup band of his dreams, Reeker. You'd be a natural on the drums, and maybe I could quickly learn bass guitar. Miya here could act like she enjoyed banging a tambourine on her ass while looking very mystical in her stupid haori outfits. She always did like being tied up in a circle of scented candles and getting her ass banged in four/four time while Takehito played his old Dr. John albums."

"Lay off me, you mouthy bitch," Miya glared back with a hot spark of her old battle commander attitude even if what Karasuba had said was true. A lot of her attraction to the cool yet sexually dominating Takehito had largely been a penance and punishment for her panic when the interstellar disaster had struck, but that was behind her and purged from her now. She was free to love Cash according to her natural desires to just be his devoted spouse. "I may be The One Who Serves now, and agreed not to kill you, but that doesn't mean I still can't pound some big knots and welts on your thick head, big butt, and too swollen ego with a practice sword all day long!"

Riko, who had been leaning forward and listening with attentive eagerness, slumped back in a deeper gloom as Miya and Karasuba silently glared at one another. Their blood feud may be over, but there was still a LOT of personal animosity left between the two. Riko shook her head in despair of getting any further romantic advice from either of them.

Rats! A hot battle outfit with a brief skirt wasn't going to do much for her. Neither was the open and no bullshit apology approach she had already flamed out with. She wasn't much of a cook either, she had no idea how to play a drum set, and she sang like tone deaf parakeet. She felt like she was almost back to the way she was when she had decided to fall headfirst off the clock tower ledge.

Natalie, still dressed in her battle gear, suddenly appeared again in front of the blank command screen, her features set in stony determination as she gave her three problem children a no nonsense type of look. Her Leadership had arrived and appeared to have quickly gotten her act back together.

"My robot has rigged a heated circuit leading to the stasis container's rinsing apparatus that now has a spraying spout to act as a hot shower. The remaining amount of shampoo and soap supply that Riko brought here are also down there now. Use you current coverings for towels. The soft interior linings of three deep space repair suits have been removed and are being brought there for you to wear inside Riko's Karasu battle suits. You could CHOOSE to return to Tokyo at once and aid your Sisters, but CHOOSE to stay out of Minaka's sight. He has a new system in place that differentiates and monitor's the higher body temperatures of Sekirei. I FEEL your immediate re-bonding with Cash Joseph, all THREE of you, is imperative as well as getting him to link you to me as he has done with the others. You can CHOOSE to NOT let these Virgin Petals steal my Prime Leader even if they are my bond mate's descendents!

"Once in Tokyo you three might CHOOSE to inform Kazehana, when she sobers up, that your Circle is now officially called the Shikyū-sen Natarī no Sekirei. I was and still am the Battle Commander of The One Who Senses as well as the only functional womb ship currently assigned to Earth. Therefore, your world wide status on this planet and your RANK is ABOVE that of those secondhand Dryas Octopetala witches. You are FIRST born Goddesses of this planet's command womb ship, AND Cash Joseph Archer has already become our new Prime Leader. They will just have to find their own man, got it? If they don't like that, then you might CHOOSE to explain it to them, and maybe not so gently.

"Riko, you might CHOOSE to take your surgical supplies and begin liberating every Sekirei you can find from Minaka's electronic web, and also CHOOSE to get those damnable limiters and trackers OUT of all my children! At once! I have had your personal electronic communication device patched into my circuits. You can CHOOSE to obtain new phone devices for you three to call me until you've been linked to me mentally by Cash, but I FEEL it would be best to remove all tracking hardware in those phones before you call. I also FEEL it would be a mistake to let Minaka know that I am once again sentient and making repairs. My robot has made a small container with your cloaking mechanism for you to carry Miya and Karasuba's swords and whatever else you want to take back without anything being seen flying through the air.

"Miya, you could CHOOSE to find a way to encourage more Circles of our brood to form and become linked to me. Also maybe CHOOSE to contact those single bonded Sekirei of our brood, as well as the multiple bonded, and this time TEACH them about their true potential. When we face Minaka, his armies, and whatever allies he can gather from this planet, we will need at least a fully functional Sekirei battle platoon to fight them off.

"Karasuba, you might CHOOSE to get your Prime Circle's act together and link up with one another, link up and mesh your minds better than these Earth women are doing! Also maybe CHOOSE to start defensive and offensive drills and protective movements for Cash. He will soon become Minaka's and the rest of the world's prime target to defeat us because when he dies, we die, and so does my Circle of Nests' mission. I FEEL that failing to protect and further prepare this planet for the Fourth Sekirei migration and let my dead bond mate's courage be forgotten would be a mistake. I must now truthfully inform my Prime Leader of everything I am DOING as I pledged, however, I do NOT have to inform him of what you CHOOSE to do or how I FEEL about anything. Now go."

"Our Circle is now the Sekirei of the Womb Ship Natalie, huh? And you're pulling rank big time on Sweetum's Mother as well as doing a cute little choosing and feeling end run around your agreement with Sweetum's? I kinda like it, but I'm stuffed and feeling kind of sleepy right at the moment," Karasuba yawned and put her arms behind her head for support as she relaxed even more. "Mind if we take a little nap before we go, Mama? I mean, you don't have the hammer to MAKE me go now, right?"

"No," Natalie gave them all her version of Karasuba's crinkle eyed smile of smugness. Her snappy uniform's tiara mask made it look a little more evil though. "I can't MAKE you go, but since I've just set my internal thermostats to a -18 on the Celsius scale, and the LIMITED amount of warm water in your makeshift shower will last less than ten Earth minutes from now, you will really FREEZE your ass off if you try to stay, DAUGHTER."

"Hey! You agreed to not manipulate our emotions and will, remember?" Karasuba gave her leader an irritated frown as a more quickly understanding Miya and Riko both jumped up and whirled for their mad dash to the shower, Riko surprisingly in the lead by zipping headfirst down into Natalie's well memorized innards.

"Yes, and you have completely free will and choice whether to stay and also emotionally feel however you want about my internal temperature, now don't you, DAUGHTER?"

"Gotta love a Cool Mama leader type this damn sneaky," Karasuba grinned in quick defeat as she hustled out of the command cabin to catch her two already fleeing Sisters before they could use all the hot water.

***scene break***

Sayomi Archer, The One Who Leads, was getting a little nervous watching her future Prime Center just sitting quietly in the penthouse ballroom's corner lounge chair with his eyes closed. He hadn't moved for over an hour, neither had his slow breathing rate changed, nor had his head sagged to indicate he had fallen asleep. He just sat there clutching his baseball mitt and baseball to his chest as if he was very earnestly praying for another great season from the Yomiuri Giants and NOT to the Great Sky God Anu. More importantly, his mind wasn't putting out one iota of any kind of psychic emanations or emotion, no joy, no fear, no pain, no sadness, no curiosity, and most of all no horny eagerness to be mated with his new Circle. How could this be? Surely he knew what an honor was being bestowed upon him, but he didn't seem to be too keen on accepting it. Most human males would have been drooling helplessly all over themselves if they had been hit with the wave of sexual stimulation Sayomi and her Petals had blasted at him in the basement. He hadn't even twitched. Now that was very unsettling.

Oh sure, Cash had been very polite and accommodating, and his serving wenches at least civil after the one with the very wicked looking spear had been persuaded to put her weapon away. She was still standing behind Cash's chair and facing them with a very stoic expression, but at least those very base and belligerent physical threats from her had ceased. Their lead server, although incredibly pretty and yet incredibly drunk, had disappeared, but the other three were somewhat cordial if eerily silent as they served what had to have been a very hastily prepared meal of steamed rice, chicken stir fry with WAY too much cabbage and carrots, egg drop soup, and green mint tea; plain fare indeed and not much better than the plane fare they had endured as a meal on the flight to Tokyo. The tight little smiles his three servants kept giving her Petals was also a little nerve wracking as they too had their minds closed as tight as Cash's. No females had ever kept a lid on their feelings and thoughts like this in Sayomi's experience. That was putting her further on edge as well as all of her Petals too.

Sayomi chewed her bottom lip in concern. Cash's Mother had sounded a little hysterical, slightly panicked, and very upset when she had called the most powerful Dryas Octopetala Nest located in San Francisco to formally request Sayomi to accept her blessing in becoming the new Prime Pillar of Earth. The suddenness of the Springfield Nest's abdication of their position was also very disconcerting since they had held supreme power and veto voting clout for decades even after their Prime Center had foolishly left his protective Circle and gotten killed in some war somewhere. Nevertheless, his Mother had assured Sayomi that Cash Joseph Archer, son of the most powerful Prime Pillar and Prime Center on Earth, had been very carefully tested by several other leading Pillars as the most powerful psychic male available on this planet for mating and was destined to be the new Prime Center. Those claims had been verified by multiple terse confirming calls by Sayomi's mother to over two dozen leading Pillars of their different Orders around the globe. This of course had set off little alarm bells on six different continents in the minds of many mothers aspiring for their daughters to take over the suddenly vacating top spot.

Sayomi, and her seven most powerful peers from the San Francisco Sisterhood, having been told from an early age that they had been bred and raised to be most powerful female psychics on the planet once they had found their Prime Center, had naturally dropped everything and rushed to Tokyo. Here they would meet, find, and fulfill their lifelong destiny to rule over all the other psychic Orders on Earth IF they could get to him first. They HAD gotten here first only to find Cash's apartment empty. The fact that their little window of head start given to Sayomi's Order over some pretty daunting competition was going to rapidly diminish was also very worrisome since they had wasted so much time in searching him out and finally finding him.

As soon as the word that the Earth's Prime Pillar had formally put her son up for mating got out, and it HAD to have gotten out very quickly from all those confirming calls, Tokyo was going to be swarming with female psychic Orders competing for the same prize. His Mother's one phone call, although a private one, simply meant that Cash had become in a nutshell, prime meat on the mating table for whichever Order could snag him first. Now why had his Mother so suddenly reversed her former ironclad determination to not make Cash available until his 25th birthday and all of a sudden throw him to the she-wolves of the world? Was it something to do with his current serving minions, or with his ability to clamp his mind completely shut like no other male Sayomi had ever been around. If that last was the case, then Cash Joseph Archer was indeed ready to become the Prime Center of all the World Orders, and she couldn't wait much longer to take her place by his side as Prime Pillar and First Consort! Her nerves just wouldn't take much more of his seemingly mind numbed meditation.

***scene break***

Kazehana let out a shaky breath as she stared at her image in the bathroom mirror and then down at her cell phone in her hand that had just finished recharging. It would be okay to use since Riko had disconnected the tracking hardware, but who could she call for help? Normally when things had gotten this tough in the past she had always been able to call Miya and lean heavily on her inner strength for help, but Miya was in deeper mess than she. Kazehana looked back at her mirrored image and shook her head in despair. Nothing had prepared Kazehana for Natalie's projection of pain that had combined to make her relive Minaka's total rejection of her, and she had wilted like an overcooked Sōmen noodle under the emotional onslaught and went under the saki wagon in her old survival mode. While out of it, her Circle had come totally unglued and not only wrecked all the furniture, they had let Cash Lover get completely out of their sight. To add to her failure, she had then been held up as a half dressed and bleary looking sot in front of a bunch of incredibly beautiful human females his Mother had sent to wrest her Ashikabi away from her! And every Sekirei in Tokyo knew how well she had done the last time she had faced human female competition. It hadn't been pretty at all.

If that wasn't enough to worry about, Natalie had went totally blank, so had Cash, and now she was getting very bad vibes from Toyotama, Akitsu, Uzume, and Himeko about the increasingly angst ridden and escalating agitation among the human females still eating up in the penthouse ballroom. There was no news about how soon Karasuba, Miya, and Riko might be able to rejoin them and help fight off these Virgin Petal sluts, and to top it all off, Number 107 Shiina had just carried his still unconscious female Ashikabi and a half dead Mutsu into the apartment's bedroom while begging for Kazehana's help and Himeko's treatment through tears of total heartbreak. Himeko had quickly laid hands on both and after a few short seconds had turned deeply distressed eyes to Kazehana and saying that Mutsu needed Riko's surgeon skills IMMEDIATELY and Sahashi Yukari had a severe brain concussion that was going to require everyone including Cash's psychic power to mend before she turned into a drooling idiot the rest of her life IF she ever came out of her coma. That last little piece of unhappy news had sent Shiina into a bigger limp heap of weeping funk worse than the bowl of Sōmen noodles Kazehana felt like now. The added pressure had sent Kazehana's decision making ability lower than the tennis shoes she had worn and tried to barf up through her throat and into the toilet less than an hour ago.

The only good thing that had happened since Cash lover had graciously escorted those damnable Petals up to the penthouse had been Himeko's healing power forcing Kazehana's early recovery from a very heavy drunk. The end result of that had been nearly an hour of constant urination and vomiting to leave her feeling very shaky, dehydrated, and foul tongued but at least somewhat clearheaded if still very nerve frazzled. Her shaky hands and dry mouth wanted very desperately to get another bottle and climb back into it, but it had taken her last three bottles of saki lied about and carefully stashed for emergency use under the couch to get that totally mind numbed buzz going that had seen her through years of rejection pain.

Now even the couch was history since Toyotama had tried to use it as a club on Uzume and shattered not only it, but every other stick of main room furniture in the apartment. It had only been sheer luck that Uzume had found an empty furnished apartment down the hall to pilfer replacements before Cash could return and cast another worried and fearfully untrusting eye at Kazehana's three Sisters. That last wounded, one arched eyebrow look of his as he had turned to escort those Petals away from the basement and left Kazehana helplessly draped all over Himeko had really hurt them all. She, more than the other four combined, had let him down badly right at a time when he had needed her, and she had failed Natalie just as badly too!

Kazehana pressed her lips together and squeezed her self accusing eyes shut in an effort to better pull her still shattered nerves together. She had never really wanted the responsibility of being the Prime Pillar, not without the kind of decision making support she needed to prop up her still too weak self confidence. She just wanted to crawl under the bed and hide! But everybody was depending on their "Onee-chan" to LEAD them! Unwittingly, she clenched her fists and began screaming silently in her mind, "MOTHER! PLEASE LOOK IN MY MIND AND HELP ME!"

Kazehana's phone rang.

_"Responding, my Child,"_ Natalie's encouraging yet now slightly metallic sounding voice flooded into Kazehana's ears._"Please state out loud for my official records what you require of me."_

"I need Riko and her surgical kit here right away to help Himeko save Number 05 Mutsu's life! Himeko also needs Lover's mental boost to bring Number 107 Shiina's female Ashikabi out of a coma induced by a severe concussion! I need Karasuba and Miya to help me deal with these Virgin Petals and get them away from our Ashikabi! And, and I need to know how to stop his Mother from stealing him away from us! When all that's done, please help me make one of my other Sisters Prime Pillar! I'm no good at it!"

_"Request to abdicate your position as my Prime Pillar is officially denied. Riko, Karasuba, and Miya are on their way to you and should arrive shortly. With your help, I can get Cash Darling to aid you very soon as well as deal with his Mother and her Petals, but I now have some restrictions that you must be made aware of and follow. These will be explained shortly, but first, until your Circle is fully connected we are limited to one way telepathy and this communication device which is Riko's old phone wired into my circuits. With my new restrictions, I can still hear your mind very clearly, but you need the added power of your Sisters to project your thoughts, feelings, and REQUESTS to me. _

_"Now, I am VERY sorry that I hurt you with my self inflicted rejection pain and the subsequent too hasty negotiation with our Prime Leader that made me pull my free and natural emotional support away from your mind. I FEEL that your current troubles are largely my fault. Now that you have CHOSEN to request it, I am enabled to continue but only monitor your thoughts and feelings until you request otherwise. I may not influence your mind nor DO anything without informing our Prime Leader of my activities openly and honestly, therefore I can only advise you of CHOICES that you can make when you ASK for them, and how I FEEL about how they might work or not. I can never MANIPULATE the emotions or free will of you, your Circle, and Our Prime leader ever again. Do you FULLY understand my limitations and how we may work together while not upsetting the new limitations imposed upon my relationship with you, your Sisters, and our Prime Leader?"_

"I can always call you using Riko's speed dial number?" Kazehana nodded to herself somewhat uncertainly as she very carefully sifted Natalie's statements through her own female intuition. "And you are free to suggest CHOICES of action to me about anything I REQUEST and also tell me how you FEEL about those different choices, right? And I can CHOOSE to ask you whatever you are thinking and FEELING might need to be done or considered in the future, especially as it relates to Cash Lover and my Sisters?"

_"Exactly!"_ Natalie's voice came across with a tone of smug victory.

"But what do I do if Miya and Karasuba or the others go crazy on each other again like they did this morning?"

_"You may CHOOSE to ask me to activate pain in their tamas to express your displeasure at any activity or speech you deem detrimental to our Prime Leader and your Circle,"_ Natalie's smugness grew even more apparent. _"To stay in the closest harmony, your calls to me will override all others, however, I FEEL that you should use that tama pain power wisely and sparingly as it is against our Prime Leader's nature to have his Sekirei hurt. I FEEL he will tolerate some use of it if they try to hurt one another or his family or try to harm innocents in this planet's general population."_

"Understood," Kazehana took a deep breath and felt some calmness return to her inner core, "Then I CHOOSE to ask you what is going on upstairs, what Cash is thinking, what is the status of our three outcast Sisters, what do you know about these Virgin Petal sluts, and how can we circumvent the plans Cash's Mother has implemented. I also CHOOSE to ask you what moves you FEEL I should be making to help our Prime Leader, my Sisters, you and the other Sekirei in your womb, as well as defeat Minaka's plans against all of us."

"LOVELY!" Natalie exclaimed with unabashed glee, "and let me say this my Prime Pillar before I respond as requested to all your CHOICES! I FEEL that this this is the beginning of a VERY beautiful relationship between us for the rest of our lives together!"

Kazehana took another, deeper, and synapse calming breath as Natalie's happiness infused the shaky nerve paths in Kazehana's spine and made it stiffen enough to where she was gazing at herself in the mirror without any further recrimination and uncertainty about their future for themselves and their Cash Lover. Maybe she could be Prime Pillar after all, but the thought still made her very nervous.

***scene break***

Cash, steeling himself within, finally made the unhappy decision that he simply had to call his Mother and once and for all firmly reject any more of her interference in his life. There was no other way. He was never going to abandon his five Sekirei, the other three out of hand without listening to what they had to say about a possible restored relationship with him, nor was he going to accept another eight to fifteen human females as any kind of extended harem. It just wasn't physically nor emotionally possible for him to cope with that kind of stupidity because he was already beyond his limitations as it was. Any really sane man knew one woman was all one guy could handle anyway, but he had agreed to five, maybe eight, and Natalie too. They were his first concern from now on.

It had taken him nearly an hour of mind numbed wrestling with himself to come to this very life changing decision because he knew he was going to hurt his Mother's feelings very deeply this time, deep enough that an emotional rift might come between them that could never be repaired in the future. On the other hand he was NEVER going to give up his love for his Sekirei as she was so blatantly demanding that he do. She might as well have demanded that he give up playing baseball. This final confrontation had been coming on for his entire life, and Cash had finally accepted that now was the time to face it squarely.

Even so his fingers shook a little with a sudden case of the jitters as he slowly loosened the death grip he had kept on his baseball and mitt, and began to lower both hands to get his phone out of his right front jeans pocket.

_"Cash Darling!"_ Natalie's voice had a tension of urgency that made Cash's hands freeze, _"Kazehana has contacted me and asked for a status on your current situation. I relayed that data to her. I also informed her about the results of the three items you ordered me to investigate of which I had earlier advised you that no statistical or factual evidence is known about the Virgin Petals of Dryas Octopetala or the Decrees of Anu and that nothing out of the ordinary is known about Sayomi Archer or the women who have arrived with her. However, I felt it was within the bounds of our relationship agreement to respond to oral requests by now awakened Miya, Karasuba, and Riko to ask you to stall and expand my investigative research under their direct guidance. Historical data has now been analyzed that may prove beneficial to your relationship with your Mother without harming you, her, me, or your Sekirei. It would also preclude you having to accept the position of Prime Center being demanded of you by your Mother's acolytes waiting there behind you. Kazehana also requested that I relay my feelings that it would be an avoidable mistake to call your Mother and hurt HER feelings until you have been fully briefed on what suppositions and conclusions have been drawn from your Sekirei research. Is this permissible by you?"_

"Yes, but first, let's get something out in the open between us here. Natalie, are you attempting to CHOOSE and FEEL your way around the strict intent of our earlier agreement to influence me and my Sekirei by using Kazehana and my other bonded Sekirei as your vehicles for same? Respond," Cash whispered as he smothered a small smirk and held completely still. His Sekirei spaceship may have acres of data banks, super whiz computing power, and a very naturally sneaky persona to boot, but she hadn't grown up around his totally impossible to deal with younger sister who had schooled him thoroughly on the arts and convoluted boundaries of female twisted logic in deal making.

_"Yes Cash Darling,"_ Natalie's tone was now a little deflated and also sounded like she was mentally hunching her shoulders for even newer restrictions on her behavior that were sure to follow.

"Do you FEEL our earlier agreement is too restrictive upon your behavior as it relates to keeping me, my Sekirei, and yourself, safe and happy?"

_"Yes Cash Darling."_

"I see," Cash mulled this over briefly. He really couldn't afford to stifle Natalie's initiative to act and use her resources for them as long as their mutual best interests were at stake. It was, after all, in his best interests to keep Natalie happy too. On the other hand, how did he put a lid on what she considered to be their "mutual" best interests without stifling his own freedom? He thought it all through very carefully for a few minutes before continuing.

"Natalie, I will amend our earlier agreement to allow your CHOOSING and FEELING your concerns and desires through Kazehana's judgment in order to use your resources and initiative to act with her permission in matters that will benefit our mutual best interests. If in any way this will impact on my personal freedom, you will request my opinion and permission before acting unless your life, the lives of my Sekirei, and my own is in immediate peril. In that case only will you be free to do as you think would be best for all. You will not use this power to parse my words for intent and neither will you seek new ways to circumvent our original agreement or this amendment. However, you may ask for future clarification and express your unhappiness at feeling too restricted. We will then revisit our agreement and this amendment and discuss each problem on a case by case basis. Would agreeing to this amendment make you feel happier and less restricted, and if so will you agree to it? Respond, but you can take what time you need to analyze what I have said. Then we can discuss your findings, my Mother, and how we can get out of this whole damn mess alive."

Cash leaned back and let his earlier nervous tension drain away as if he was getting ready in the bullpen to pitch the next inning. He was sure he could trust Kazehana's heart and brains to keep a decent check on most of Natalie's more dominating and impulsive instincts, for the rest, he knew was now in for a lifetime of continuous negotiation and deep discussions of every nitpicking thing Natalie could find to wiggle around. They might even fight over a few things, but then, they had their dreams to kiss and make up just like a regular couple. It might even be more entertaining than throwing a great forkball, or just as irritating when the damn thing didn't fork at all.

_"This amendment will make me feel much happier and less restricted, and I hereby completely agree to it,"_ Natalie said with a firmness that made Cash almost grin openly. However, her next soft and mentally caressing words startled him. _"Darling, I can't wait to show you how much I really, really love you as my Prime Leader."_

That last made Cash the Prime Leader feel a little more nervous than the upcoming call to his Mother.


	21. Chapter 21

**The Game Changer**

**Chapter 21 – Lineup Changes, Game Faces and Fates**

Cash had never really been all that superstitious about much in his life, and that included baseball. While he never, ever, stepped on the third base foul line when going out to pitch or returning to the dugout, and always touched the flower tattoo behind his left ear before going into his windup, those were actually pretty mild little habits compared to the real flakes he'd had as teammates. There were guys who talked to the ball before every pitch, chewed licorice and brushed their teeth between innings, refused to change their underwear and/or socks while on a hot streak, or slept with their bats that had been wrapped in surgical gauze and duct tape. He certainly didn't make any good luck/warding off evil offerings of burnt feathers and chicken bones in any locker room shrine before a game either, not that he objected to those fellas that went in for that kind of stuff.

Cash had always tolerated the really screwy practices of his more superstitious teammates in his career, because, hey, there was a lot about playing sports that had more impact than just athletes using their natural physical talents. Sometimes playing the game went even beyond the emotional makeup of a player, way past anything possibly explained by a hyper adrenaline moment, and crossed into the very dark and spooky realm of the supernatural ruled by the three Greek goddesses of fate called the Moirae.

Now when a guy goes to sleep as just another Joe Schmuck ballplayer who kinda accidentally happened to get very weirdly entangled with eight alien female bird warriors who where cruising Tokyo looking to find their life mate and true love, and all that just when he happened to be in town for a short time, well, that was one thing. But to wake up and be told that he, that same Joe Schmuck ballplayer, was actually the culmination of those alien bird people's interbreeding cult program started before the predawn of ancient history, and his domineering and way too overly protective Mother was the whole planet's Grand High Poo-bah Princess Pillar thingy of that same alien interbreeding cult, and that she had suddenly designated her socially deprived son to be the main stud service for her world wide cult, well, that was all something else again.

It was downright nerve shattering, and was also more than enough to trigger Cash's inner sixth sense that somehow he had inadvertently swerved out of any possible "normal" alien species close encounters of the usual one through the third and now eighth kinds. It crossed WAY over into the spooky supernatural of "What in the Hell were the Moirae goddesses of fate trying to do to him?" It was enough to make a guy start looking around to somehow call the old Ghostbusters out of retirement.

As it was, all Cash could do was sit in a padded lounge chair with his back to the apartment's penthouse occupants and be seen muttering to himself like a complete fool, or as some kind of very devout devotee of any supernatural being who could get him out of his present predicament. Japan had hundreds of major and minor gods and goddess shrines all over the place for people to make supernatural contact and request aid. Surely one of them could give him a little help here. Couldn't they? After all, his options for a good outcome seemed rather grim at the moment, and he couldn't stall these Virgin Petals forever.

At least the intimidating presence of a glaring, icy eyed, green haired, and immensely strong looking Toyotama guarding his back was keeping Sayomi Archer and her polygamous and too anxious to be married crew at a distance far enough to let him talk to Natalie. The immediate problem was to get a plan or a least a quick clue or two for the immediate future, and believe that it could actually work. Besides that, Cash also had a real far future problem actually believing anything Natalie was saying was going to keep his Mother happy in the long term, let alone Cash and his Sekirei, these Virgin Petals, or the world domination types like Minaka. No one likes to hear the gloom and doom pessimists criticize every possible plan with "It will never work, we'll all be killed," but that was pretty much the way the morning had went so far for Cash. Why should he believe it was going to get better with any of Natalie's suggestions? Besides, his Mother was going to hate Natalie and his Sekirei, and vice versa, he was sure of it.

"So let me get this straight, Natalie," Cash frowned while trying not to move his lips too much or mutter too loudly, "Mother is, or was, the female leader of this whole Sekirei/Human Dryas Octopetala gig that began thousands of years ago and is now using these old cult Ancient Decrees from some old Sumerian Sky God called Anu to get me married to all these Virgins? And you're gonna try and pull rank on her to stop it? Uhhh, just how do propose to do this when she tells you to stuff it? You can't move, and frying my Mother with your weapon systems is a giant no-no."

_"My daughters will just have to __**peacefully**__ demonstrate our superior claim to you, Cash Darling,"_ Natalie's mental voice took on a note of anticipated relish as she emphasized peacefully, _"and then these Virgins will be asked to very sensibly abdicate their positions as Prime anything and go back to where they came from. We'll let them break the news to your Mother that her plans for you have been upgraded out of her control and into your hands. Ipso facto, you're off the hook of having to confront her yourself and enduring another long weeping and wailing session. Isn't that better than you telling her yourself? After things calm down, then you can give her a friendly little ring as if there was no big deal."_

"Well," Cash mulled this over. The idea of not calling his Mother at all was very appealing. After all, she had caused this Petal problem now, and his cowardice in not facing her and running away had worked pretty well in the past, especially coming to Japan to play ball. Why not keep running? He could always use some "earthquake fissure, erupting volcano, wayward hungry canine, or large sea bird had swallowed his cell phone" type of excuses for why he hadn't called home sooner, right? No, no, Cash shook his head, sooner or later he was going to be forced to get his Mother's heavy thumb off his life. He might as well bite the bullet and do it now.

"You're sure about all this Sekirei/human interbreeding historical crap, Natalie? I mean, really sure?" Cash squinted as he chewed his lower lip. It had all made some sense as to explaining where Ashikabis and Virgin Petals had come from in the first place, but was it going to be enough to make his Mother believe that she was outranked by a permanently crippled Sekirei womb ship that was showing some really problematic signs of deep emotional instability?

_"Yes Cash Darling, although I'm working on the statistical probabilities for a mathematical degree of certainty and can't give you highly accurate numbers just yet, I feel that most of our current speculation does fit more than 90% of the current known facts with a very high degree of confidence. What little remaining anomalies in the ancient historical time line of events pertaining to Sekirei/human interbreeding will probably fall within a few percentage points of a plus or minus uncertainty of accuracy."_

"Okay, if you're that sure about all this, then I'm going to call Ma," Cash gritted his teeth while shaking his head miserably at his decision. "I'm gonna have to get this settled with her once and for all sometime anyway, but she's not gonna be happy no matter what we do, now or later. We'll all have to just deal with it, I guess, her included."

_"That is a viable option too, My Love,"_ Natalie sounded a little too pleased. _"And I'll be glad to help you with suggestions for what to say as you talk to her too. Then we can chase these Virgins off even quicker and perhaps with a little more authority?"_

Still eying his phone in trepidation despite all the useful historical information Natalie had just given him about Sekirei, humans, and age old crossbreeding of same, and not liking how a too eager Natalie had sounded just then, Cash immediately decided to rethink his last decision to call his Mother as that old sixth sense of really bad vibes suddenly hit him. Was he about to tempt the Moirae, the Three goddesses of fate, screwy happenings, trampled superstitions, and lousy baseball luck again? If so, then this was not good.

The baseball lineup of the 1927 Yankees suddenly came to his mind. Bad karma had blind sided them once, and who was he compared to them? After all, that Murderer's Row lineup with Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, Bill Dickey, and Tony Lazzeri was acclaimed by most game purists as the greatest baseball team to ever take the field. They had won a historic 110 games, swept four straight games from the Pittsburgh Pirates to win the World Series, and Babe Ruth had hit his then history making 60 home runs in that season. Then in 1928 that essentially same lineup, one who had 9 eventual Hall of Fame players, had went on to win 101 games and sweep the St. Louis Cardinals four straight to win another World Series. But along the way, in lowly Cleveland, Ohio on July 29, 1928, the Moirae of bad baseball luck had struck.

That incredibly talented, experienced, and dominating Murderer's Row lineup of the Yankees had gotten absolutely pummeled 24-6 and suffered the second worst loss in all of Yankee baseball history. That well known fact to Cash had always meant that even the very best of players on the very best of teams can really stink, suck, and screw up badly on any given day thanks to the quirky Moirae. A fella just didn't openly sneer at these kinds of things either, not if he ever wanted to have some good luck in the future. What made him fearfully hesitate to call his Mother now was the very strong intuitive feeling that maybe he and his five alien female teammates were also having just that kind of a sucky Sekirei day as dictated by those weird goddesses of fate.

Oh sure, Cash's morning had started out just super great while love playing with Akitsu in the bath, but the self confidant 1928 Yankees had also scored 1 run in their top half of the first inning that July night in Cleveland. Little did they know that in the bottom half Cleveland would score 8 runs and then 9 in the second, 1 in the third, and 6 more insults in the sixth. Cash's morning had went steadily downhill in the same mounting disastrous way that hapless Yankee Hall of Fame team had tempted the Moirae in Cleveland.

After such great loving with Akitsu, Kazehana had been found almost comatose drunk, Uzume had heartily BITCHED him out, Natalie had went screwy, Akitsu fallen comatose, Toyotama, Uzume, and Himeko had then went berserk to wreck the entire freaking apartment, the Virgin Petals had jumped his ass just as he had thought he was redeeming the whole mess, and then Cash found out his Mother, a psychic world leader of female screwballs all around the globe, had sent these fifteen Petals here in order for him to marry at least eight of them. What were the other seven supposed to do? Become his back up concubines or something? Geez Louise! Talk about too many bad signs for the day!

Natalie had also informed him earlier that perhaps another three hundred or more young psychic human female groups of eight were racing each other to Tokyo in a foaming matrimonial frenzy and fighting to get into his knickers first, or at least share poor brainless Little CJ between them. The thought of maybe 2,400 additional Virgin Petal females trying to share his boudoir was completely NUTS! Even Solomon in all of his wisdom had stopped at around 1400 women in his harem, and the King had been one of the world's richest men of his time! Cash couldn't even realistically afford to feed the five Sekirei that he had, let alone keep them sexually contented on any kind of ongoing basis. What were the Moirae trying to do to him, ruin him and his wallet permanently?

Cash nodded to himself sagely. The only way to explain this exponentially growing insanity was to understand that he and his team of five Sekirei, and one suspected half loony womb ship, were just having one of those really weird and very, very bad days thanks to the Moirae. And if this was so, then Cash calling his Mother today was NOT a good idea at all. Any baseball player knows enough to not mess around with ongoing bad karma like this on game day, right?

Somehow, without alienating his Mother and several hundred thousand years of Sekirei intermarriage planning, Cash had to find some way to appease the Moirae and yet still shove those Ancient Decrees of mob breeding right up old Sky God Anu's ass. Otherwise, one Cash Joseph Archer was going to become the World's Prime Schnook on a really gigantic scale, and his future baseball career would be over. Even his "Shinto Dawn" masterpiece looked better than that too bleak future, and it had been almost totally ruined by Riko on another sucky Sekirei day almost as bad as this one.

He should have seen that the Moirae had been against him that day also and ran from Riko and never looked back the instant his painting had flopped oil paint side down onto the apartment roof. Then maybe Minaka wouldn't be trying to kill him and his emotionally unbalanced Sekirei. A couple thousand screwball women wouldn't be scrambling over each other to tear him and his Little CJ into little power pieces for their own use, and he'd never have to call his Mother with ultra disappointing news for her plans and break her heart.

No doubt about it, Cash finally decided, there wasn't enough green tea and rice in Japan to make him call his Mother today, or maybe even tomorrow, or any other day either. Cowardice in the face of his Mother was the best option here. She could wait until this whole mess that she had sent his way had just died down and the Greek goddesses of fate had found some other poor schmuck to bedevil. What he needed to do was get out of Tokyo, run fast and far, and hide somewhere so that none of these foaming at the mouth to get married Petals could ever find him and his five Sekirei ever again. Wait. How HAD the Virgin Petals found him this time? He must be detectable in a way he didn't know about. Damn! All of a sudden Cash felt like Yankee starting pitcher George Pipgras, the poor old fella who had gotten snake-bit by the Moirae and had given up 5 runs without getting a single out in that lopsided Yankee loss in 1928 Cleveland.

There was no relief pitcher warming up in the bullpen to help Cash and his Sekirei team get out of the first inning either, let alone out of Tokyo. They were squarely in the cross hairs of some very bad karma here, and somehow they had to make a good move to get out of them. Hey! There was an idea! He needed a relief pitcher! He wondered if maybe there wasn't some other less harried and unsuspecting Ashikabi in this town that he could maybe shunt some of this unwanted attention from the Moirae onto and let the fate goddesses screw that poor bastard's life up more than his. Maybe there was some local deity that could be called on here too. It wouldn't hurt to ask, would it?

"Yo, uhhh, hi, and ummm, whassup there all you fine gods and goddesses of, ummm," Cash, eyes closed tightly, paused in his impromptu supplication while trying not to offend any particular major or minor deity east and west of Greece, "this good old planet Earth here and especially good old Tokyo, Japan. Say, uhhh, would you mind giving us a little relief? I mean, we got a situation here, kinda like poor old unlucky George Pipgras had once, and, ummm, well, I think it calls for something more than a good forkball to get out of it, so uhhh, if you don't mind, we could burn a candle, throw some flowers into a lake, or whatever for you all, and, and, hey! How about we could give some fish and rice to some local poor folk to eat if you'd give us a little help here! How about it? Wanna trade?"

Cash cracked one eyelid experimentally to squint as he looked around. There didn't seem to be any bright lights, thunder, lightning, or wall of flame headed his way or away from him, but then again, who said that was the way gods and goddesses worked? After all, he didn't really believe in them anyway, let alone most of the superstitious mumbo jumbo a ballplayer had to tolerate if he wanted to keep his teammates happy.

***scene break***

Seo, seated at the apartment's table, drinking a cup of hot tea, and totally unaware that the Moirae and any other whimsical gods and goddesses had possibly been turned loose on him and his crew today, fondly watched Haihane weave, stumble across, and step around the line of Sekirei still sleeping on the now crowded apartment floor. She might not be the prettiest, shapeliest, nor the most graceful, or even have the classiest manners of his Sekirei, but Haihane was a true tight glove fit to Seo's personality and physical appetites. From the instant they had locked eyes there had never been one shred of doubt about their total compatibility either, nor her right to be his Lead Sekirei. That meeting at the hotdog stand had been the luckiest moment for both of them, almost supernatural in its rightness and in the continuing good fortune since. Seo smiled as Haihane faced him, sat down on his lap while straddling him, and planted a quick good afternoon kiss on his lips.

"How's it going with Oriha?" Seo asked lazily as Haihane clasped her hands around his neck and leaned back to smile at him.

"Same, same for right now," Haihane chuckled softly. "She's kinda weird, ya know? And Sanada maybe isn't quite the big gun in bed he thought he was. He did re-wing four, but Oriha is pretty much a cold little fish. I'm not sure he's got enough heat to thaw her out either. I wouldn't be surprised to find she's glued her frosted panties to her little bod as well."

"Go figure," Seo sighed as he shook his head. Last night hadn't went quite as planned to gain more allies against Minaka, but it had went well enough. Homura had been winged by Minato to complete that Circle, Mutsu had been thwarted again, and Sanada had gained five possible recruits although they hadn't all been Higa's last five females. It seems that Sekirei, even though nominal enemies with different Ashikabis, still kept in close touch with their friends and former MBI schoolmates, and had made a few contingency plans of their own last night. During the fighting and fleeing afterward, three of Higa's Sekirei had opted for Sanada along with two former schoolmates from Mikogami's flock. Higa's other two had joined five from Mikogami's group to seek out their friend Number 73 Namiji and her little known Ashikabi. Either way, the fleeing Sekirei had sorted themselves out to make two new possible allied Circles, or would as soon as Oriha stopped being a frigidity problem.

"I talked to Sanada's other seven gals and gave them a few tips," Haihane shrugged as she continued to smile at Sanada's unexpected failure to sweep a Sekirei off her feet and into his new Circle. "I think they're gonna try meshing their minds together and give Oriha's tama a hot shot to warm her crotch up a little because they want her fighting abilities. She's the best and most dangerous of them with those damn spinning disks she can throw and manipulate in mid air. It still might take a little while for Sanada to get her frosted panties off and legs apart even with help. Meanwhile, I'm getting hungry. How about we order pizzas for lunch, say, two dozen anchovy and pepperoni for everybody?"

"Sounds good to me," Seo nodded in easy agreement. He flipped open his new untraceable phone and hit the speed dial for Pizzakaya, but, as the fates would have it, accidentally thumbed Riko's speed button instead.

"Konnichiwa," a metallic female voice answered flatly.

"Yo, Pizzakaya, Big Daddy here. We want 24 stuffed crust large pepperoni and anchovy with extra cheese. We'll pick 'em up as usual."

_"Pizzakaya?"_ the female voice sounded slightly confused at first, but quickly became firmer. _"You have a wrong number."_

"What?" Seo tabbed his video screen for activation but it remained blank. Then he saw that he had mistakenly dialed Riko, but he had intended to call her later anyway. "Hey, kid, sorry, I hit the wrong speed dial by mistake, but we got a few more recruits that need your help. Can you meet us later?"

_"Negative." _This was followed by a long pause as Seo and Haihane exchanged questioning frowns of unbelief. Riko's voice sounded really weird.

"Hey Reeker, this is Claws. Quit clowning around, will ya? You promised us you'd help free any newbies we came up with. Well, we got a few, and they need ya. Tell ya what. Meet us at our usual pizza joint, and we'll spring for your lunch. How about it?"

_"The individual you seek is absent, and has left her communication device for my use. However, I will relay your request and ask her to return your call as quickly as possible."_

"Left her device?" Haihane snorted in amusement. "Who in the hell talks like that? Why'd Reeker leave it? Who is this anyway?"

_"Further information and identification requests denied. This device is needed for higher priority usage. Your friend will contact you soon."_ The connection was abruptly terminated to leave Seo and Haihane blinking in surprise at each other. Both shrugged as Seo redialed Pizzakaya and placed their order to feed sixteen hungry Sekirei and their two Ashikabi, all of whom were blissfully unaware that the goddesses of fate had just dropped by for a little visit in their crowded apartment and also quite some distance away on a small, rocky coastal island.

***scene break***

Minato, tired, sore, blistered, burned, and rapidly losing what self control and patience he had left, bemoaned his unhappy fate as he simply stared at his eight bickering Sekirei in bewildered consternation. Did it really matter which one called themselves The One Who Leads, let alone his only legal wife? How should he settle this? He wished there was someone who could give him some timely and helpful advice. He had thought to call Seo, but decided against it. He was in no mood for any more of Seo's frivolous mocking of weenie boys who couldn't control their constantly arguing Sekirei. Mutsu had dropped completely out of sight and wasn't answering his phone at all. According to Miya when she had visited earlier, it sounded like Cash Archer was up to his eyeballs in even more female trouble than Minato and wasn't worth calling, and even Yukari wasn't answering her phone either. Was he going to have to finally make a decision on his own and actually try to make his Sekirei stop their constant feuding and bitching at each other? Despite assurances from Miya, Riko, and that still spooky looking Karasuba that they would return with Himeko and heal all their battle and fire wounds as soon as possible, Minato's mood was not very upbeat at the moment. If anything, it was going rapidly downhill.

Despite winging Homura and saving the Sekirei of Fire's life, the night had not really been too kind to Minato, and the day wasn't going much better. Kissing the self immolating Homura had been hot work and not sexually HAWT at all. Minato hands, arms, and lips were now blistered, his clothes scorched, and his hair, eyebrows, and eyelashes badly singed. The trip back to Izumo Inn had been one frantic and painfully jarring leap after another while fearing more laser attacks from the sky courtesy of Minaka's satellites. Homura, although more blistered and singed than Minato and needing to be resting in bed until Himeko arrived, was now in a very heated argument with Taki, Matsu, Tsukuimi, and Mitsuki about who was going to be Minato's Sekirei Circle leader. The dining area of Izumo inn was a veritable giant rotating cornucopia of heated invectives, name calling, and unsheathed female claws that was very quickly threatening to spiral way out of control if something wasn't done fast.

Minato closed his eyes as he tried to think about what Miya had been trying to hurriedly teach them during her visit to get some clothes and other items for her, Riko, and Karasuba. He had been totally caught off guard when the three Sekirei had suddenly appeared in their midst looking like the same black suited robot invaders from outer space that was still eating a lot of Tokyo's local news time and fueling speculation over video file footage of Riko's recent adventures. Her Karasu sightings were constantly being looped and dissected by so called "experts" of extraterrestrial invasions and theorists about other life in the universe. Man, this town was really going weird!

Battle pairs, Minato remembered suddenly. Miya had said every Sekirei Circle was made up of four battle pairs that protected each other, one close combat and one with ranged skills, but he had Ku-chan who was too young to fight and Matsu who had no combat skills at all. Okay, then a little logic had to be dictated here, and he had taken a logic course in high school. Unfortunately, Minato's patience snapped when Tsukuimi doused them all before he could actually apply any logic to his Sekirei situation, but then again, maybe an unusual and heretofore lacking display of a little manly assertion for once was more appropriate.

"That's IT!" Minato leaped to his feet and began sputtering as a towering, barely controlled, red eyed rage suddenly set in. His eight Sekirei recoiled at his shout and stared at him in wide eyed wonder and consternation as they had never seen him lose his temper before. They had actually crossed a line to make the super patient and loving Minato that unhappy? This didn't feel good at all!

"There will be NO leaders, but you WILL align yourselves like this until I say otherwise! Homura will protect Matsu! Mitsuki will protect Ku-chan! Musubi will protect Taki! Mitsuha will protect Tsukuimi! I have accepted all of you as equals in my heart! Now, you will get along and stop fighting all the time, or else! And if I hear one more peep out of any of you, and especially you Tsukuimi, about this only legal wife nonsense, I won't sleep with any of you for a month, got it? I'm tired and going to bed, ALONE, so is Homura, and don't wake either of us until after Himeko gets here later this afternoon!"

With that Minato stormed out of the dining area, stomped upstairs, and slammed his upstairs bedroom door shut. His eight Sekirei stared after him in open mouthed silence before seven turned squinting eyes of angry accusation at a suddenly thumb biting and guiltily contrite Tsukuimi. Then the whispered negotiations began on just who was really going to pair up with whom despite Minato's verbally declared lineup card. From the fierceness of the bargaining, Minato's evening wasn't looking like it would be a whole lot better than his previous night and morning's fateful and almost supernatural events.

***scene break***

Takamo Kouji, who had zero concept of the supernatural in his mathematically structured world, ran his fingers through his brown shaggy hair as he laid his idea book aside, and briefly studied the University class lineup he would be taking in the short summer session. Quantum Chemistry, Molecular Biophysics Lab, Elliptic Differential Equations, and Hyper Cloud Computing were all senior graduate level courses and four very tough ones, but he was confidant that he could manage his study schedule well enough as well as the material.

As the second highest scoring upperclassman in University history, even the toughest science and mathematics being taught had been absorbed, understood, and used almost as easily as he had learned to read, type, and speak four different languages before he had turned five years old. The fact that he was just now turning eighteen and had obtained Bachelor of Science degrees in Physics, Mathematics, Chemistry, and Computer Science and was now only four courses short of already completing two additional complimentary Graduate programs spoke volumes about his superior mind and intellect, but there had been and still was a slight distraction to enter his life lately, as well as a considerable drain on his already meager finances as dictated by the scholastic scholarships he had won. He had to keep his grades up to keep from losing his monthly stipends from his scholarships' sponsoring foundations, or his new love would go hungry. That would never do, mathematically or otherwise.

Suddenly aware that his small apartment had grown too quiet, Kouji looked around from his small kitchenette/study table but saw nothing strange. His love must be taking a bath or something. His love, Kouji smiled to himself as he once again began thumbing through the equations written in his idea book. Yes, she was his love and so much more. Her name was Number 73 Namiji, a beautiful and loving female alien Sekirei with a soft warm heart, an incredibly perfect and sensitive body, and an absolutely captivating and totally protective attitude towards him. She was living proof of other life in the cosmos and that higher mathematics to obtain and roam the stars were available to inquiring and aspiring human mortals such as he.

True, she was also taking a little time away from Kouji's studies by her almost insatiable appetite for sexually romping her genius Ashikabi on the small apartment's futon at every opportunity she could get. He wasn't allowed to have a book open while doing it either, no matter what his incredibly hard class lineup dictated. Kouji listened for a second before shrugging and jotting down a few notes on a new idea he had about making a simple and affordable anti-gravity drive for his 12 year old Toyota sedan. If he could make it and patent it, his financial worries about feeding Namiji would be over, and he could finance a bigger model for a space capsule to cheaply reach the moon. He smiled again as he felt her warm breath suddenly tickle his left ear from behind.

"Koo Koo," Namiji whispered softly with a slightly pleading tone for his attention. "You KNOW how much I love you, don't you? And how very happy I am to be your Sekirei?"

"Yes, I know," Kouji chuckled tenderly as he reached behind him with his left hand to caress Namiji's head and pull her closer. Thick strands of her waist length brown hair spilled over his shoulder even though she had it tied into a loose pony tail with long, wine red ribbons. With matching wine red velveteen gloves trimmed in silver that came up to her biceps, Namiji's arms came around his neck as she hugged his head into her very impressive breasts from behind. Kouji could tell from the feel of her chest and her gloves that Namiji was wearing her battle outfit of a wine red velveteen corset and a belted silver satin skirt split up both sides to show off her incredibly sexy thighs. The massive halberd she wielded as her primary weapon must be strapped to her back. She had probably left the apartment and just returned then, or she was getting ready to leave. That explained the quietness that he had just belatedly noticed.

"Are you going to Izumo Inn and spar with your good friend Miya again, my love?" Kouji asked absently as he paused writing his notes for a second before adding Planck's Constant to the left side of his second equation. There, he chastised himself silently, that looked much better and NEEDED to be there as any silly young schoolboy studying electromagnetism should know. Now, to account for the increased flux from the Gaussian fields that would be generated and then stabilize the vector forces acting on the central globe of all three axis, he would have to have differential factors of Namiji's beautiful breasts. Wait. That last was NOT anything mathematical, but from the way they looked for their size, Namiji's chest did seem to defy gravity. Kouji smiled ruefully as he paused again in writing his equations. Food for his love was more important.

"I'll wait to make dinner until you return if you are, Nami. I'm afraid it's chicken and rice curry again and not much chicken, but I get my monthly stipend in two days, and we can splurge with a little teriyaki sauce then, okay?" Oh yes, you twit, Kouji berated himself. There HAD to be factors in his equations for angular momentum and thrust vectoring if he was going to steer any vehicle not touching the ground. How silly to forget that!

"No Koo Koo, I'm coming, not leaving," Namiji kissed his neck and began nibbling his ear lobe lightly. This action had never failed to get her a hearty and stiff response from his very proud and incredibly quick renewing young manhood, even when he was concentrating on all the numeric and symbolic gibberish he was constantly writing down in his ideas book.

"Miya did stop by for a few minutes earlier for a quick chat," Namiji added while breathing even more seductively on his now sensitized neck and ear. "She talked about a little method that Toyotama and Himeko used to get a much happier life with their new Ashikabi, and then I did see a few friends of mine afterward to tell them about Miya's news. Do you remember me introducing you to my sister Number 74 Narashino, the blonde Sekirei with the headband? And how unhappy she said she was with her Ashikabi because he was so mean to her sometimes? I felt so sorry for her, remember?"

"Ummm hmm, yes, and I felt sorry for her too," Kouji nodded vaguely as he intuitively saw a new way to begin factoring his equations for simplification and further manipulation. Yes, Yes! He was on to something here! It was there in his mind! All he had to do was write it down before he forgot it! Oh, she was fondling his thighs. Okay! Hurry! Write faster! And then he was going to rip Namiji's battle suit from her fabulous body again and let her have her way with him again and again until it was time for dinner! Life was Good! And going to get better! A few of the fractal geometric terms canceled each other! The shape of his anti-gravity idea was heading towards Mother Nature's Golden Ratio! This had to be the answer!

"Well, Koo Koo, you know," Namiji's fingers twined Kouji's shaggy hair as her dark blue eyes gleamed in triumph. Kouji was getting rock hard, and experience said he would stay that way for quite a long time. That was exactly what was needed here if they were both going to survive Minaka's mad schemes and be free to love each other as she desperately wanted, even if it meant taking drastic measures. "There's a few more of my friends that have got nasty old Ashikabis that don't love them at all just like Narashino, and they are all my batch mates from my MBI school where I grew up. We were such great and close friends before those mean guys in MBI just shoved us out the door. I told them about how loving and kind and sweet you are, Koo Koo, and how so lucky I was to find you. There was Number 82 Hari, and 83 Akemi, 84 Yashima, 85 Oshino, 86 Katsuragi, and 87 Kaho. They all wanted a better Ashikabi like you, but some of them were forced to be winged against their will. Isn't that just terrible? They ran away last night because they were never going to be loved. Miya taught us how fix that for them as long as I didn't mind, and I don't at all if it means we can always be together. It also means that you and I will get a much, much better chance of winning the Sekirei Plan now too so we can never, ever be separated."

"That's nice, Nami, and us being together forever is what we planned anyway, and we will as soon as I get this new idea patented," Kouji nodded while biting his lower lip in hampered concentration and writing furiously. He heard rustling of clothes sounds behind him. Namiji was getting prepared for when he finished his equations! That was good too! Just a few minutes more! A bare nipple began rubbing his left ear lobe, and he reached up to fondle Namiji's large warm, familiar left breast without pausing in his writing. Had she grown a little? His loins began to ache and throb much harder from surging blood and hormone flow. It was slightly distracting, but he could finish his equations! Another harder and more insistent bare nipple began rubbing his right ear lobe and a third warmly trailed across the back of his neck. Wait. The physics and math of this situation just didn't jive with his theoretically and mathematically correct world at all, nor did it fit Mother Nature's Golden Ratio of anything related to anti-gravity!

Suddenly, Kouji's study chair was rotated 180 degrees to have his face mashed into four sets of naked breasts with three more pairs moving in behind him. Seven Sekirei, six of them complete strangers along with the barely remembered Narashino, psychically meshed their minds together to project their hot desires for him and his physical loving. Stunned by the power of their yearning emotions that washed over him, Kouji's mind went totally blank as one after another, Namiji's seven Sekirei schoolmates moved in to kiss and re-wing themselves with his DNA while using Namiji's considerable psychic power added to theirs to accomplish the feat. Somehow his green t-shirt and jeans disappeared as he was tenderly floated out of his chair and made ready for some three dimensional thrusting and polar rotation.

Not only did the future of affordable anti-gravity transportation and roaming the cosmos get put on hold and advanced summer classes get forgotten, the chicken and curry rice dinner was also greatly delayed. The small apartment's futon saw the formation of a new Sekirei Circle with Namiji at the head of the lineup as Kouji performed prodigious and stalwart accomplishments with something other than his brilliant young intellect. How he was going to house let alone feed his new Sekirei team didn't impact his numbed mind and exhausted body until much, much later, nor did he yet have one clue that a few visiting Moirae were still supernaturally laughing at him and his silly mathematical equations when they left to find another victim.

***scene break***

Mikogami's life was certainly a lot more calmer with fewer Sekirei around constantly agitating for his attention, but the seven "finely tuned" of those that still remained, and especially Ikki, were getting a LOT more insistent that he start paying better attention to his personal safety. Staying hidden and out of attack satellite targeting wasn't that bad of an idea anyway, let alone falling cargo containers. Without Mutsu's glowering presence and nonstop planning, Mikogami was also rapidly losing a little interest in winning the Sekirei Plan. Bedroom and hot massage marathons with Ikki were a whole lot more pleasurable way to spend time than running around out in Tokyo and getting his new limousines killed on a fairly regular and unhappy family basis.

He wondered where Mutsu had gone. It wasn't like the big fella to stay away from his Twinkie and Ho Ho snack stash this long, let alone call and tell his Ashikabi what to be doing until Mutsu returned. Mikogami, laying with arms and legs spread on his bed and waiting for Ikki's return with warm food and more hot massage oils, smiled as he heard the bedroom door open behind him. He had no idea that the fates had suddenly decided to remove some irresponsible freedom from Mikogami and a lot less decision making pressure in his soon to be more rigidly controlled life.

"Miko baby," a totally naked Ikki began soothingly as she placed a tray of warm food and massage oils on the bedside table. She poured a little oil on her hands and began massaging his shoulders and torso. "Remember how Seo's Sekirei Circle glowed when they stopped us from capturing Riko and then again last night when we failed to get Homura?"

"Mmmm hmmm," Mikogami sighed contentedly as he closed his eyes and simply let himself enjoy the sensation of of her warm slick hands lightly rubbing his body.

"Well, although you probably couldn't feel it, we noticed that Haihane's group also gave off a lot more psychic power than they used to. My friend Miya called a little bit ago, and I talked to her about that," Ikki's voice was even more soothing than before. "And she says that if we get one girl more into our fine tuned group, then we'll increase our power to protect you too. If you die, then we die. So me and your other six honeys talked it over and picked the strongest one of the other girls still here to join us and get tuned better. Would that be okay with you, baby?"

"Oh, I suppose," Miko nodded vaguely. "I can make time next week maybe, but we really ought to wait and talk this over with Mutsu, right? I mean, he's our leader here after all. Oooo, that feels good! Rub a little more to the right and lower, my sweet."

"Okay," Ikki agreed softly as Miko didn't notice that more warm hands were now joining hers for his massage, "but we also took a quick vote and decided not to wait. Then Miya gave us a little advice on how to get things moving along for your increased safety right now."

"What?" Mikogami's mind suddenly registered the extra hands, and his eyes blinked open to see all six of his other "finely tuned" and naked Sekirei gathered around him with Ikki. The eighth candidate, also without a stitch of clothing and ready for "fine tuning", was suddenly pushed towards him by her seven soon to be Circle sisters. Mikogami's Sekirei then messed their minds to hit him with an intense wave of desire as the newcomer quickly mounted the bed and her oiled Ashikabi. All eight now enmeshed Sekirei displayed their multicolored wings as Mikogami responded instinctively as any normal male would do when held in place and such an unusual situation was thrust upon them. Ikki's small smile of triumph soon widened as their new Circle formed and their increased combined power flooded through all of them with a hot, shuddering, glowing, and very greatly satisfying rush.

Mikogami, forgetting all about Mutsu's leadership and anything else for that matter, settled in for an afternoon delight of continued dissipation only heard about in some highly questionable lewd tales about the antics of some ancient gods and goddesses, but it came with a steep price to his personal freedom. It was only later that Mikogami's new Sekirei Circle informed him of the more rigid way things were going to work around him from now on, no matter how many new limos had to die to keep him safe, or what Mutsu would think. Mikogami meekly accepted his fate when Ikki spelled it out. Either do as he was told to stay safe from harm, or no sex until he obeyed what his new Sekirei Circle told him to do. His other "untuned" Sekirei that had ran away last night were also going to be free to seek their own new lineup no matter what Mutsu or any other entity inhabiting this planet had to say about that either.

***scene break***

Not liking the feel of how her induction into the absolute top spot of the world wide psychic Orders was going, Sayomi Archer's nerves finally overwhelmed her heretofore barely controlled patience. She marched across the penthouse ballroom with a determined look on her face that Toyotama correctly interpreted as giant threat to Cash's stalling meditation. The superior attitude of Sayomi and her Petals, not to mention their ultra beautiful feminine bodies and features, was also a definite threat to the loving relationship of the eight Sekirei of Kazehana's Circle to their gaijin Ashikabi. Added to that, the smaller, very beautiful, and shapely Sayomi was making Toyotama feel very big, plain, and decidedly unsexy. Toyotama's hackles rose at the open scorn and disdain being displayed on Sayomi's facial features as she approached. This just didn't set well with Toyotama at all.

"Back off, bitch," Toyotama growled through clenched teeth while her instantly changed facial expression and physical stance threatened immediate physical harm to the still approaching human female. Toyotama really regretted Cash's decision for her lance to be put in the apartment closet downstairs, but she could still slap this human bitch silly. Toyotama assumed a basic karate stance with her palms out. Surprisingly, all that didn't seem to faze the suddenly icy cool Sayomi as she came within an arm's length of Toyotama before stopping, left fist on her hip and right palm hovering near her heart.

"I am sure," Sayomi's right eyebrow went up in half amused scorn, "you have NO idea who you are addressing, so I'll let that insult pass for now, but just who do you THINK you are to stand between ME and MY Prime Center?"

"Oh oh," Cash muttered in dismay to his womb ship. The stalling gig was over. "Here we go, Natalie."

"I am Number 16 Toyotama, The One Who Scouts," Toyotama glared in return, "and if you try to take one more step, I'll rip your smarmy thin lips right off your face and then kick your..."

"A Number 16 scout? That's all?" Sayomi chuckled in disdain. "And I assume from some obscure Japanese Order that is trying leapfrog their superiors, break the Ancient Covenants, and steal the world's primary veto and voting power? That's rich! But it's at least better than being one of the serving minions I originally thought you were since you all dress so slovenly and act so, so plebeian. Really Cash, both scenarios and their drab vulgarity are so FAR beneath you, and I'm sure your Mother taught you to know much better."

"Actually," Cash stood up slowly, gritted his teeth, and put on his customary stoic game face before finally turning to confront his current dilemma. How could he and his Sekirei hold Sayomi and her Petals off long enough to formulate a workable plan for fleeing Tokyo and find a place to hide long term? "Mother didn't teach me a damn thing about any of this, and MY Toyotama is NOT from any obscure Japanese Order at all, nor is she a serving minion of any kind."

He paused to let Natalie repeat her quick coaching to get the name right.

"She's actually Wakahira – Me, Goddess of the Dawn Sun, and a First Born Daughter of the Womb Ship Natalie, The One Who Leads. Toyotama's just her familiar family name within the Prime Circle."

Again surprisingly, Sayomi chuckled even harder and with more mirth in her tone.

"Your Mother said you loved low comedy, and even barfed on a Japanese TV clown once, but really! Playing with our Sacred History's facts? Natalie is no legitimate Sekirei ship name! That's funny! The One Who Lead's womb ship left Earth's orbit with his remaining flock over thirteen hundred years ago! And everyone who is anyone knows the last First Born Goddesses killed each other off in a power struggle less than four hundred years after that! Wakahira – Me! What a JOKE! Tell me dearie, IF you are a goddess, just what is YOUR elemental power?"

"I, I don't have an elemental power," Toyotama frowned defensively as she was quite taken aback by Sayomi's totally self confident demeanor and quick toss off of some unknown Sekirei history that had never been taught in MBI's schools. "But in my Circle, I AM the strongest and fastest with the keenest eyesight, sense of smell, and, and,"

"Really?" Sayomi's voice dripped with sarcasm. "So you're hardly much better than a mediocre gray wolf is that it? Parading around in a tacky Cubs shirt, too tight shorts, and cheap Adidas sneakers like some muscle bound animal thug while calling yourself a goddess? What impressive and unmitigated gall!"

"Smitty," Cash, heeding more of Natalie's hurried mental advice, murmured in Toyotama's ear, "let's show Sayomi your beautiful Sekirei wings."

"Oh!" Toyotama breathed in surprised delight as she felt Cash's hands turn her into his arms and willingly let him slightly bend her head up to kiss her parted lips. Almost instantly her large, glistening, pale green wings sprang into view, shuddering and shimmering with Cash's tender French kiss and her subsequent delighted Norito rush.

"Oh PLEASE! Psychic wing projections?" Sayomi rolled her eyes in scorn. She squeezed her eyes slightly in concentration, casually snapped the fingers of her left hand, and even bigger, shimmering, and equally luminescent canary yellow wings sprung from her shoulder blades. "We've all been doing THAT since we were five years old!"

"I've had enough of you're," Toyotama angrily began as she abruptly pulled away from Cash and turned to reach for her tormentor. Sayomi merely chopped her right palm down and away from her. Toyotama was lifted by some resulting supernatural force and flung over the top of Cash's lounge chair to thump very heavily against the thick metal supports of the full length corner windows.

"I am NOT the new Prime Pillar of this planet for nothing!" Sayomi snapped out angrily. "And I will NOT be mauled by some local pin headed thug and thieving usurper! Especially some poorly dressed weakling pretending to be a First Born Goddess!"

Cash blinked in consternation as his head swiveled back and forth at Sayomi and the now rolling to stand up Toyotama. What the Hell? He then frowned in righteous irritation at Sayomi having the temerity to hurt one of his Sekirei while wondering why his Mother as the outgoing Prime Pillar had never demonstrated these kinds of psychic powers around him. Better yet, why hadn't Ma been able to protect his father from being killed so young? And now how was he going to quickly get rid of this too determined Sayomi and her equally determined and glaring Petals standing directly behind her? Instinctively he saw that all of them now beginning to link hands with their leader was a VERY bad omen for world, regional, and especially his local peace.

"Natalie!" Cash muttered urgently. Something needed to be done quickly before anyone got really hurt here, especially Toyotama and him. "What else you got?"

_"I'm sending help!"_ Natalie responded with a trace of surprised alarm, but it was too late. Toyotama was not hurt, but she was REALLY pissed, and she had a Norito fueling her lost temper.

"Duck Master!" Toyotama yelled, and Cash barely had time to throw himself down and sideways as his Amazon Sekirei, using only one hand, whizzed Cash's overstuffed lounge chair past his head and towards the group of still hand linking Virgin Petals. Sayomi also barely had time to chop her hand again to slow the incoming chair down to less than lethal velocity, but she couldn't stop it from hitting her. The effect was like a PBA tour professional that was using a straight lounge ball down the middle of the penthouse alley to bowl a fifteen Petal pin strike. Hapless females bodies, especially the head pin Sayomi, jammed back against each other as the chair knocked a big Vee pattern in their clustered formation. Those on the group's fringe were bumped and spun outwards while the ones in the middle caught the brunt of the stuffed chair's half slowed force and were driven straight back into the dining tables. Half eaten bowls of rice and stir fry were summarily launched in all directions but mostly upward to do graceful, airborne, food flinging flips as the tables were bowled over too. Then an avenging and very Norito enraged Toyotama was among her foes with eye blurring speed.

Sayomi's throat was suddenly caught in Toyotama's left hand while her body was yanked off the floor. Legs kicking to get air, she hung there amongst her fallen peers as Toyotama wrenched one cushioned arm from the lounge chair and began laying about her with maniacal shouts so that any still moving heads, torsos, and buttocks were soundly buffeted about.

"SMITTY!" Cash yelled in horror as he tried to scramble up. There going to be a few funerals in his near future if he couldn't get his enraged Sekirei scout to stop bopping these human females around like some baton wielding cop playing Whack-a-Mole during a street riot.

"Come into OUR house and play the big dog, will ya! Knock ME around? Well take this, Miss Prissy Ass!" Toyotama stopped whacking Petals long enough to wind up as if to throw Sayomi through the closed elevator door in the far wall of the penthouse room and possibly the next building's wall across the street.

"SMITTY STOP! YOU'LL KILL HER!"

Toyotama's head snapped around to look at a forcefully pleading Cash, and she instantly double clutched to check her throwing motion. Her face turning blue, Sayomi's feet still flew up and out, her body went parallel to the floor, and she dropped face first to thump hard upon the groaning bodies of her peers after Toyotama simply let go of Sayomi's throat. The still wild eyed and snarling Sekirei stood among her thoroughly beaten foes with her impromptu and upraised cushioned club. Toyotama's chest heaved and her eyes darted back and forth between her pleading Ashikabi and any movement around her that needed more quelling, but the mostly unconscious, totally subdued, and now some bloodied Petals were down for the count.

"Smitty, would you please come here? It's okay now," Cash coaxed soothingly while raising his arms up to invite her back into his embrace. "Come to me Sweetie! I need you here beside me. Please Come HERE! Natalie! Get Himeko up here immediately!"

"Master!" Toyotama leaped to him and whirled him around. She clutched him to her with her left arm while keeping her right side and still upraised club between him and the floored Petals.

"No, no, not master, Smitty, remember?" Cash began lightly kissing her left cheek and working his way down to her lips while his left hand went to very gently pull her club arm down to her side. "Husband, now and always, but we can't kill these gals. My Mother would never forgive either of us. There's," he began smooching her still snarling lips, "got … to … be … a better …. way … sweetheart."

"But I, ummm, have to, ummm, keep you safe, Master!" She swayed into him as the rigidness suddenly went out of her quickly heating body. The impromptu club dropped from her suddenly nerveless fingers when his dancing tongue began entwining with hers. Cash continued to stroke his now squirming Dawn Goddess with his hands, lips, and tongue to invite more rubbing between them. Her right leg slowly came up to hook their bodies closer together and really start some even more heated contact as her interest in what he was doing skyrocketed with her renewed Norito's rush.

"Will you stay calm for me now?" Cash pulled back to look into Toyotama's now half glazed eyes. She hummed a slightly nodding response. "Good, that's my sweet, hot, and beautiful lover. I'm safe now. We're both safe and calm, right?"

"Ummm, hmmm, yes Master, oh yes!"Toyotama sighed with a dazed facial expression.

"And you'll help me clean up this mess, and help these poor women?"

"Mmmm, okay, yeah, ummm, anything, you want Master. I'm pretty sure I can throw them all out a window and into Tokyo bay from here," Toyotama nodded with her eyes still half closed in her Norito arousal as she clung to Cash. "Want me to throw 'em some soap too? That might help 'em clean up their shitty attitudes."

Before Cash could answer and once again try to make her understand that he wasn't anyone's Master, Kazehana, Himeko, Uzume, and Akitsu came storming out of the emergency stairs door at the far end of the penthouse. Kazehana, Himeko, and Akitsu leaped to Cash's side. Uzume, her Veiled Sekirei battle gear in full waving array, took one quick glance around at the fallen Petals as she leaped into their midst ready to knock heads, kick ass, and forget about taking any names while doing so. She then turned to give the now glassy eyed Toyotama a smiling, firm head nod and thumbs up sign of approval. Cash's sour return look instantly quelled her enthusiastic endorsement of Toyotama's handiwork. Still, Uzume happily stared at the scene around her for a few seconds more before letting her battle clothing revert back to her shirt and shorts attire and then begin moving to aid the now moaning, groaning, and stir fry and rice covered Petals.

"Rose, are you all right? Feeling better?" Cash looked past Toyotama's head at his leader with deep concern. "Kitty? You okay?"

"We're fine," Kazehana nodded lovingly with a slightly apologetic look in her soft eyes, "a little shaky yet, but much better. What happened, Lover?"

"Uh, there appears to be more psychic power in these Petals than we knew," Cash cleared his throat uncomfortably, "and, uh, I guess I made a mistake kissing Toyotama after they made her angry. Her Norito just then wasn't really a good idea."

This made Toyotama pull back slightly to stare at his eyes in growing wide eyed horror. She began to tremble in his arms as she clutched him anew.

"OH! NO! MASTER! I wanted to KILL them! KILL them all!" Toyotama began hysterically weeping and buried her face into Cash's neck. "They made me feel like big ugly scum, and, and SAVE me, Master! I don't want to be like that murdering bastard Higa! I want to be sweet and loving inside like you! If I kill, then you'll HATE me! That's why you HAVE to be my Master! Save Me! I NEED you to love me and possess me, Master, or I'll get torn apart and die when you reject me for being a big, ugly killer!"

"Hey, hey, hey, shhhh, shhhh," Cash whispered into her ear as he sent a pleading look at Kazehana for help. "It's okay, Smitty, it's okay. You listened to me when I yelled and didn't kill any of them, right? You're not a wild killer. Smitty, look at me. Here, look at me. I'm yours, honey, just as you are mine, forever. You don't need to be controlled or ever fear rejection. We possess each other, got it? I can't be your master because I need you to be free to love me like I'm free to love you. You're not bad inside either, just angry. Anybody would feel the same if provoked the way Sayomi treated you. Don't let these Petals make you feel bad either. You're way more beautiful than all of them."

"And you have your Sisters to always help you, Toys," Kazehana added as Himeko and Akitsu joined her in putting their hands upon Toyotama's still shivering shoulders. "We're not gonna let our man be stolen from us either."

"Natalie, did you intentionally set this up by having me kiss Smitty into her Norito?" Cash muttered accusingly.

_"That depends on what percentage of a probability outcome you would state as intentional, Cash Darling,"_ Natalie returned promptly._ "Toyotama is The One Who Scouts, a highly skilled warrior bred to be the leading tip of a Sekirei combat squad. In human terms she always takes point. Suggesting that you activate her Norito for your immediate safety falls within our agreement that gives me leeway to act on my own, but in this case you made the decision to use my suggestion. I assumed a 93.224% probability that Toyotama would instinctively use her enhanced physical powers to defeat our enemies quickly and gain your safety while doing so. You still exercised your free will to kiss her. Does my suggestion to you fall within your parameters as being intentional on my part?"_

"Yes, dammit! And it could have gotten those girls killed!"Cash grunted in self recrimination for not thinking any quicker on his feet and being too trusting in his female space ship's judgment. He was gonna have to be really careful in accepting Natalie's "suggestions" in the future. Man, this constant kind of emotionally driven female entanglement was NOT what he wanted for the rest of his life. If this kind of day kept up, he'd be finding himself as the male role model for daytime soap operas like "The Young and the Clueless" and "As the World Churns" just like he'd been in Springfield, Illinois with his wildly emotional Mother, sister, and three aunts. Cash's jaw clenched in determination as he tightened his comforting arms around Toyotama's still shuddering torso. This weird day had better get a whole lot calmer and more rational real quick. First things first.

"Natalie, this is a Prime Directive," Cash ground out. "You will NOT make any future suggestions to me that has more than a 5% probability of anybody getting hurt or killed!"

_"Your Prime Directive is not valid, Cash Darling,"_ Natalie immediately replied somewhat smugly, _"because it unilaterally negates the immediate peril clause of our agreement in regards to my ability and discretion to act for your, my daughters', and my own safety."_

"Okay, fine, then THIS is a Prime Directive!" Cash retaliated even more quickly. "Any future suggestions of action or inaction that you make to me will include your most accurate probability percentages of anyone getting killed and/or injured seriously to the point where it will require immediate medical attention by skilled personnel to staunch blood, set broken bones, or perform any life and/or future mobility saving procedure directly and/or indirectly due to any actions taken by me, my Sekirei, and you. Got it?"

_"Prime Directive understood and will be adhered to."_ Natalie's tone was somewhat deflated this time.

"Rose, honey," Cash sent another pleading look at his lead Sekirei. "Would you four gently and peacefully take care of these Virgin Petals? And clean this mess up? I need to just take care of Smitty here for a little while."

"Yes, we'll handle this," Kazehana nodded as she fondly caressed Cash's left cheek, "But Lover, you have to go downstairs immediately. Take Toys with you. Mutsu has been very seriously wounded in an explosion caused by Minaka's laser satellites and so has Minato's sister, Yukari. Himeko has them both temporarily stabilized, but you must help her and Riko operate on them both very soon because they'll die if we don't. Also, Number 107 Shiina, Yukari's Sekirei that brought her and Mutsu here, is very upset and desperately needs some manly advice from you when you get time. Himeko, you need to run your hands over these human girls real fast, heal the more serious injuries, and then get back down to the apartment to meet Riko."

"Manly advice? Me? Mutsu's badly hurt? And Minato's sister?" Cash blinked in astonishment. What more could go wrong on this weird ass day, and who in the Hell was this Shiina? "Minaka attacked them from space? Why? And how did this Shiina even get here? I mean, I don't even know where we're are! How is everybody and their sisters finding us anyway? Does Minaka know our location now too? And who in the Hell said Riko was a freaking surgeon now, let alone invite her to come here?"

_"Cash Darling,"_ Natalie answered promptly, _"Per our agreements I have sent Riko, Miya, and Karasuba to your location for your and my daughters' safety. I estimate that there is a 98.312% probability that Minaka's forces will find us all soon and begin lethal attacks. You and my daughters with you will need their three Sisters added powers to stay alive, protect you, and defend me too. I suggest that you use Riko's kinetic and self taught surgical skills to save my son Mutsu's life since there __is a 100% probability that he will die if you do not act. Also, you have previously agreed to at least accept Miya, Karasuba, and Riko's presence with you and judge all three's sincerity in not ever hurting your Sekirei, each other, and anyone else in this world. I FEEL that I am acting and informing you of my actions in accordance to all of our previous agreements."_

"All RIGHT! We'll act, dammit!" Cash sighed in defeat. Okay, the whole day was officially down the shitter, and he was in no mood to deal with Miya, Karasuba, and especially Riko's situations now or even later this evening. As soon as he could, he was going to find a quiet corner or even the bedroom closet, turn his face to wall, cover his head with a blanket, and wait for tomorrow's arrival. The local gods and goddesses of game fates had definitely let him down here, most probably just ignored him altogether, or laughed themselves silly just like the night they had supernaturally let the World Champion 1928 Yankees get ripped by Cleveland's woeful ball club.


	22. Chapter 22

**The Game Changer**

**Chapter 22 – Lineup Changes Part II, Game Strategies**

Riko, physically tired, mentally numb, and deeply depressed, stared morosely down at the quickly moving cityscape of tiny Tokyo below her. Behind her in the late afternoon sky and engineered to be just as invisible to detection devices, several transport boxes filled with Karasu battle suits were being telekinetically towed in her wake. This made her third hurried trip to transport the results of Natalie's impressive production capabilities that had been powered up once Riko had programmed the battle suit specifications into the ship's machine shop robots. Natalie had been completely adamant that there would be enough suits deployed for a Sekirei battle platoon as rapidly as possible.

It was also an urgent imperative to get Riko, Miya, and Karasuba functioning in their Circle as they should using any means Natalie FELT could work. All three were still feeling the effects of their stasis recovery, but they had been pressed into service for preparing to battle Minaka and dealing with the Virgin Petals while considering various plans for immediate restoration to Cash. Although it was depressing that she wasn't making any visible progress on the latter, Riko didn't really mind being used as a Sekirei/air cargo transport as well as an impromptu surgeon, engineering genius, and pizza delivery gopher. Riko's current glum mood sprang from wanting so badly to get a good restart in her relationship to her Ashikabi, but, just as she had initially feared despite Natalie's plotting, her return to Kazehana's high rise apartment with Miya and Karasuba had been totally underwhelming as far as Cash Joseph's welcome was concerned.

Not only had Cash, sitting on the couch and trying to calm a pitifully weeping and clinging Toyotama coiled on his lap, pointedly ignored the initial arrival of his three powerful Sekirei, he had done one great job of totally ignoring them since. The only flicker of response that he had shown to indicate they even existed had been a disgusted and long suffering roll of his eyes and heavy sigh as the three of them had come in the front door and deactivated the visual camouflage circuits of their black Karasu battle suits. There was just something about those bug eyed helmets that really irritated him. He had then buried his face in the masses of Toyotama's dark green hair to resume speaking soothingly into her ear and trying to explain why she didn't need to be possessed again. There had been no words of greeting, welcome, or even acknowledgment from Cash Joseph to his three estranged Sekirei.

Miya, Riko, and even Karasuba had exchanged silent, nonplussed, and uncertain looks while removing their goofy looking helmets. Miya and Karasuba, both inexperienced in physically being around a cold Ashikabi, had taken a deep inhaling breath of consternation and Cash's pheromones which caused them to instantly go into reaction heat, faces flushing red and bodies quivering as they tried to maintain control. They both instinctively realized that simply jumping Cash now would only deepen their troubles with him and not fix anything. Riko, from hard experience, had merely taken short breaths through her mouth and turned away from looking at Cash Joseph to spare herself the well known physical frustration of being near him but not allowed to do anything more.

Fortunately Kazehana, with a look and sigh of obvious relief as she came out of the bedroom, had instantly realized their plight and immediately signaled for the three of them to go back into the hallway for a quick conference. There they were joined by Akitsu and Uzume who had immediately clothed the three bedraggled returnees in matching Cub shirts and black spandex shorts once their Karasu suits were removed. Akitsu had waved a kind hand and let a very cooling frost envelope Miya and Karasuba's overheated bodies. Then a discouraging situation report was given to Cash's three outcasts.

They had learned Himeko was keeping one stabilizing hand each on Mutsu and Yukari until Cash and Riko could join her in removing the jagged shrapnel in Mutsu's back and fixing Yukari's severe concussion. That might take a few minutes because it looked like a still VERY upset Toyotama was going to require another quick sporking and crest licking session to calm down.

Meanwhile, the Virgin Petals had camped out in the penthouse ballroom and refused to budge one inch from the building nor from their marital claims on Cash despite a now healthy fear of Toyotama's return. They had already started calling back home for advice, and, Kazehana had shook her head in frustration, for massive reinforcements. Whether that would take the form of more bodies arriving and physically hand linking for a major power boost, or was something that could be accomplished over long distances, neither Kazehana nor Natalie knew, but either way a very large dark cloud of Dryas Octopetala unhappiness and vengeful wrath was certainly going to be heading towards Cash's Sekirei Circle in Tokyo. Once healed by Himeko and recovered from the beating they had taken, the human psychic Petal women had quickly managed to link hands and form some new kind of defensive barrier to prevent any of Cash's Sekirei, element attack, or object from approaching closer than a few feet.

Cash had ordered his Sekirei crew back to the apartment to avoid any further open confrontations which could get anyone hurt or more emotionally upset. He had given Natalie a firm order to research and implement ways to free herself from Kamakura Island's grip as soon as possible and then also ordered Natalie to research places in the world where he, Natalie, and his five Sekirei could safely flee and hide. When Kazehana had reminded him that it needed to be a place big enough for eight Sekirei, Cash had shook his head, rolled his eyes in frustration, said that they would deal with all that another day, and had turned his full attention to calming Toyotama. Even Natalie's pleas for them to stay and fight the Dryas Octopetala and later Minaka and his forces had been totally ignored by Cash. Every few minutes Cash could be heard angrily telling Natalie that each future scenario of confrontation she was bringing up on a case by case basis simply meant that that they had to flee far and hide well, case closed. Natalie had refused to accept those decisions citing clauses from their agreements, and Cash's anger had steadily grown.

To top it all off, Number 107 Shiina, still weeping pitifully in the bedroom over Yukari's comatose body, was heading for a complete emotional meltdown and was barely holding it all together solely on Kazehana's promise that Yukari would be completely healed soon and that Cash would be able to give good manly advice and leadership on Shiina's unusual body changing situation as soon as Cash had a little free time to spare. That was predicated on a slim hope that Cash was not going to lock himself into the bedroom closet to spend a night alone as he had quite vocally stated. The bottom line summation of all this was that now was just NOT the time for Karasuba, Miya, and Riko to try for reconciliation, or maybe even next week the way things were going.

Miya and Karasuba had exchanged grim looks mixed with worried frowns. Riko had simply nodded her head with eyes closed in familiar despair. She had known that getting the very defensive, stubborn, and strong minded Cash to reverse his feelings was going to require a degree of difficulty right next to almost impossible despite Natalie's upbeat suggestion.

Karasuba on the other hand had then shrugged and said okay, the situation was what it was, and they'd just have to deal with it. It was after all, a matter of developing an overall strategy and adopting the correct tactics to achieve their strategic goals of removing the Petal threat, preparing to battle MBI, and win Cash's approval, gratitude, and warmer heart while doing same. Kazehana, Uzume, Akitsu, Miya, and herself would brainstorm their main problems with Natalie while Riko and Himeko started healing Mutsu and Yukari and afterward freeing Sekirei from their MBI limiting chips. Once Toyotama got sporked and crest licked, which Karasuba didn't know what that all meant but it certainly sounded very interesting, then Sweetums could aid in the multiple healings and then advise/lead the shaky Shiina into calmer manly waters. There would of course be a contingency plan to weasel Karasuba into joining Cash in the closet, but they could work on that later.

In addition, Miya and Karasuba would begin acting on suggestions to improve the overall situation of Natalie's children in Tokyo. This would be coordinated through Kazehana and Natalie while Uzume and Akitsu kept a wary eye on the Virgin Petals and provide early warning in case reinforcements tried to arrive and/or attack. Now, Karasuba had grinned reassuringly, would Akitsu please thaw the ice cubes out of their totally cooled off crotches? Nervous laughter between the six of them had then developed into a six way handshake of action agreement. Kazehana, after making a vague reference about also calling for a few reinforcements of their own, had then simply said to get started.

Riko had then been sent into the bedroom, joined Himeko, and prepared for Mutsu's surgery. Miya and Karasuba had begun making phone calls to set up a Sekirei chip removal rendezvous in Tokyo's subway system. Uzume and Akitsu had went back up to keep an eye and empathic sensor on the Virgin Petals. Kazehana had helped Cash get Toyotama into the bathroom, handed him his spork, gave him a quick loving kiss of encouragement, and returned to help make phone calls. Less than five minutes later, a sweaty Cash had arrived in the bedroom while toweling his face, casually announced that Toyotama was sleeping peacefully on the bathroom rug, and took his place behind Himeko.

Ignoring Riko cutting around, freeing, and removing the jagged piece of shrapnel from Mutsu's back, Cash had put his hands on Himeko's crest with very warm and intimate familiarity to use his psychic boosting power to aid the closing and healing of Mutsu's deep and nasty wound. Then Natalie had walked Riko through simple blood transfusion procedures in hooking a type compatible Karasuba up to compensate for Mutsu's dangerous blood loss. After the blood transfer had started, Riko had raced to Izumo Inn with two Karasu suits to return with the genetically close Whip Twins, Mitsuki and Mitsuha, and hooked them up in turn. Meanwhile, Himeko and Cash had begun a very lengthy boosted healing attempt to stop and fix Yukari's inner cranial bleeding while a tearful, shaking, and anxious Shiina had hovered nearby. Once all the transfusions were completed and the two still comatose but on the road to recovery patients were moved to rest comfortably on separate futons, Cash had sat with a calming Shiina beside Yukari. Riko's ferrying and chip removal services had then begun in earnest.

Himeko, too large for Miya or Karasuba's battle suits, had been stuffed in the cloaked transport box and ferried to Izumo Inn to heal Homura and Minato. Riko had raced out to Natalie and retrieved another hastily assembled but undetectable transport box containing one large, two medium, and one smaller Karasu suits. Using the six suits now available, Minato's Circle had then begun a cloaked shuttle out to Miya and Karasuba's subway station rendezvous to allow six still limited Sekirei to return and get their chips removed by Riko and healed by Himeko. This suit swapping system to thwart Minaka's heat tracing continued nonstop for almost three hours to keep Riko and Himeko working at a feverish pace to free as many of Natalie's brood as possible. When the last Sekirei that could be contacted had been freed and left, Natalie had demanded Riko's return to Kamakura Island for more finished Karasu suits. These Riko had deposited on Izumo Inn's back porch, made a fast Pizzakaya pickup for Minato's crew, and then made another mad dash out to Natalie for more and a few much larger battle suits.

During every transit across the city, out to Kamakura Island, and even while performing her medical procedures, Riko's troubled mind kept turning over Natalie's advice about Cash's unhappiness over Riko's damnable temper, lack of a sense of humor, and her jerking people around all the time. Would Natalie's suggested strategy actually be able to reverse all that?

Now taking the third shipment of Karasu suits to Izumo Inn, Riko couldn't help also replaying her longing observations of Cash's earlier loving familiarity with Himeko and his tender care of the emotionally upset Toyotama. Cash's loving treatment of Toys and Mekko combined with his total lack of response at Riko's return to his Circle and presence were perfect illustrations of what she was missing and how far out of his favor she had been placed. She'd be lucky to be even nominally tolerated let alone have a very remote chance to reboot their relationship into a much more romantic start and upgrade even if Natalie's ice breaker worked. She couldn't even depend on any psychic meshing help from her Sisters either, because there had to be something initially to work with. How had Karasuba put it? Oh yes, Riko had the amazing ability to take world class beauty and brains and use them to have all the sex appeal of a bad tempered turnip. That blunt observation of Riko's bland vegetable sexuality from the very sexually astute Karasuba had been beyond troubling. Couple it together with Cash viewing Riko as an emotional equivalent of Cash's younger sister, then it all became down right demoralizing.

Riko let out a heavy sigh that briefly fogged her Karasu suit's bug eyes. There wasn't any inspiration to be found in the snarled and slowly moving traffic trying to reach their separate destinations in Tokyo far below. If anything, it illustrated Riko's knotty problem in reaching Cash Joseph's heart. The timing and surrounding circumstances of Miya, Riko, and Karasuba's return couldn't have been much worse. Natalie had warned all three of them that Cash had not been having a very happy day, and that all previous attempts to intimidate and drive off the Virgin Petals of the Dryas Octopetala had been totally unsuccessful. With all the distractions and growing crowd of people demanding his time, it was now going to be even tougher to have a solitary, unhurried, and productive talk on at least an emotionally neutral basis with Cash Joseph, something Riko had never had to date. Riko sighed again. On top of that and since she was going to be back at Kazehana's apartment with Cash Joseph very soon, she didn't have much time to turn an unsexy, bad tempered turnip into an attractive hot tomato that still had very little chance to get sporked into a better mood.

***scene break***

Kazehana gave her seven cohorts a pleased nod of approval as they all stood before the elevator waiting for the "up" elevator to arrive. Their new battle uniforms looked quite impressive as befitting their status as the planet's Prime Circle, and even Riko looked very sexy as they faced their first challenge and offensive operation in the flesh together. The fact that their plan to defeat their human female rivals depended more on deception, deviousness, misdirection, and outside help rather than their own combined powers was a little humbling, but hey, as long as it worked. Besides, without Cash's acceptance of his wayward outfield, they were seriously underpowered by being unable to fully utilize their limited ability to mesh their minds together for a single attack or mutual defense. They would just have to bluff their way through as eight powerful goddesses of Japan until they could. The elevator doors opened with the overhead "up" light activated and the "ready to load" signal giving out a soft chime.

"All right Sisters," Kazehana smiled as she lifted her right arm in her signature move to emphasize the man drooling size of her bountiful breasts. "Let's get our goddess look on. Assume your positions, and get ready for Riko to float us out into the penthouse when the doors open. Keep a straight face and keep silent. Akitsu, remember, just a light frosty wisp around us. If the Petals try to throw anything solid at us right away, then Uzume will stop and drop it. No retaliation. Hands off weapons and regally folded under your breasts. We just want to get their full attention focused on us before Miya dials out, okay? Toys, are you awake and ready to go?"

"Yeah," Toyotama grimaced in annoyance, "but my tama still hurts. That's a mean way to wake me up."

"But effective, eh? How well I know," Karasuba grinned in commiseration as they began to enter the elevator. "Let's go, Windy. The sooner we get part one over, then we can get to part two."

Kazehana nodded with a small smile, waited for her Circle to assume their positions behind her and punched the top button. When the arrival chime sounded and the doors opened. Riko floated her slightly frost emanating circle out into the penthouse ball room with Kazehana near the ceiling and with Karasuba, Uzume, Toyotama, Akitsu, Riko, Himeko, and Miya tiered in a clockwise and slanted circle to the front. The effect had Toyotama closest to the floor in front of Kazehana and also closest to the now standing and alertly hand linking Virgin Petals. Sayomi in front warily eyed her former lounge chair throwing nemesis as Miya surreptitiously keyed the speed dial on her phone.

"Don't come any closer," Sayomi warned through gritted teeth. Her eyes were darting over the circle, noting the newcomers haughty demeanor, their spiffy new uniforms, and the obvious offhand show of power that was pretty impressive even to an old hand at psychic theatrics as she.

"You," Kazehana slowly and regally stretched out her right arm to point in Sayomi's direction, "Have been, and still are, rude and offensive. Your marital claims upon our Prime Leader, Cash Joseph Archer, are hereby denied by our higher authority."

As Kazehana gave a short preemptive wave of her right hand, Seo's unseen Sekirei Circle summoned by Miya and now suddenly hovering outside the penthouse ballroom windows, blasted the linked Virgin Petals from behind with an all inclusive stun wave. The linked human females dropped as if boneless where they stood.

"Don't you just love it when a plan do come together?" Karasuba chortled immediately as she gave the wickedly grinning Haihane and Benitsubasa still hovering outside a huge thumb's up sign of approval. The elevator doors opened and Tsukuimi strode into the room. "Okay Zoomer, make with the strings and wrap these sleeping beauties up tight like mummies from the neck down. Riko, get 'em upright in a big circle around us. Put 'em in ice as soon the Panty Flasher douses them awake, Aki-chan. Don't let them see you, Tsukuimi. Ready? Okay, douse 'em, ice 'em down, and then Riko can take 'em for a ride!"

A minute later Akitsu anxiously watched the fifteen Virgin Petals squalling and bawling in outrage and humiliation as they circled the room counterclockwise like alternating up and down pieces on a child's merry-go-round. The young human women were all quickly growing nauseous. The fact that they had been securely bound by Uzume's carbon strings, put into thick blocks of ice from their neck down, and were now rotating on their axis as they went round and round and up and down had a lot to do with their expressed unhappiness and increasing queasiness. The only thing missing was some calliope music to complete the Petals' imitation as the outer circle of a carnival ride. The inner circle of Cash's crimson and black clad Sekirei hovered frostily in the air and slowly rotated clockwise while gazing impassively down as aloof goddesses who were slumming just a bit in order to properly chastise these weak and silly human interlopers.

"Onee-chan, are you sure this is the gentle and peaceful care our husband intended?" Akitsu asked with quiet uncertainly. "They're all getting quite sick. If they barf, then we've just got another mess to clean."

"Mmmm, well," Kazehana's made a smirking moue of her lips while shrugging slightly, "it's certainly not hurting anything but their swollen egos, and it does look rather peaceful even if it doesn't sound like it."

"Heh," Uzume grinned wickedly. "I think Reeker should make their ride go faster."

"And with a lot more vertical oscillation too," Karasuba added with her own tight smile. She reached to adjust her new long black cape away from her belted sword handle even though she was still suspended in midair with her Sisters. Cash's Sekirei were well pleased with Uzume's efforts to sexily dress them all alike as Natalie's Prime Circle. Their snappy new battle uniforms were almost exact copies of Natalie's crimson and black combat outfit except the full body suit had been altered to very short skirts and long black boots to highlight their bare thighs. The uniforms' eight sided logos also had radians depicting their separate Circle ranks, but most men looking at them would most certainly be more focused on the almost peekaboo short skirts.

Karasuba had been adamant about the skirt's briefness that barely covered all their matching black lace panties because she felt like every visual advantage would be possibly needed tonight and definitely first thing tomorrow morrow. She had won the eight way dice toss for dibs on closet duty, and, if everything went according to plan, was going to be the first of the estranged three to try to make amends with Cash. Her seven not quite so gracious, losing Sisters had finally agreed to forgo sex with Cash for the night in order for Karasuba to at least benefit from Little CJ's usual morning stiffness while attempting to win her way back into Cash's good graces. She was somewhat confidant she could, but experience and his earlier aloof coolness had shown that Cash might not be as easily won over and cooperative as he had been in the past, and it had given Karasuba an unfamiliar slight case of the nerves to be alone with him. These Petals and their distraction needed to be dealt with quickly, smoothly, and, if need be, even more harshly to clear the way for her reconciliation with her Sweetums. Harshness might make them more receptive to a little deal making later, kinda like good cop/bad cop negotiating, and Karasuba was really enjoying this bad cop phase.

"Maybe a little moderation would be better," Miya advised with a slight worried frown. "Cash's Mother will not be pleased when she learns of this, and she still carries a lot of influence over him. We have sufficiently demonstrated our elemental powers to get their attention. Let's see if they have been impressed enough to renounce their matrimonial claims upon Cash and listen to our bargain. We can always restart if they haven't."

"Spin the bitches harder, Reeker," Toyotama almost snarled her catty enjoyment of the Petals' current discomfort even though it did slightly twinge her newly sporked conscience about harshly attacking her Master's enemies. "Let them squeal to Master's Mother after they leave this town. She needs to learn what we are as well as who, and what we can do if she ever tries to screw us over again."

"I think Miya may be right," Himeko chewed her lower lip with concern while shaking her head at Toyotama. "Our Love has not been very happy with us all day and upsetting his Mother might make things worse. You all saw the exasperated look he gave us when he sat down to talk to Shiina, and well, we have wrecked the apartment and this ballroom, and uhhh, fought a lot, and he isn't the kind of guy that likes to deal with a lot of ongoing female emotional stress, ya know? I don't like the way he still said he was going to sleep in the bedroom closet alone tonight either, even after he saw us in our sexy new uniforms. He didn't say one word to Riko when we were operating on Mutsu and healing Yukari, and he totally ignored Miya and Karasuba afterward. I'm afraid Natalie has pushed her luck way too far with him too. You heard the way he kind of snapped at her earlier."

"He was very, very cold to me," Riko sniffed in disappointment, "and he didn't look happy to see me here at all. He slammed the bedroom door hard and locked it when he ordered us out so he could talk to Shiina privately. He was looking right at me when he did that too, and his expression was not good."

"Yeah, and you're right Mekko. Joe still ain't very happy with the rest of us either, even though he says he is, right Aki-chan?" Uzume gave their Circle's empath an inquiring look.

"Husband is not happy," Akitsu confirmed as she squeezed her eyes shut to better sense the very slight emanations from his uppermost mental bands. "It's almost like he feels, ummm, that we've all betrayed his desires to live quietly and peacefully with us."

"Betrayed?" Kazehana winced in self accusation. "I did betray him, and all of you when I got drunk. I'm sorry I let you down!"

"Hey, we're here now, Windy, so just cool all the negative talk. It won't happen again while I'm around." Karasuba waved her right hand in unconcern. "Besides, Mommy Dearest already admitted she was the one who screwed you up, so quit blaming yourself. What we need to focus on now is getting quickly rid of these fifteen little witchy wannabees and getting ready for us three outcasts to meet favorably with Sweetums. I'm not comfortable using Minato's Circle to protect our Ashikabi, and we can't keep Seo's group hanging around outside all night either. Let's wrap this up and at least get our butts back down to the apartment so we can be as close as we can without Sweetums coming unglued again. Besides, we've got to pay the other girls with their new uniforms for helping us."

"Okay with me," Toyotama shrugged her agreement. "Let's cut this short and boot these Petal bitches and their little ambitious and arrogant butts right on out of here."

"No violence," Kazehana shook her head firmly. "Lover's already unhappy enough, and still trying to calm Shiina down. Besides, Muts and Yukari are still recovering and need to sleep. We've got a win-win plan going here. Let's stick to it, try to get them to cooperate, and then see it through."

"Well, if they don't cooperate, how about we just make them an even worse offer they can't refuse," Uzume suggested blandly. "They either go away quietly, or we can hang them all out the windows by their heels until they decide they should cut back on their world ruling ambitions a little. Looking 26 floors straight down at the street and knowing they might be dropped at any second ought to be persuasive enough and not really too violent on our part, right? Whatcha think?"

"They know we aren't going to kill them, because Cash already said we couldn't right in front of them earlier. They think marrying Our Love is going to make them Queen Bees of Earth since he's their Prime Leader," Himeko shook her head, "and they've been groomed to assume world supremacy for their whole lives. I doubt if they'll be intimidated quite that easily, at least eight of them won't anyway. The other seven might go. Who knows what they'll do."

"You mean Cash is to be their Prime Center," Miya corrected absently. "Prime Leaders always return home with their ships to complete the migration's interbreeding with ..." She paused as a thought struck her. "Kazehana, I just thought of something maybe even better than the bargain we had planned on offering. Would you let me talk to these women now? Without the ice, but keep their arms bound so they can't link hands?"

Within a minute of Kazehana giving her shrugging approval, Riko had gathered the Virgin Petals to stand on the floor below Cash's Sekirei Circle, still frostily floating and impressively wearing their bird beaked tiara masks and cloaked battle uniforms. Some of the chastened human women were looking quite ill from their carnival ride while others were just pale and yet very worse for wear. Akitsu made a quick chop of her hand at Kazehana's slight nod, and the Petals' encasing ice blocks simply disappeared.

"I am Miya, The One Who Serves, and the least of the Circle of my Sisters," Miya began formally. "I am also called Ukemochi – No – Kani, The Goddess of Food. As first born goddesses of our womb ship Natalie and inclined to be merciful, my Sisters have just decided that we have not been treating the descendents of Natalie's ancient bond mates with proper hospitality despite your misplaced ambition and rude arrogance in trying to steal our man. First, the Lead Prime Pillar will introduce our Prime Circle of Sisters so that you will always know who we are."

"I am Kazehana, The One Who Leads. I am known formally as Shina – To – Be, Goddess of the Wind," Kazehana spoke with a haughtily arched eyebrow while thrusting out her magnificent chest. She turned in the air to point to her left.

"This is Amaterasu, the Sun Goddess, my second in command, also known as Karasuba. Third in command is Ana – No – Uzume, the Fertility Goddess. You have already met number four Toyotama, Wakahira – Me, Goddess of the Dawn Sun. Benzaiten, the Love Goddess is also known as Akitsu. Riko, The One Who Builds is Izanami, Creator Goddess, and Himeko, The One Who Heals, is Sengen – Sama , The Sacred Mountain Goddess. It is Sengen – Sama you must thank for healing your wounds brought on by your earlier rude display of ignorance and arrogance. I suggest that you also remember from now on that the elemental powers of Wakahira – Me are super strength and super speed combined with an equally quick temper. Do you wish to tempt our displeasure again and experience more demonstrations of our powers?"

"Except for the ice, and I'm not sure how that was done," Sayomi began warily, "we can also make bonds, manipulate objects in unison, heal, and move faster. In addition, we can also cause gusts of wind. If you are really the goddess Shina – To – Be, then show us wind and natural power we can't do. And if SHE is really Izanami, then it should REALLY be good."

"Izanami is NOT pleased with your unbelief!" Miya snapped in phony anger while turning her head to slyly wink at Riko, "and neither is Shina – To – Be!"

"Ice dome over them, thick," Riko whispered down at Akitsu and then made an angry crossing gesture with both arms at the Virgin Petals as if she was the one creating a new wonder. Akitsu simply flexed the fingers on both hands to follow Riko's command, and a sound proof thick dome of ice went over the Petals who flinched in surprise as it almost instantly formed around them.

"Okay, I think we can talk a little," Riko turned to her older leaders. "Now what? Real skeptics aren't they?"

"Wow, tough crowd all right," Uzume nodded in surprised agreement.

"The concept is planted. All we need to do now is put on a MUCH bigger show!" Miya smiled in triumph. "After all, we're GODDESSES, aren't we? At least, they need to think so."

"Well, since Miya put it that way, I think the best we can do is take a cloaked battle suit trip way upstairs to put on a big demo where no one can get hurt," Karasuba muttered to Kazehana. "Take Riko, Akitsu, Uzume, and Miya with you. We can put the Lightning Twins and Tsukuimi into three Karasu suits so they can slip into your circle unnoticed. Me, Toys, and Mekko will lag behind as we leave here and duck out of sight so that these Petals won't know we've been replaced. Have Akitsu throw out an ice fog to keep the Petals from being spotted, and Riko can take you all very, very high and very fast to really give these gals the instant howling storm works. Watch out you don't frost your big tits off though, Windy. Riko's Karasu suits aren't heated."

"Very well," Kazehana nodded agreeably while giving Karasuba an amused glance. "And is that what happened to your poor boobs, Blackie? Miya, call Haihane to send up Hibiki and Hikari. Let them know what we're doing. I'll get Tsukuimi. Uzume, stay here and wrap these gals up more warmly, but do it slow enough to give us a few minutes to get set up and into our Karasu suits. I'll send Akitsu back here when we're ready, then Riko can gather our doubters here and follow us up to the roof. We'll launch them ahead us to hide them in an ice fog as we go up. You going to let me in your plan, Miya?"

"I'm still working on the details, and there isn't time now since I have to check flight schedules above the city," Miya smiled again. "We don't want to crash any air traffic. I'll fill everyone in when we get done upstairs and give these Virgin Petals a little time to reconsider the error of their ways and the power of gods and goddesses. Aki-chan, when I nod, remove your dome."

When the ice dome instantly dissolved into a swirling and quickly dissipating fog, Miya spoke somewhat haughtily again.

"The Wind Goddess and Creator Goddess have both graciously agreed to demonstrate their powers. You will be more warmly prepared for a short journey high into the heavens. Use this preparation time to reflect upon the error of your claims upon our Prime Leader, Cash Joseph Archer. He will NOT be shared by us with you mortal women."

Within minutes Uzume smothered a big grin as Riko, collecting the bound but now heavily dressed human women a little harder than necessary, thumped the loudly complaining Petals together in one mass, lifted them along with her bond mates and floated them all towards the roof exit door. The tied human females stood looped together and looked around somewhat fearfully as a cold fog enveloped them to cover Riko, Uzume, and Akitsu going back back inside to don their Karasu suits.

Slow minutes went past as some of the women began to weep, and others angrily demanded to be set free. A few cursed with astonishingly graphic potty mouths, and the rest, including Sayomi, wisely waited while being silently patient. Big stakes demanded big risks to garner big payoffs. The big breasted floating female in the funky looking but impressive crimson uniform claiming to be a goddess had made a big brag. If she couldn't produce, there was plenty of firepower on the way to tear her and her seven phony goddesses apart.

"Izanami, Creator Goddess," Kazehana's disembodied voice sounded nearby and above the startled Petals. "Let's take these arrogant mortals into our sky domain, my Sister, and let them ponder their unbelief and strategic errors from on high."

***scene break***

Toyotama, Karasuba,and Himeko casually made their way to the penthouse windows to gaze up into the late afternoon sky above Tokyo as eight now invisible Sekirei and fifteen bound Petals launched skyward in an icy cloud. Any learned weatherman might describe it as a partly sunny or partly cloudy evening depending upon his optimistic/pessimistic mood, but in either case, it was just another typical and gentle spring offering to a mega-city cooling off gradually as the sun began to set. In a matter of minutes the scattered clouds began whirling rapidly high over Tokyo while accompanied by blasting bolts of lightning, incredible sonic claps of thunder, and a veritable deluge of rain followed by an instant epic hail storm of a very impressive magnitude. Then minutes later, as suddenly as it had started, the freak storm abated, and the clouds slowly returned to their state of meteorological indecision in the half filled or half empty sky.

"What would you bet," Toyotama gleefully nudged Karasuba, "that our girls stayed right in the in the eye of the storm and those Petals got a little wind blown on the edge of the eye wall?"

"Wind blown AND frosted? I wouldn't take that bet with your money, and you don't have any," Karasuba grinned in mutual approval. "I wonder what the good people of Tokyo are thinking about right now? Some have to be really scratching their heads, but on the other hand, it's spring in Japan. If you don't like the afternoon weather, it'll change by evening, right? What's another freak and quick storm brought on by the cooperating sisters of your friendly neighborhood goddesses? I mean, any really neat god and goddess show has to have …."

Her two bigger companions gave Karasuba a look of questioning amusement as the Black Sekirei paused. After a few silent moments her face went into her familiar, crinkled eyed, Cheshire cat grin of satisfaction.

"So that's what the old slut dog is doing," Karasuba murmured to herself in nodding approval. "Miya's right. That is a better plan than bribery. C'mon you two. We've got to get Sweetums out of the apartment somehow, but keep him somewhere safe. Seo, Minato, and their crowds need to take a hike too. Kazehana, Miya, and me are gonna need some room and a little privacy to operate. And we should probably make some hot tea for Sayomi and her pals."

"Why? What's up?" Toyotama asked as Karasuba began pushing the two of them towards the elevator door.

"We're up to our ass in unattached witchy females looking to steal and get attached to our guy, right? Downstairs we have Muts, an unconscious, big, and very powerful god with no Circle of females around him at all," Karasuba chuckled somewhat evilly, "and we also have a younger and maybe even more powerful, changeling winged by a female; a male god in the making that is now just full of rampaging phallic and typical male teenage hormones, one who has just grown balls and a big dick that won't relax. That's what he's talking to Cash about and asking how to handle it all. And lucky us, Shiina just happens to be seven females short of a full Circle too. All we got to do is get these fifteen Virgin Petals to see how marrying two gods is a whole lot better than going after one unwilling and already taken mortal ballplayer who has zero ambition to be any kind of prime world leader with them. Instead of bribing them with letting them use our world wide veto and voting power which was my original idea, we kinda make a two for one trade instead, see?"

"So that was what Miya was thinking?" Himeko nodded in understanding as the elevator opened only a few seconds after she pushed the down button.

"Right," Karasuba shook her head in admiration, "and this time I've got to give her credit. Since Cash is Natalie's Prime Leader, normally he would be returning to the Sekirei home planet with a womb ship full of human females if Natalie was star travel capable, and Natalie's Prime Ashikabi, Cash's second in command, would remain on Earth to be ..."

"The new Sekirei world leader," Toyotama finished excitedly as the elevator doors closed to begin their descent, "and you guys are gonna set a very ambitious Muts up as Cash's second in command and battle leader, right? He'd become the Prime Ashikabi or Prime Center as they call it, and as Muts' First Consort, Sayomi would then become the Prime Pillar, just like she wants? Think that will work?"

"Karasuba, you and Miya are taking a big risk here," Himeko observed with heartfelt worry, "and you're still in trouble with Our Love. I mean, what if our Ashikabi disapproves of this? He doesn't like manipulating people and being manipulated. This might turn him even more against you both."

"Well, first," Karasuba shrugged as the elevator stopped on the apartment's floor and the doors slid open. "We all have to KEEP our Ashikabi to even be in a position to ask for his favor. To do that, we've got to get rid of these thieving Petals. Then we can worry about getting his approval, and yes, I think it'll work. Since Sweetums has ordered her to find places where we can all hide and no matter what Natalie thinks she can nag our big boy into doing, what are the actual chances of him acting as the overall battle commander of an eight circle Sekirei platoon in our coming fight against Minaka and the MBI?"

"About the same as finding one specific grain of sand in all the beaches of the Philippines," Toyotama grinned at the notion, "and that might be optimistic. Master's a ballplayer, first, last, and always, and a total pacifist too, not a battle commander type. That's what I LOVE about him! He makes me feel so good about myself inside!"

"Precisely, and exactly what he was bred to be by the way. Miya has thought of a slick way to wing the two wayward and most powerful male birds from our ranks and put them in a position to help defend Natalie, us, and Sweetums. We have six circles formed already. We need two more for full power, and we need them quick too. Why not use these Petals and the two most powerful males we already got? All we gotta do is get these Virgin Petals to go along with the program, and I think I might know how, with Kazehana and Miya's help, but you guys got to get our big boy out of the apartment first. This will also get Sweetums off of being Natalie's battle commander hook, but you're right, I'm not too sure he would approve of our throwing Muts and Shiina to a bunch of long clawed catty types bent on world conquest. We'll just have to risk it. Toys, can you get Sweetums out of the way for thirty minutes or so?"

"Not a problem. After all that's happened today, Master would probably just love to play a nice relaxing game of catch with Uzume down in the basement. I'll be on guard down there with Riko, Akitsu, and Mekko while you three wheel and deal up here. Wait. Miya's idea means we won't be the top dogs in the world like Natalie has planned for us to be then?" Toyotama's face took on a worried look. "I don't think Natalie's gonna like this much. She's all gung ho for Master to be the biggest cheese on the planet after we defeat Minaka."

"Kazehana will always have Natalie's tama power, right?" Karasuba explained patiently. "She'll still be the Prime Lead Pillar. One tap on his tama and that should get Mutsu's attention real quick if his ego gets too big and he does something Sweetums wouldn't approve. Make no mistake. Natalie through Kazehana will still be in charge, and our Circle will be the silent power behind the throne so to speak. Call us, ummm, a high level advisory committee, or maybe a deep think tank team for world policy formation."

"I'd call you and Miya two of the biggest sneaks on the planet if I hadn't met Natalie," Himeko shook her head in admiration, "and I'm really glad I'm not fighting for Mikogami and Muts in Minaka's Sekirei Plan. Poor old Muts never really stood a chance of winning, did he?"

"Let's just say that Muts will THINK he has greatly improved his odds when we're done with him if I'm any kind of judge," Karasuba smiled grimly. "Look, if things go right, we'll get to peacefully watch a LOT of baseball games for the rest of our lives while Muts has his Virgin Petal harpies and gets to think he's running their world wide Order. It's a fair trade of long suffering, isn't it? Thwarting Minaka's plans for Natalie in a way Sweetums will approve, that's going to be another thing all together. We're gonna have to really brainstorm that one, and soon, because our current strategy of just letting Minaka set the rules and then reacting, well, quite frankly, it sucks."

***scene break***

Fresh from her group storm tour in the clouds, her lips mashed into a thin firm line, and arms crossed beneath her breasts in dogged determination, Sayomi stared irately at Kazehana, Miya, and Karasuba lined up on the other side of the thickly padded futon where Mutsu lay unconscious. Sayomi's face was still red with cold and windburn. Her formally and carefully coiffed hairdo was now a steaming but still frosted and frozen imitation of an angry porcupine caught in a high speed arctic wind tunnel experiment examining spike behavior during cyclonic changes of air pressure, temperature, and dew point saturation.

"I will grant that your Circle is abnormally powerful, but so are we," Sayomi repeated angrily. "We sensed Cash and his pain, unhappiness, and loneliness as soon as we landed at the airport. We then followed him here to complete our more deserving Circle and emotionally make things right for our Prime Center. We will NOT give up our ancient inheritance and our right to marry Cash Archer to a bunch of Susie Come Latelies from Tokyo! And you can just knock off this stupid goddess bullshit too! We saw you drunk and looking like five whores selling beer at a sumo wrestling match! No true goddess would ever be caught dead looking like that in public, let alone embarrass Cash that way! And I've got enough firepower coming from all over the world to back me up even if you ARE first born females from a lone womb ship no one has ever heard of before! Which I still highly doubt because they always come in formations of eight! If you keep trying to stand between my Order and our Prime Center, then you WILL heartily regret it! And LOSE!"

"You want a war?" Karasuba's sword was at Sayomi's throat before anyone could blink. "Just the three of us here have already killed tens of thousands of your planet's best armies! We're NOT scared of your Order! And you will NOT have our Ashikabi! Your Order will all DIE! You first!"

"Karasuba, no," Kazehana said quietly. "It sounds good, and we could kill them all, but Lover would be very unhappy with that. And he still wouldn't marry any Virgin Petal or any other kind of Petal that might be left alive. We don't need more Sekirei civil wars to kill off our ancestors' designs for future interstellar acceptance either."

Sayomi, whose red face was now sheet white, swallowed hard while trying not to flinch more than she already had. The sudden icy coldness in this Karasuba's black eyes and the snarling hiss of Karasuba's anger went way beyond simple intimidation and way over into an instant giant struggle for Sayomi to maintain bladder control.

"Perhaps Sayomi is right," Miya offered in a much kinder tone while frowning slightly in commiseration. "After all, she and her Sisters are the same culmination of Sekirei interbreeding from ancient history as our Ashikabi. They deserve their position as world leaders, but are just suffering from a little ignorance of the current situation in Tokyo."

"Ig, ig, ignorance," Sayomi stuttered while still flinching with mounting fear. If the slightest move was made to raise her hand and try to give this insane looking attacker a mental push away, it couldn't be done fast enough. Karasuba was literally shaking with eagerness to slit Sayomi's throat. The human female tried to slowly and gingerly edge back from the slightly quivering hand that held the razor sharp katana just a whisper away from the death still shining in Karasuba's obsidian eyes, but the Black Sekirei kept her sword blade millimeters close to Sayomi's Adam's Apple as an internal battle to control old killer habits and instincts raged within. Sayomi mightily forced herself to stand absolutely still and not back down.

"Yes, you see," Miya continued calmly as if Karasuba wasn't even in the room. "We really are the first born of an ancient womb ship, one of the eight that didn't all land safely before your Order of Dryas Octopetala was formed. We crashed in the Pacific Ocean, and all 108 of us hibernated in stasis until our womb ship was discovered on a volcanic island about two decades ago. We were revived and began maturing, but it was under the control of an evil genius who intends to steal all of the womb ship's technology. He intends to use the knowledge he has gained to not only conquer and control the world, but ultimately destroy all 108 Sekirei, our ship, and any person on Earth with Sekirei DNA. That includes you and everyone in your Order on every continent. He had eight of the ship's control rods to accomplish his goals, but didn't know how to use them. One was stolen when his researchers came too close to learning their use, but he has already begun plans for recovery or replacement soon. This is a very dangerous time for us, Sayomi, and you. We ARE the Prime Circle of our womb mother, and we are irrevocably bonded to Cash Archer. We, our ship, you, your Order, and Earth needs him as our Prime Leader. He cannot be your Prime Center."

Slowly, ever so slowly, Karasuba withdrew her katana after a small shuddering breath and a small light of sanity appeared in her still ice cold eyes. Sayomi also let out a shaky sigh of relief, blinking in total realization of just how close she had come to death. This first born alien female was indeed aptly labeled as a second in command The One Who Kills and was much, much more lethally dangerous than the super quick scout who had so thoroughly thrashed the Virgin Petals earlier. Sayomi swallowed hard again, marshaled her nerves anew, and then turned to look at the leader, Kazehana.

"If what your Miya says is true, then you and your Circle have made a grave error and must step aside. Cash Archer will have much more power and resources to wield against his enemies by his marriage to us. We can link hundreds of thousands of our order if need be, and we have financial assets of unimaginable wealth gathered since the dawn of history to place at his disposal. His mother took the Ancient Vows of widowed poverty after her Prime Center and four of her sisters were senselessly killed in a stupid war. I shall not. I intend to be the most powerful Prime Pillar that has ever ruled the Order and all its minions as my Prime Center's First Consort. Cash, my sisters, and I will easily destroy your evil genius and his pathetic little cabal here in Tokyo."

"And his weapons in space? " Kazehana asked with exasperation creeping into her normally sweet voice. "And Sayomi, you obviously know very little about Minaka's incredible organization and influence. You arrogance is only surpassed by your naivete, and you have several very major problems. First, my Cash Lover isn't going to destroy anyone. It's totally against his nature. For the same reason, neither is he going to take any kind of world leadership position, and he is already tightly and lovingly bonded to me and my Sisters. He would never throw us over simply because you have uttered some ancient words in his presence. You would have to try to supplant us in his heart, which you can't do, and quite frankly, he has no use for your type of self involved, driving ambition. We can all thank his Ex Agnes for that. Last but not least, your people's combined powers may be stronger than one Sekirei Circle, but not eight circles once properly linked. One Sekirei battle platoon can defend an entire solar system, not just a planet."

"And you just aren't woman enough to take my man," Karasuba hissed contemptuously as she took a step back from Sayomi to sheath her sword in total disdain. She turned away, and as she did, she gave Miya a slight wink unseen by Sayomi. Bad cop had done her bit. Now was the time for the good cop to make her proposal.

"Sayomi, do you like baseball?" Miya's facial expression was one of interested concern.

"Baseball? I loathe sports! They're all so pointless and a huge waste of time! Where Cash's mother did nothing with her position to influence world events, I will be very proactive to further our Order's interest in every country, not watching ball games!"

"You loath baseball, and yet Cash thinks of himself as a baseball player now, and someday as a coach in the future. That love of his for the game would be highly problematic for you, and a constant source of unhappiness and contention, wouldn't it? He can be incredibly stubborn about it also. Just ask his mother, and he is the singular most powerful psychic male on this planet. There will be no bending of his will if he chooses a course no matter how hard you try. Our Circle is already bound to him and resigned to our fate as sports wives. You, however, may be ignorant of one piece of legality and an alternative that could work in everyone's favor."

"And that would be?" Sayomi arched an eyebrow of total skepticism.

"As our Prime Leader," Miya continued softly, "it is Cash's duty to return with us to our home planet with a womb ship of Terran females. His second in command, our womb ship's Prime Ashikabi, would actually be the Prime Center left behind to rule the planet. We have six Sekirei Circles formed at this time, and we need two more to complete our battle platoon. A Prime Ashikabi has not been elected yet. At your feet is Number 05 Mutsu, the most powerful first born male of our Sekirei womb ship, the very image of the god of war and protector of Japan named Hachiman, and he is unattached and world leader type ambitious."

"And I suspect that it was Mutsu in pain and his companion Shiina that you and your group mistakenly followed here, Sayomi, not Cash." Kazehana shook her mass of black hair as a regal queen lecturing a minor chambermaid who had overstepped her bounds of propriety. "Cash hasn't been outside this apartment for the last 24 hours or more. Now, whether you like it or agree to it is insignificant, for I AM the Prime Lead Pillar of this solar system, and well able to back up my assertion with my powers, my womb Sekirei, and my womb mother's highly advanced weaponry if need be. However, my Cash Lover decries violence, and I am in submission to his heart. Therefore, I am not adverse to you being the Prime Pillar of this planet and second in command if that is your petty desire. Do you have anything in your Ancient Decrees of Anu about eight human females winging a first born god and becoming his Circle? And, I'm curious, what was the purpose of having fifteen of you come here? Why not the required sixteen if Cash was to choose eight from two of your Circles?"

"Yes, our Ancient Decrees do have, ummm, specific guidelines for that," Sayomi winced slightly in embarrassment before continuing, "and uhhh, our mothers did gather and send the sixteen most powerful of our Order for selection by Cash, but, uhhh, one was Cash's younger sister, and ummm, well, she said NO WAY and refused to leave Springfield, Illinois! We couldn't wait and went airborne from San Francisco after it was decided to contact our Asian group for a replacement. The alternate was supposed to meet us at the airport and tell us where Cash was hiding out, but she didn't show, and then while leaving customs, we all got hit on our highest band widths with such a powerful male presence here in Tokyo. We knew it had to be Cash. He was moving around a lot, but we followed him. The closer we got we felt his unhappiness so intensely that there was an echo inside our minds. Then we found Cash here with you, you, whoever you really are. The rest you know."

"You people are NUTS!" Karasuba laughed derisively. "Cash marry his younger sister? That has got to be the dumbest damn thing I've ever heard! His mother has to be a complete loon to go along with that!"

"Cash's mother strictly follows the Ancient Decrees of Anu!" Sayomi barked defensively. "Our psychic powers are not a dominant trait in breeding. That is why many of our cultures had royalty intermarry from ancient times until even today. It's true that there have been many tragic failures, but the few successes have greatly increased in psychic power until a wider DNA pool could be obtained and utilized. My children with Cash will be the most powerful psychics on Earth according to our extended Mendelian genetic charts and have a failure ratio below 1%."

"Wrong! Our children with Cash WILL be exponentially much stronger," Miya returned very firmly, "with zero failures!"

"We're wasting our time talking to this dumb bitch," Karasuba shook her head in exasperation. "She hasn't got the brains of a chicken! And her ancient breeding program must have produced a lot of total blockheads to go along with her limited powers. They have to link hands like little kids to do anything big! Let's throw them out the frigging window! They can't even fly!"

"No, no," Kazehana gave Karasuba a pained expression. "They're children. Have patience. They just don't understand."

"We've tried putting these shit for brains onto something good, and all we've gotten is negative waves and high handed, pushy disrespect! I've always loved to kill those types!" Karasuba began pacing angrily back and forth. "Why waste more time? They're too damn dumb to be in our battle platoon anyway! We have plenty of other first born goddesses to fill our remaining two circles. We don't need this human female Virgin Petal crap! I say we just kill 'em all now, and kill any that come later! Soon enough they'll learn who is in command in this solar system!"

"NO!" Kazehana stamped her right foot for emphasis. "I'm in command! They will live! If they wing Number 05 Mutsu Hachiman and Number 107 Shiina Izanagi, then they will be able to use the power of those two gods to defend our mother as they should. If not, then we can build two more needed Circles from our first born Sekirei and two of their Ashikabi to still make a very powerful battle platoon! I can then appoint one of those seven Ashikabi as the Prime Center for Earth and let his lead Sekirei become the Prime Pillar, but we do not need to kill these poor ignorant children! Understood?"

"Sayomi," Miya put a pleading, friendly tone in her voice as she pointed down at the sleeping Mutsu, "Understand we don't need you, but you need us to fulfill your lofty ambitions, which we have no objections to your doing, just not with our man. Our brother here is actually a better choice for you than Cash Joseph Archer. As his First Consort, you could be Prime Pillar if he was appointed by Kazehana as the Earth's Prime Center. That is the position you desire, right? And your children with your bonded first born god would be as powerful as ours will be with Cash as their father. Please look again at what we are offering, otherwise your ambitions will sink into obscurity as the position is given to another, and your life will be in very grave jeopardy should you continue to be so foolish. Look at him! Mutsu Hachiman is a GOD!"

Sayomi's eyes obediently followed Miya's pointing finger to look down at Mutsu even as her facial features wavered between uncertainty, resentment, and a growing renewed fear of Karasuba's too willingly displayed eagerness to kill her. The leader of the Virgin Petals had to admit that the male laying at her feet had extremely handsome and very attractive facial features, and his body's form seemed to be very tall and symmetrically built underneath the blanket that was covering him. On the other hand, she HAD to follow the Ancient Decrees of Anu to be acknowledged as Prime Pillar by all the Orders of Dryas Octopetala around the world. To do anything less automatically disqualified her from the top position she was born to fill. This was when Karasuba made her big move.

"Look, Sayomi," Karasuba said a little less harshly as she stooped down and grabbed the edge of Mutsu's blanket and lifted it slowly to display a completely nude Mutsu. "You've got to know something else. Cash Joseph Archer is not a Don Juan type lover by any stretch of your imagination. Our brother here is however, ummm, equipped as god should be. I've got a giant hunch that you and your Petals don't need a road map around a male body, a cook book to stir up his interest, a sex guide for what to do when he is interested, or an expensive watch to tell when the time is right. Now, how would you like to see this interested on a favorable basis in your very near future and STILL be Prime Pillar? All you gotta do is get seven of your sisters together that think they can handle this bad boy when it gets heated up, and the other seven can head for the bathroom to wing first born Shiina Izanagi. He's taking a long, hot, soaking bath right now. He's just as handsome, not as tall, but he's young, hung, and horny. Now are you gals gonna get with the program here or not? All you gotta do is forget Cash Archer who you really don't want anyway. Now think, how can YOU make all that happen?"

Sayomi blinked in astonishment as she stared down at Mutsu's incredibly muscular and totally nude length. Her lips formed an unconscious silent "WOW" as she focused on his "equipment" before she frowned and began chewing her lower lip and thinking rapidly.

"Uhhh, Cash would, ummm," Sayomi began slowly but sped up slightly as she obviously warmed in interest to the idea, "have to publicly and formally refuse to accept his birthright for the record to his Mother and my mine. And then, ummm, your leader, ummm, Kazehana? She would have to PROVE that she really is, ummm, legally qualified to appoint Mutsu Hachiman as our Prime Center. There are DNA blood tests that can be done for that now, I think. Then the Order of Dryas Octopetala's World Council would have to vote to accept her and her decisions. They would insist on personally meeting IN the womb ship for that vote. Then and only then would Mutsu Hachiman be acknowledged as the new Prime Center and I would be confirmed as Prime Pillar if we can wing him. But first, uhhh, my other sisters here would have to agree to even try that and, and, we'd want to actually see your womb ship for ourselves before we commit to anything."

"Well, if you can give your word you won't make us kill you for trying to link hands again, then I suggest that we untie your crew and let them all take a good look at their futures before we fly you out to meet Mommy Dearest," Karasuba said coolly. "There's just enough daylight left for it, and we can be back here in less than an hour. Then we'll sort everything out for you legally."

"But what if we fail to, ummm, get Mutsu Hachiman's interest? I mean, we really ARE virgins and, ummm, and we DO have specific procedures listed in our Ancient Decrees for winging a first born god, but, ummm, well, what if, uhhh, we just, ummm, aren't," Sayomi's voice faded off into a realm of uncertainty that hadn't been visited much in her life. What lay before her was a bigger challenge than anything she had ever dreamed of before, and for the first time, she wasn't exactly sure she could measure up.

"Sexy enough?" Kazehana prompted gently. "I will admit that you're well practiced haughty arrogance could be a huge turn off to our brother. He has very little patience for any kind of irrational female behavior, let alone illogical, and emotionally driven, however, there is one small tip I could give as your Prime Lead Pillar that would boost your sex appeal to our brother and very greatly get him wanting you as his First Consort. Are you interested enough to come down out of your ivory tower and listen?"

"Ummm, yes!" Sayomi nodded as eagerness overrode uncertainty, "yes, very much so!"

"He has a very great fondness for sweet, creamy, and gooey centered cake snacks called Twinkies, Ho Hos, and King Dons. I suggest when you and your seven sisters link up to hit him with your best sexy shot, making sure the time and place is right of course, then you also appeal to his taste buds. Think you got enough power among you to become female Twinkies in heat?"

"Well, it sounds crude," Sayomi nodded while still staring down at her future, "but, uhhh, yes! We can do it, if, I'm, uhhh, big enough."

"Good, and don't worry. You're big enough. Now, as your future Prime Lead Pillar, welcome to our new world order."

"Can, can, ummm, we have really cool looking uniforms like yours too? Only a different color? I mean, I'd want my Circle to have canary yellow with black trim, boots, belts, insignia, and capes, you know, yellow like my wings? And we REALLY like those tiara masks!"

"I don't see any problem in that at all either," Kazehana nodded graciously while trying not to grin in triumph. Nothing like using a gal's desire to dress up and accessorize to add a little oomph to capitulation. She should have thought of that earlier. "Uzume will attend to your request as Akitsu and Riko help you get ready to fly out to see Natalie."

A few minutes later the Virgin Petals, having each stared under Mutsu's blanket with careful consideration, very pragmatically began sorting themselves out according to size, seven of the more robust framed females aligning with Sayomi. A minor dispute arose over the last position between two almost medium sized Petals, but that was quickly settled peacefully with a rock, scissors, and paper duel, two wins out of three. The remaining more petite seven females gave their new future sister in the person of a sleeping Yukari a curious once over before eagerly getting ready for another cold flight and coming back to meet and greet the still bathing Shiina Izanagi. For the first time since they had arrived, the fifteen Virgin Petals of the Order of the Dryas Octopetala descended into natural, excited, and happy female chatter and good natured teasing.

Kazehana, silently watching the human female interplay of the Petals with satisfaction, gave Miya and Karasuba a half lidded smile of pleased amusement.

"Good job, you two. I'm sure Natalie will be very delighted to have guests. Miya, you, me, Akitsu, and Riko will take them out to see our Mother, right? Mekko, Toys, Uzume, and Blackie can hold the fort here, protect Cash while we're gone, and try to keep things a little more calm around him. I can feel he's really running out of patience over this whole mess of a day."

"Well, we can wrap this end up quick enough if we hurry, and let me just say for a phony goddess, Amaterasu here still makes a pretty good bad cop, doesn't she?" Miya observed dryly. "I actually thought for a few seconds Sayomi was going to lose her throat and wet herself at the same time."

"I still have some skills, slut dog," Karasuba retorted smugly as Kazehana snorted in laughter at her two Sisters' byplay, "and if you're supposed to be the Goddess of Food, when do we eat? I'm still starving."

"If you're ego was edible, you'd never be hungry," Miya returned with a touch of annoyance that she instantly dismissed, "but there's some left over stir fry and rice in the fridge. I'll fix more when we get back with our guests."

"What do you think of Natalie's plan for Riko," Kazehana frowned with uncertain worry. She wasn't too comfortable with it herself, but had reluctantly agreed to try for Riko's sake. "Will it work?"

"As the all knowing goddess Ameratsu, I give it one chance in a mega gazillion," Karasuba snorted in amusement. "We all need to learn that there's a lot more going on behind Sweetum's smiling and dreamy deep blue eyes than we've all been fooled into seeing, even Natalie. I got caught thinking he was just a stubborn but sweet natured blockhead when that was just a really deep and clever defense against his Mother all along. He won't fool me again."

"You've actually got a plan?" Kazehana's eyes raised in great interest. "What is it?"

"Naked simplicity," Karasuba smiled smugly. "The only thing I'm trying to decide is whether to jump my big boy's bones before or after he wakes up. What about you slut dog? Got a clue for you yet?"

"I'm having great difficulty in deciding what to do," Miya grimaced at Karasuba's ongoing dig, but ignored it. "While we're visiting Natalie, I suggest you get a handle on placement, contacts, future battle practice, and distributing battle suits and uniforms for our new platoon, and you better rethink your game plan with Cash for tomorrow morning. I got a feeling you're way too over confidant. Even though we can't be much more outcast than we are, especially Riko, we both better plan to make ourselves scarce if and when Riko crashes and burns again with Natalie's plan."

"Who's supposed to be in command of who around here?" A suddenly uncertain Karasuba muttered peevishly to herself, but she turned away to organize Natalie's new defensive troop lineup as Miya and Kazehana left to get Akitsu and Riko and take off for another group Virgin Petal tour high above and out of Tokyo.

***scene break***

The basement garage of the apartment complex looked and sounded like a cross between the lineup in the old Star Wars movie bar scene and a giant, colorful, milling hen party on steroids. To Cash it seemed like every size, color, shape, oddly dressed, and more wickedly armed Sekirei in Tokyo had just dropped in from some distant planet with their assorted Ashikabi to hob knob and continually interrupt his supposedly relaxing game of catch with Uzume.

The ever relaxed Seo and still haggard and harried looking Minato had been upstairs earlier with their Circles while Cash had been "comforting" Toyotama and then later roped into giving that weird looking Shiina kid some manly counseling. Lunch had been a chaotic mish mash of stir fry chicken, rice, and some really evil, fishy smelling, carry-in pizza that had arrived with Seo's crew. Decibels of female chatter and Minato's Sekirei constant bickering had increased while Cash's entire Circle went upstairs to deal with the now escalated Virgin Petal menace. Escaping the crowded and loud chatter confines of the apartment after three of his scantily skirted Sekirei returned had rapidly become an imperative for Cash's peace of mind and already overly strained nerves.

At first Cash had been very greatly appreciative of Uzume, Himeko, and Toyotama's arrival and insistent eagerness to move him away from the apartment's ongoing chaos as well as the kinda creepy desperation of that Shiina kid begging to have the even more embarrassing basics of male sexuality explained very carefully to him once again. What was up with that? There was something really odd about that too cutesy looking Shiina with his screwy hero worship attitude towards Cash, and the young putz dressed funny too. Cash couldn't tell if the kid was pitching or catching gender wise until the youngster had begged for some private advice on how to use and abuse his privates. Even that had been beyond strange and way over into weirdness. Every guy Cash had ever known had learned early how to pee standing up without spraying himself, the toilet, his shoes, and the bathroom walls and when older how to wank off when ball pressure got critical. Then the weird teenager had gotten a look of total confusion after being tossed a bar of soap and advised to take a long hot bath with Rosy Palm and her five daughters while Cash had made a hasty exit.

The cool quiet of the basement garage had been a giant relief as Cash had begun to comfortably throw to Uzume with Himeko and Toyotama hovering silently nearby. Then Seo and his Sekirei popped out of the elevator saying that they had been asked to meet in the basement to get new uniforms and Karasu battle suits. Uzume of course had been drafted for uniform creation, but Cash had simply continued to throw the ball and catch the wall bounce off by himself. Then Minato's entire group had suddenly appeared with big boxes of battle suits, and three more Sekirei Circles had arrived almost immediately afterward with their three unknown Ashikabi. The chaos had returned, but Cash had stayed apart from it all to keep throwing by himself and warily checking over his shoulder until Uzume returned. Thus a fairly relaxing half an hour or so passed before Seo had wandered over to observe Cash's throwing session.

Seo had been pretty bored hanging around Cash's new apartment for the last couple of hours and watching several Circles of Sekirei get together for a little strategy planning. His Sekirei had been kept entertained helping Kazehana and her Circle flimflam some human females out of trying to steal their Ashikabi while Cash had tried his best to counsel the overwrought Shiina into the basic intricacies of impending manhood. Of course Seo could have taught the young Sekirei male how to beat off in five minutes or less, but hey, CJ Archer was from Springfield, Illinois after all, and it had taken the American over an hour to explain the same low basics of male carnality.

Then a mini madhouse had ensued with Minato and his Circle arriving along with some kid named Takamo Kouji and his new crew led by Number 73 Namiji to meet with Kazehana. Mikogami and his lead Sekirei Ikki had also appeared with their group. All ostensibly wanted to become allies with Seo, Sanada, and Cash in order to withstand future attacks by MBI on Natalie' brood. Arguments had ensued over which Circle was going to be more dominant and what kind of strategies would be needed to fight, but Seo had blissfully ignored it all. He had simply watched TV game shows and napped briefly during the continuous mayhem until Karasuba had kicked them all out and told them to get new uniforms and battle suits in the basement while the Virgin Petals were being dealt with. Seo didn't mind because Cash's calm game of catch with Uzume offered way better entertainment anyway.

Lounging comfortably on the hood of a late model SUV parked along the garage wall, Seo watched with interest as Cash threw a baseball very hard at the squatting Uzume's head. One of her now crimson and black battle veils nonchalantly snagged it out of midair and tossed it back to her Ashikabi pitcher while a second veil modestly covered her exposed crotch and another her bouncing breasts to thwart Seo's admiring eyes. The whole pitching and peekaboo catching process was repeated again and again with Cash moving the ball from one side of Uzume's body to the other as well as making the ball drop suddenly or seemingly float at his lovely catcher in a big curve. Watching the stacked, muscular, and very briefly dressed Uzume move around was a very nice way to wait until dinner was prepared, whenever that would be. It had to be soon because a really hot looking Riko in her too short skirt suddenly arrived and said that Miya was upstairs and organizing a cafeteria style dinner.

Seo had to admit that this gaijin ballplayer looked pretty impressive up close and throwing hard in a basement parking garage. He was no ballplayer, but Cash looked unhittable. No wonder the big fella had been doing so well that last time he'd pitched at the Tokyo Dome, and then to re-wing Kazehana, Himeko, and Toyotama the same day? Well, that would have been heroic and legendary material right there, but added to having already re-winged Karasuba, Akitsu, Miya, and Uzume with powerhouse Riko as a mere after thought? That was down right New Age of the Gods stuff Minaka style and heartily deserving Seo's hero worship. Admittedly, Seo had been a tad jealous missing out on Kazehana, but having Cash give him the re-winging technique for free to begin with and now the center of his own Circle of eight hot females, Seo was content. Or at least he was until Toyotama started girl talking with Haihane and Benitsubasa while everyone stood around to kibitz, chat, show off, or just argue while watching Cash play catch with Uzume.

"Even if they do have bug eyed helmets, our new battle suits are just BITCHIN'!" Haihane gave a power fist in front of her grinning face, "and so are these new unis for our Circle! Kelly green shirts and skirts with hot pink capes and accessories to match Nubs' hair! Man, Zoomer even matched my eye color! And all we did was stun some human chicks to get first picks! Damn Toys! How'd you guys come up with such neat shit? These unis are just fo shizzles to party in, and we're freaking invisible in these Karasu suits too! We can go anywhere we want without worrying about MBI's satellites homing in on us, right? No more sneaking around the subways, or constantly zipping up into the clouds and freezing our butts off to fool MBI's heat tracking!"

"Riko made the battle suits," Toyotama replied agreeably while eying Claws and Nubs with a slight frown of indecision. She couldn't decide if Claw's uniform color choices made them both look like some poor color blind idiots dressed for a TV game show or a pair of elves outlawed from Santa's North Pole for incredibly bad fashion fen schui. Toyotama was also keeping one eye on Cash and one on the cars parked behind her for possible threatening interlopers. Himeko was covering the other side, Riko now had Uzume's back, and Akitsu was guarding the elevators and stairwell adjacent. Haihane, Benitsubasa, and Toyotama were perhaps ten body lengths behind Cash, between him and the chaotic Sekirei mob; not too far to be instantly by his side if trouble hit while far enough that their chatter wouldn't disturb his pitching concentration.

"She even made more suits big enough to fit Kazehana, Himeko, and me. The Whip Twins got a pair of large suits too, and we got a few extra large for the bigger Ashikabi like Master, Seo, and Sanada."

"Master?" Benitsubasa frowned slightly in puzzlement while preening her electric pink hairdo. "Why do you call your Ashikabi that, Toys? And lately you aren't acting much like the big nasty bitch you've always been either. You and Itchy were Higa's number one hitters. Itchy's pretty much the same as before, but you've changed. What happened to you, Toys?"

"I hated Higa!" Toyotama responded vehemently through gritted teeth while clenching her fists. Her body's accompanying reaction made her bare leg and arm muscles noticeably stand out in quivering tension as she shook her massive head of dark green hair in vehement negation. "And I hated doing his dirty work too! Master saved me! Saved me and POSSESSED me so that I don't ever have to be a big nasty bitch again!"

"Possessed you, huh?" Haihane chuckled as she and Benitsubasa exchanged a skeptically sardonic look. Toyotama looked as if Archer was the one possessed if he had been crazy enough to "save" this still intimidating Amazon killer. "How? Arch never impressed me as any kind of role playing kinko, let alone into that master/slave bullshit. We've never thought of you as a handcuff queen either. On the other hand, maybe Big Daddy should get a pair for us if it has flipped you that hard. We're all pretty much a bunch of screamers already, but if there's something to make us scream louder and longer, then tell us about it. Just how does this possession thing work? It is bondage s&m, right?"

"No, Master just takes me, makes love to me actually," Toyotama closed her eyes and shuddered slightly in reliving her earlier bathroom quickie with Cash, "but just when I go off he licks me into crest ecstasy! Then his sweet loving mind caresses my tama when he puts his head on me, and I can feel his goodness flowing through me when I pass out! He drives out the blackness of Higa, and, and makes the connection in our minds to just pulse and pulse and pulse. When I wake up, I feel so clean and soft and wonderful inside. That's why I'm not the big bitch you always knew, and Master will never need handcuffs. He OWNS my heart and tama now and always will!"

Haihane and Benitsubasa now exchanged blinking, open mouthed expressions of incredulity. No one, and especially not the abruptly blunt, hard nosed, hot tempered, too aggressive, usually brutal, and totally unrefined Toyotama, could fake that kind of pure, soft, rapturous adulation. Whatever Archer had done to fundamentally change Higa's former number one assassin had to be something incredibly special, and, if Toyotama's continuing, amazingly soft and rapturous expression could be believed, one hell of a life changing rush! The only question now was how to get some for themselves.

"Crest ecstasy?" Haihane breathed in awe as she squinted in concentration. "Just what is that? And how did Arch do it?"

"You passed OUT?" Benitsubasa asked with equal and perhaps more urgent breathlessness, "and his mind was IN your tama, caressing you? How did you get connected? And you're still connected with him like that now?"

"YES! I TOLD you," Toyotama frowned in annoyance at being brought out of her reverie, "when making love to me, Master licks my crest and puts his head on it as I pass out! Then our connection pulses and pulses and pulses until I wake up! It's, it's too hard to describe how it cleanses me! But it's WAY beyond regular sex, and yes, we're still connected now! We always are!"

"Will it work with our darling Seo? Can we have this too?" Benitsubasa began bouncing on her toes in mounting excitement. Whatever this crest ecstasy, licking, pulsing, and tama caressing during sex was, Nubs wanted it, and a LOT of it along with a more intimate connection to her darling Ashikabi!

"Karasuba never mentioned this stuff," Haihane frowned slightly, "but she did say once that Arch was one HELL of a lover, like an addiction. Did this happen when you were re-winged?"

"No, it happened after that when Master connected me to Natalie, and, and I don't know if it will work with you guys and Seo. I only know it works with Master, me, and my Sisters, except Miya, Riko, and Karasuba haven't been connected yet. He's still unhappy with them. That's probably why it wasn't mentioned."

"Natalie? Who's that?" Haihane's perplexed look increased as Toyotama told her. Then everything Toyotama had just related was repeated for Seo's Kochou and Ichiya. They in turn told the other members of their Circle and soon little knots of intense discussion began forming among all the Sekirei at the other end of the basement. This resulted in even increased interest in watching Cash's game of catch with Uzume while still trying to appear casual per Kazehana's request.

Meanwhile, Seo's interest was piqued by the way Cash was now totally ignoring Riko but was chatting and smiling easily with Uzume, Akitsu, and Himeko as Cash threw his baseball. Scantily clad Akitsu and Himeko moving around in front of Seo's ever roaming and lecherous eyes were incredibly interesting too. It also seemed that the longer the throwing session went, the more relaxed Cash became until Uzume was called to make different colored uniforms for Minato's squabbling Circle. She almost too casually pushed Riko to take her place.

"Throw as hard as you want, Joe," Uzume called over her shoulder as she sauntered towards the milling group of Sekirei at the other end of the garage. "Reeker will stop everything right in front of her and get it back to you. She won't even touch the ball. I'll be right back."

Cash frowned at the interruption and Uzume's heavy handed catching switch, thought about it for a second, shrugged, and went into his pitching motion. Riko, her eyes and posture suddenly resembling a frightened deer, stood stiffly with her hands clenched at her side while she fought her deep weariness from the long day's activities plus being only half recovered from her rejection crisis. She instantly thought about squatting down like Uzume into a normal catcher's stance for Cash, but she was still dressed in her short skirted Circle battle uniform, and she wasn't about to give the lounge lizard Seo an open panty shot. Who knew if he wouldn't take a smutty picture with his video cell phone and post it on the internet for the world to see? That worry and her bone tired weariness were the reasons Riko didn't focus on catching Cash's first pitch, but fortunately he had intentionally thrown it slightly offline. The ball whizzed past Riko's left hip, slammed into the wall some distance behind her, bounced once in return, and smacked into Riko's left boot heel.

"I, I, I'm sorry! I'll get them from now on!" Riko stammered in red faced embarrassment as she used to her powers to retrieve the ball and toss it back to Cash. Mentally she was kicking herself as she saw his eyes roll in familiar disgust at her ineptness at doing anything right, let alone catch a baseball. This was child's play for her! How could she screw even this up? Get a grip! She admonished herself, and give Natalie's latest idea a chance to work. Zoomer had done her part and set this up to begin the ice breaker for Riko's relationship to Cash at Kazehana's request, not for Riko to be digging a deeper hole down into his doghouse. On the other hand, she was still down in his opinion about as far she could get and still remain alive. Why worry about looking like a total idiot once again? Because she wanted him to LOVE her like she had always dreamed and in the same way he already loved his five tightly connected Sekirei. Miya and Karasuba were probably going to be able to win their own ways back into Cash's arms, but Riko knew she needed help to get where she had never been but wanted to go.

"Please don't stop, Cash Joseph! I can do this!" Riko pleaded urgently. "Throw again, harder!"

Seo watched with a half grin as Cash gave a closed eyed sigh, paused for a few seconds as if trying to bite his tongue and communicating with ethereal entities for advice, which he was if Natalie could be counted as such, finally nodded, and fired a fast ball way wide of her. Riko made it loop around her head and slowed it down to arc softly back to him. Cash caught the ball, squinted at her as if pained, and then muttered something.

To a mystified Seo it sounded like, "I know, I know! Build her confidence! Quit nagging me, will ya? I'm trying to be patient, and I'm throwing already! Yes, as hard as I can!"

Cash wound up and fired another fast ball at Riko's chest. This time Riko stopped it completely just a hand's breadth from her body, and again made the baseball arc softly back to him. A few throws later, Cash was back into his rhythm until he suddenly stopped, angrily crossed his arms, and began shouting into thin air. This made Seo stare with great concern at his American friend, hero, and all around great sex mentor.

"Dammit! No! I've told you and told you! I'm not a freaking general! I'm a ballplayer! And you're making me look like a fool by talking in public here! Keep this up, Natalie, and it's going to be a very long wait for your first dream date! I never set a time. So? You promised to not make me look bad in public too, so we're even! Yeah, I'll keep it open, but I don't have to listen and respond, now do I? Now stop it or else! Hey! If Minaka's goons find us there, then we'll just move again, got it? Case closed! I'm trying to relax here, dammit!"

Cash, aware of the sudden silence his outburst had caused around him, turned to give Seo a shrugging look of long suffering embarrassment, and then resumed throwing at Riko again.

"In case you think I'm NUTS, Natalie is the Sekirei womb ship connected to my mind," Cash tried to explain casually between pitches. "She, uhhh, can be quite persistent and almost maddening to deal with sometimes."

"Yo! Big fella! You're mentally connected to the womb ship? It's awake?" Seo sat up straight in surprised excitement. His hero worship quotient of Cash also went up a notch. "My friend Takehito died trying to do that! But he was using a jinki's psychic emanations, and you don't need anything? Whoa! You can communicate with the Sekirei spaceship just using your mental thoughts?"

"Well, yeah, kinda, except I have to say it our loud on my end," Cash replied half apologetically, "or at least whisper. Yes, I said maddening, Natalie, and I meant it! If I ain't nuts already, then you're gonna drive me there! I'm talking to someone here! Don't interrupt, okay? It's rude! Yes, he's the Ashikabi named Seo. What? Oh okay. Natalie says she's sorry she was a little abrupt earlier when you tried to order pizza. Riko's phone is her speaking connection for Kazehana's use. Please accept her apology."

"I was talking to the womb ship? Damn!" Seo hopped down from his perch to ask more questions but a flash at the corner of his eyes made him duck. A whirling blade from an irate Oriha went sailing past to be flicked aside by a battle veil from a returning and instantly angry Uzume.

"Oriha! Keep those damn blades to yourself you dumb shit!" Uzume yelled at the now even more colorfully adorned but still milling mob of Sekirei behind her, "or I'll pin your pointy little ears back!"

"And then I'll rip your ears off!" Toyotama angrily made a fist grabbing gesture at the sneering and unrepentant Oriha who had just lobbed a spinning saw blade around the garage to show off a little. That had been in response to the Whip Twins fooling around with trying to see which one could pop their whips louder, and a couple other Sekirei going through slow motion attack and parry moves as if training in some hand to hand combat dojo session.

"THAT'S the Toys we know," Haihane chuckled in unconcern at Oriha's near miss of Seo. The weird little saw blade spinner knew better than to piss Haihane off and could be trusted to not hurt anyone even in a crowd.

"Nobody puts MY Master in danger!" Toyotama added while leaping at the now startled Oriha who was now encased up to her neck in a thick block of ice from a more effective but silent Akitsu. Toyotama arrived a split second later to boot shove the ice encased Oriha into the far garage wall. The mob of Sekirei instantly parted and watched as the ever entertaining Oriha went whooshing past to her cold shattered fate. Sanada went rushing to comfort his possible new recruit as she staggered about dazed but apparently unharmed after the wall collision.

"And that's the Toy's we don't know," Benitsubasa frowned in disbelief. The change in Toyotama's demeanor to her was nothing short of phenomenal. Whatever Archer had done to Toyotama had to be taught to SEO! NOW! It might even help that prehistoric looking and acting goof Sanada finally re-wing the stubborn and icy little Oriha who was still holding herself aloof from him despite his open display of concern.

"NO! Natalie, dammit! NO!" Cash almost shouted in frustration to make Seo's head whip back around to stare at his hero anew. "Look, even if I WAS a freaking general, which I'm not and never will be because I'm a ballplayer, you don't HAVE a battle platoon! You've got a freaking circus of kooks and clowns! They even put little dried fish on their pizza for crying out loud! That's not just sick and weird! That's down right crazy! Meshed? Fat chance! Hell, most of them don't even LIKE each other! I don't know those guys or most of these Sekirei either! Other than Seo and Minato, and I'm a little worried about both of 'em. The other three Ashikabi all appear to be total nut jobs to me too! Look at 'em!"

Cash turned to give Natalie a sweeping look at the garage's gaudy and chaotic interior through his eyes. Minato was again trying to separate Homura and Tsukuimi arguing over their Circle's latest uniform colors, one insisting on cobalt blue for water and the other bright orange for flame. Another young looking guy was petulantly complaining very loudly to his Sekirei about how bored he was and unhappy about riding on top of a dirty subway car to get here. He wanted to go home, do a little dance dance revolution version 2020, and get massaged again. The rougher, bare chested edition of Seo named Sanada was standing uncertainly with arms spread open before a very petite, aloof looking Sekirei who had turned her back to him and folded her arms under her breasts in total coldness. A fourth studious young man was absently using a piece of chalk to write some kind of long involved equation of some mathematical looking gibberish on the smooth cement of the garage wall. He had been joined by Riko who had made a small correction to get him really excited, but his lead Sekirei with a huge bladed weapon on her back was giving Riko a very jealous once over and icy glare. In the middle of all this, the fifteen Virgin Petals arrived advancing towards Cash with almost grim determination but being peacefully shepherded from behind by a smiling and pleased looking Kazehana.

"Cash Joseph Archer!" Sayomi said loudly as she held her video cell phone out towards her target, "will you adhere to the Ancient Decrees of Anu and willingly marry me as your First Consort?"

"No!" Cash responded while recoiling in instant frowning irritation, "and let me be more concise! HELL, NO!"

"Do you intentionally and willingly abdicate your position as Prime Center?"

"Hell yes! I'm not, nor am I ever going to be, the center of anything! Never have been! Never will be! Not even in the dugout!"

"Are you already bound to the womb ship now designated as Natalie, The One Who Leads, and also bound to her Prime Circle with Kazehana of the Wind as your Prime Lead Pillar?"

"Well, yes, I guess, mostly," Cash warily scratched his gloved hand against the back of his head. Even an obtuse clod from the Asshole of the Midwest could see that something screwy was now going on here. Cash had a sudden premonition that he was going to greatly regret this whole scene somehow.

"Did you hear and record that Momma? Visually as well? Mrs. Archer? Did you hear him too?" Sayomi yanked her phone back as everyone around her went quiet to listen to the one sided conversation. "GOOD! We are no longer bound to him! And we are free to seek our union with Natalie's first born god Mutsu Hachiman who will be appointed the new Prime Center. The remaining seven alternates are going to seek union with another very powerful first born god named Shiina Izanagi. Well, I'm not sure, Momma. I'm assuming Cash will be returning to Natalie's home planet when she gets her repairs completed. At any rate before she goes and as soon as she can, Natalie has agreed to host a world meeting of the Dryas Octopetala in order to facilitate your voting according to the Ancient Decrees. Mrs. Archer, Uzume was really the first born goddess of fertility, Ana – No – Uzume. Cash has bonded to the entire Prime Circle of her Sisters AND the womb ship as their Prime Leader. As I said, Kazehana of the Wind is his Prime Lead Pillar. Please stop bawling will you Mrs. Archer? He hasn't left the planet yet!"

Cash grunted in instant shell shock and snatched his phone out of his pocket to call his Mother, but Sayomi even more quickly snatched it out of his hand and fired it into the garage wall to smash his phone to pieces. Cash's heart did a small flip, he exhaled another shocked, high pitched grunt, and forgot to inhale while staring in stupefaction at his ruined phone. No one had ever cut him off from his Mother like this before, not even his ex Agnes! Jeebus! His whole world was totally screwed now! And this was when Natalie began nagging at him again!

"Natalie! Will you give me a break? Yes I said mostly bonded! I've never even seen you, remember? I don't even know where you are! Look, can we talk about this later? I've got a situation here! No! Prime Schmime! Everyone and their brother can label me any way they want, but that doesn't mean I have to accept any of them! I am a baseball pitcher, Natalie, not the reincarnation of General George Patton! Now you damn well better get used to that fact because it isn't ever going to change! Yes I care! I told you to research getting free so we can hide until this whole mess blows over! Now work on that will ya, and quit bugging me!"

Cash scowled at Sayomi and took a deep breath to yell his displeasure at her high handed action when she turned away and spoke loudly into her phone.

"Sorry, Cash will have to call you later Mrs. Archer when he gets a new phone. His old phone has been disconnected for security reasons to keep his exact whereabouts in this country unknown. There are some very strong and hostile forces working against our Order's interests here. I will have to immediately destroy mine for the same reason too now that the protocols have been observed. We will contact you all again as soon as it is safe. I love you Momma. Bye!" With that Sayomi wound up and threw her phone against the garage wall also, before smiling at Kazehana. "Well. That was kind of refreshing even if it was a small fib to gain us more time! Neat huh?"

Cash stared at Sayomi in angry dismay and blinking unbelief as three ramifications of what had just happened sank in. Somehow he had just been relieved of his damnable Petal problem. He had also gotten his dreaded phone call to his Mother delayed for who knew how long. On the other hand, his Mother bawling her eyes out believing that he was soon to be shipping out somewhere to the other side of the Milky Way wasn't good at all.

Cash turned to give Kazehana a wounded plea for help and missed Uzume's quick jerk of her head at Riko. He even missed Riko's fake swoon as she apparently slumped to the garage floor but stopped a few millimeters before any actual painful contact. Himeko was then immediately between her and Cash to shield Riko's faux fall.

"My Love!" Himeko called urgently to make Cash give a double take to locate her in the quickly gathering mob of still highly interested Sekirei. "Please come! I need your help! Riko's suffering from severe exhaustion! We've over worked her today!"

"Cash Lover," Kazehana put her arms around Cash's neck and lightly kissed his lips to distract him further. "Why don't you take Riko up to the apartment couch. We'll finish up down here."

Cash stood still for a few seconds, looking around at everyone silently watching him. Frowning slightly at what he was sensing, he let his mind feel his mental and emotional connections to Uzume, Akitsu, Toyotama, Himeko, and especially Kazehana. His sweethearts weren't watching him in interest like all the other Sekirei and their Ashikabi as much as they were trying to gauge his reaction. Miya and Karasuba were no where to be seen. Now where had they gone? What were they up to? Rats leaving a sinking ship? And where had the Virgin Petals disappeared to so quickly? Natalie had went strangely and totally silent all of a sudden too. Cash pondered these questions for a second or two before the answer hit him. This scene with Riko had all the earmarks of a possible setup orchestrated by one very sneaky and totally determined Sekirei womb ship, most probably the "old play on his deep sense of sympathy to save the poor damsel in distress named Riko" ploy.

Cash, slowly extricating himself from her arms, gave a knowing and gently chiding look to Kazehana and was instantly rewarded with a small wincing and contrite return from her. It was a setup all right.

"Lover, I'm, I'm," Kazehana began apologetically now seeing that Karasuba's instincts about the unknown deeper depths of their Ashikabi's empathic and other possible psychic powers had been all too accurate, but Cash cut her off. It wouldn't do to publicly embarrass his Rose in front of her crowd.

"Rose, it's okay. I'll get Riko upstairs. We can talk later."

_"Cash Darling! Please don't blame Kazehana and Riko! This was totally my idea! I wanted you to restart your relationship with Riko on a more favorable basis for her! She was raised by being kept socially separate from her peers just like you, and she doesn't know any way on her own to let you see her as she really is inside. Please Cash Darling! Please forgive us!"_

"I'll talk to you later, Natalie!" Cash said firmly and with a note of finality. "Prepare yourself for it."

Seo grinned in manly appreciation at his hero's tone as Cash bent down to pick Riko up. The big American was able to cradle her in his arms while not removing his mitt, dropping his baseball, and keeping his eyes averted from Riko's now exposed and HAWT looking black lace panties. With as much dignity as he could muster under the circumstances, Cash headed for the elevators. Seo watched them go and yet still listened with great interest to Haihane and Benitsubasa newly learned revelations about Cash Archer and his Prime Circle's vastly superior sex life. The two highly excited Sekirei whispered urgently to Seo and began pulling him towards the garage exit along with the equally excited Itchy and Koko. He had been working in the back of his mind on his brainy Koko's suggestions for getting a bigger place to stay, a rookery for them, Sanada, and Kouji's Circles, but now Seo's bored musings had come to a very entertaining end. He was headed for a rousing evening and long night of extended whoopie loop exploration courtesy of his stalwart hero and mentor, Cash Joseph Archer. Then the results of his Circle's giant futon of tama touching and connecting fun would be passed along to Natalie's other Circles being led by Minato, Sanada, Kouji, and Number 19 Ikki.

The elevator trip up to the apartment while feigning unconsciousness and being carried in Cash's strong arms felt heavenly to Riko. Her day long mood of morose depression was rapidly dissipating also. Natalie's new but age old feminine strategy of the wounded and pitiful damsel in distress to break past Cash's built up antagonism, unhappiness, and distrust towards Riko seemed to have worked well here in phase one. Hopefully this could be the relationship reboot she needed. Why hadn't she thought to try this old ploy much earlier on her own and saved herself a lot of grief? No doubt about it. This new approach suggested by Natalie felt great!

"All right Natalie!" Cash growled peevishly as the arrival tone sounded and the elevator doors slid open. Riko winced internally at his tone, and her heart fell, but she kept her eyes tightly closed. This wasn't going to be pretty. He hadn't been fooled at all!

"Per our agreements, which you have just admitted to overstepping and will pay for, tell me everything you are doing AND planning to do in complete and total detail, but just forget about me leading a bunch of loons, kooks, clowns, oddballs, and phony fainting Sekirei into battle against MBI! Never gonna happen. And you and my Sekirei better quit screwing around behind my back, playing emotional games with my life, and jerking me around with little setups like these. I really don't like it, and it's not a winning strategy for you to get a dream date with me at all, got it? Now, everything you're doing and planning to do, or all dream dates and formal marriage will be put on a very long hold. When you are ready to be totally open and honest with me, and STAY that way, you may begin."


	23. Chapter 23

**The Game Changer**

**Chapter 23 – Game Moods, Trade Offs**

There was a very subdued, yin and yang mood in Kazehana's apartment after dinner, almost like the locker room climate just before a very big ballgame in which the team knew they were starting their worst pitcher, or, perhaps more accurately, after a very hard fought victory that had seen the team's star player seriously injured. Trade offs in victories and losses like these had pretty much been the normal high/low mix for Cash growing up. A guy could make ninety great pitches in a game, be within one pitch of being a hero, hang a fat slider, and instantly become the game's goat as the ball got creamed over the left field wall for a game winning home run. Later, teammates would then congratulate the pitcher on such a great effort overall, but shake their heads at the loss that should have been a win. On the other hand, maybe that fat pitch got caught by the team's superstar left fielder who leaped at the last second to snag it and then fell awkwardly to tear a ligament in his knee and be out for the season. The game had been won, but there wasn't much team happiness in the locker room afterward.

Cash always thought of it as the yin and yang of being a dedicated athlete, but he'd found it had applied to everything else, especially his stunted social and now very abnormal love life, an ongoing mix of emotional harmonious disharmony that usually left him feeling like a complete fool. Such was the current atmosphere in Kazehana's apartment since most of the day's tumultuous problems had been more or less solved, but Cash knew he had managed to alienate his alien females, his alien womb ship, and his half alien/half nuts Mother in the process.

Cash and his five "connected" Sekirei had settled in for the evening and back into a semblance of their much calmer harmony of the night previous. This consisted of Cash's alien females hopefully/contritely sitting around the apartment's great room waiting to be praised for defeating the Virgin Petal's moves and also explain why they had aided Riko and Natalie's small fainting plot. Both were on hold as they anxiously listened to Cash's side of a now ongoing mental war with Natalie.

The back and forth arguing had gotten so intense that Cash had forgotten to squirt cheez whiz on his peanut butter sandwich and only put two teaspoons of sugar into his tiny cup of hot green tea during the late snack he was sharing at the kitchen table with Kazehana. Still clad in their new battle uniforms, the emotions of Cash's five Sekirei alternated between feelings of gloom and doom for what he would say to them after the big argument was over, hopefulness that their wedding ceremony would still somehow happen tonight, unhappiness at the way Cash's mother being upset was affecting him, and the upbeat yin feeling that the cagey Natalie might still somehow get them all out of Cash's stressed out doghouse. Right now it seemed like the darker side of yang's disharmony might be winning.

On the other hand, there had been some other positive notes at the end of their weird day to also ease the gloomier side of things in the apartment. Courtesy of Miya's cooking talents, every visiting Sekirei and their Ashikabi had been served an armoracia salad, beef curry, rice, and sukiyaki with hot tea. The buffet style meal in the penthouse ballroom was pretty much a simple friendly affair denoted by dessert as nothing more than several open bags of Hello Panda and Pocky sweet biscuits. Cash had watched in renewed awe at every Sekirei's ability to really pack away the groceries as everything was eaten down to the last crumb and the serving bowls licked clean by poor Takamo Kouji's still semi starved Circle.

Brief plans had then been made to find a safe and larger place to congregate very soon for developing a strategy to thwart Minaka's Sekirei Plan, and then Cash's Prime Circle had retired for the night. Miya, Karasuba, and Riko, studiously avoiding a still troubled looking Cash's attention and wisely staying away from him, had each eaten twice as much as anyone else, taken quick hot baths, and then simply collapsed in exhaustion onto hastily arranged futons in the far corner of the apartment's great room.

Sayomi's still rather aloof Virgin Petals had then very pragmatically moved Mutsu, Yukari, and Shiina into the empty two bedroom apartment down the hall, arranged a quick lease with the building managers, and had more furniture delivered along with enough food and needed paraphernalia to set up hasty but still rather luxurious housekeeping. Sayomi had then arranged for a massive food delivery to Takamo Kouji's small apartment near the University also. It seemed that Sayomi's boast of unlimited and immediate funding being at her discretion during her Petal pursuit of Prime Pillar status was very accurate. Kazehana had silently viewed the Petal group's departure with outwardly smiling good will and thanking their generosity, but internally she was still a little steamed at their social climbing arrogance and temerity in trying to steal Cash from his Sekirei.

Later, watching five highly excited and now colorfully uniformed Sekirei Circles and Ashikabi don their new Karasu battle suits, activate their detection cloaking, and head home to try "crest ecstasy" and "connecting" had been in some ways a wistful moment for a now depressed feeling Kazehana. Even Minato's warm assurances that he was very happy for her and was wishing her well in her new relationship didn't relieve the emotional slump that had hit after Cash had given her such a gentle, loving, yet chiding look for joining Natalie's attempt to "reboot" Riko's bonding to her very wary Ashikabi. To Kazehana it felt like she had faced another test to "woman up" for her man and had failed miserably. She could sense that her four connected Sisters now lounging around the apartment's great room and conversing in low tones more or less felt the same way.

Sitting across from Cash at the kitchen table and fighting another strong internal urge to flee and find a few bottles of any kind of properly chilled booze, Kazehana cradled a cup of hot and sweetened green tea while listening to Cash argue quietly with Natalie as he looked absently at the wall beside him. She reviewed her years of going where she had wanted in the world, doing whatever had caught her fancy, shopping, partying, and dancing in all the big time hot nightspots while looking for and failing to find that "perfect" partner. It had always resulted in constantly drinking herself into a pain easing stupor afterward.

Those totally wasted years had not prepared her for a deep and solid relationship with Cash Joseph Archer at all. That dogged quest for another man to fill the heartache in her life had not only been a total failure, it hadn't taught her how to be married. Her returning to Tokyo some years ago, more hopeless, heavily drinking, and getting a somewhat false start with Minato, also hadn't taught her a damn thing about maintaining the hot acceptance and closeness she had found in Cash Joseph Archer's intensely resonating mind and heart. Her wasted years and efforts only made her feel like she didn't deserve him.

On the other hand, during her wandering, pain filled years, everything Kazehana had observed about the multitudes of interested male humans around her and the way she had always been treated as either ego building eye candy or as a convenient brief fling had simply not been true of her Cash Lover. Not once, until Cash had re-winged her, had any man, not even Minato, really ever taken her completely serious as a possible life companion for total emotional, physical, and intellectual intimacy, let alone to expect open and completely trusting honesty in their romantic relationship. Now her once in a lifetime bonded dream man had, and with him, a very intense reality had also surfaced.

All of her somewhat girlish imagery and fantasies of sweet romantic love conquering all had now found a very hard truth to face. Long lasting and deep committed love to the man of her dreams took constant work, open communication, and understanding; even more when her well intentioned efforts to please and help them both overcome difficulties without him knowing the plan had met with decidedly mixed results. Yes, he could be a bit of a hot tempered ass and do and say dumb things, but what man wasn't and didn't? It was forgivable because of how much he was willing to overlook in her flawed character. When Karasuba had said that Cash had fooled her with how much was actually going on in that closed brain behind those smiling blue eyes of his, Kazehana had mentally agreed, but she hadn't really thought about how that even more deeply applied to herself. Cash Lover was MUCH deeper emotionally than she and her Sisters had suspected, even Natalie, and he was trusting Kazehana completely to share that depth, more than any other female in his life.

Kazehana took a cautious sip of her hot tea and let out a sigh. She had been very smugly congratulating herself on the way her Circle had solved Cash's Virgin Petal problem and at the same time gained two potentially very powerful additions to Natalie's desired Sekirei battle platoon. Trying to aid Riko just a little hadn't seemed all that important compared to those either, but it had been a major blunder on her part. The main problem was that everything had all been done without consulting Cash or even keeping him in their decision making loop during the process. Even at that he wouldn't have objected except that he just wasn't the kind of guy that liked getting made to dance like a puppet on anybody's strings, especially Riko's. Who really did? Instead he had been purposefully manipulated out of the way, made a central public player in Riko's phony fainting ploy, and had his Mother greatly upset by Sayomi's actions without him getting a chance for soothing the way back home first.

Kazehana could very clearly feel that Cash wasn't all that unhappy with the way things had worked out with Sayomi's group, nor surprisingly with an "expecting the absolute worst" Riko either. However, he was very unhappy that his Mother had been so crudely hurt in the process. His Circle had expected a total angry meltdown from their Ashikabi once they had all returned to their apartment, but Cash's Sekirei and even Riko had gotten surprised.

With Kazehana leaping up the back stairs with her four Sisters to meet him when the elevator opened and all standing silently to one side in hopes of interceding on Riko's behalf, Cash had simply opened the apartment door and placed his "swooned" problem on the apartment couch. Riko had kept her eyes squeezed tightly shut while trying desperately to think of something to say and deflect his wrath, but Cash had simply and modestly covered her exposed panties and thighs with her long uniform cloak. Standing, he then told her to rest because he could sense that she was incredibly tired and calmly promised that he would talk with her about their situation very soon, perhaps tomorrow when they both were in better moods and had rested. This would also give them both time to think, and some thought was needed on both their parts as they had a lot of baggage that needed sorted through.

Cash had also very simply and calmly said, much to Riko's chagrin, that he still had very major problems with the way she had miserably dogged him around from the first, jerked him around against his will, assumed a public status as "betrothed" against his will, repeatedly stolen money from him for her own usage, blackmailed him on national TV, made him look like a fool time and time again in public, broke her several promises to control her childish temper and unwarranted jealousy around him and his Sekirei, and endangered thousands of peoples' lives and his Sekirei in screwball juvenile plots to get herself into his bonded group. On top of that, he had always sensed a closed mindedness about her that had made him very reluctant to want her around him and trust her very flawed efforts to make amends, let alone trust her to not hurt his Sekirei or be involved in his life long term. Riko's muted response had simply been a very subdued and pleading apology while fighting back tears from the hard truths of his complaints against her.

Again, surprisingly, Cash had calmly admitted that from the first maybe he hadn't been all that understanding of Riko's alien hard wired instincts, emotions, and possibly well intentioned motives, nor very patient with her underdeveloped social skills, but on the other hand, he was pretty new to dealing with any female, and especially extraterrestrial females, desiring him in general and female Sekirei bonding in the specific. He also freely admitted to being a total social clod himself. He had been pretty much an epic failure in every female relationship in his life until now too, let alone trying to do justice in his sudden and deep commitments to love starved and very emotional alien bird women with unbelievable superpowers. He felt like he was playing way out of his league here and hadn't really gotten a good handle on any of the basic skills to make his Sekirei really happy, nor had Riko's constant "wannabe stalking girlfriend from hell" routine endeared herself to him from the first.

So maybe they had to cut each other a little slack, maybe a lot, but, he warned, love grew but trust was earned and not to be taken lightly by trying any more screwy drama scenes or endangering anyone. He understood he would have to keep her around just for her to stay alive because she couldn't be re-winged by another Ashikabi. He wanted her to live, but that didn't mean they would be intimate in any fashion. Sex without love he just didn't need or want at all. Love without trust was something he would never be willing to give or even endure. If they couldn't build trust, then they would just have to settle for a much more distant, polite, and platonic type of relationship; distant as say, him in Springfield and her in Hong Kong.

Riko had very hesitantly asked if they could maybe start over, start over completely, and once more Cash had surprised them all by shrugging and saying that maybe they could. The only questions were could she be trusted not to revert to what she had been to date, accept the fact he was not some white shining knight in some fairy tale romance of rescue and happy ever after, fit in with the rest of his Sekirei, and let him be a somewhat flawed and imperfect ballplayer free to make up his own mind about anything that mattered to him? After all, if every female had the right to be a little bitchy and change their minds a lot, didn't a guy have the right to be a total jackass once in a while too? When she was ready to openly and honestly discuss these things, then he would give her the same courtesy in return.

Cash Lover's last words to Riko before leaving her on the couch was squarely where they had all flopped today, Kazehana winced internally. The problem for his Sekirei now was that Cash's very stubborn desire for openness and honesty between them, especially her, had been abused. Also, his deep trust to not be emotionally manipulated by his "connected' Sekirei had been broken, again. These were things Kazehana had never really cared about or even dealt with much in her former life's relationships. Men had only been intent on getting her bountiful bosom exposed and panties off. There had been no demand for her honesty and emotional depth in their attempts at doing so either. Perhaps that was why she had simply dismissed them all with a wave of her hand, some flying further than others, and she had kept on searching.

Kazehana had never really been in a serious committed relationship other than her very brief and totally unsatisfying attempt with Minato. Neither had any of her Sisters other than Miya, and Miya had been a giant, fatal, ongoing epic fail with openness and honesty in the past, so much so that Takehito had died because of her failures and a long and vicious war had started with Karasuba. More saki binge drinking wasn't going to help this kind of unhappiness either, Kazehana thought miserably. The fact was that her initial cloud re-winging and subsequent connecting ecstasy with Cash had come with a very deep, internal question of her ability to form a really solid and forever type of relationship with him. Here was the yin and yang of life cropping up again, and now it had focused on her high/low emotional capacity to handle a failure without trying to climb into another saki bottle. The answer was something had to be done to restore Cash's delicate trust in her now, but what? She couldn't just sit here numbly, listen to him argue with Natalie, and drink tea either. She needed help. Maybe Natalie could ... Wait. What had he just said to Natalie?

"Natalie, today was supposed to be my wedding day! Just who hurt my Rose and screwed that up so royally? That's right! You! I AM blaming you! And your constant damn sneaking around after you agree to be totally open and honest with me and then aren't. That's what screwed you up in my dreams last night! Well of course I can sense it! My folks back home have the same damn slippery spots in their minds that's hiding what they really think all the time! I grew up with it! Oh, so now you're sorry, but you're still not being totally open to me, and you're STILL trying badger me into something I think is really dumb without our discussing it."

Cash lapsed into a long, patiently listening silence.

"Hey, now dammit, I've already apologized twice for losing my temper down there, but will you please try to understand how I FEEL? And don't I have the same right to my own feelings in our relationship too? Well, maybe, just maybe, I know my limitations! I'm highly trained to play baseball and specialized in relief pitching with nothing more than a general high school diploma. I have no education, training, experience, or desire to lead a kindergarten class on an expedition to find their lunch boxes, let alone a bunch of endangered aliens I don't know into a pitched battle against MBI and its armed forces. Hell, I've never really met and talked to very many Sekirei and don't know most of their names! I don't even know what most of your Sekirei can do other than I'm sure they could all kick my ass in two seconds or less and eat enough to make a sumo wrestler look like he was on a small snack diet. There's nothing, and I mean zilch, zero, nada, in my life that qualifies me to make command decisions for them. I really suck at playing checkers and chess for Pete's sakes! I always lose in Parcheesi! No guild wanted me for World of War Craft 22 either! I suck at war games worse than chess! I play baseball! That's it! No war games! What do you mean they're all MY Sekirei now too? I NEVER agreed to be Papa to your children! Oh, so now I'm going to marry five of my KIDS, and you think that's great? That's just sick!"

Another long silence.

"Okay, look, just forget all the emotional type pleading, histrionics, and trying to play on my sympathies. It won't work, and I'm tired of trying to sort through all your emotional bullshit to get down to hard realities here. Name one solid, realistic fact that enables a totally inexperienced and social clod like ME to lead YOUR Sekirei into a war with MBI that doesn't get us and a lot of other innocent people in Japan killed? Battle group meshing? Sekirei can mesh powers and make bigger weapons when I tell them too? Oh sure. Right, and even if this were true since I've never seen it, and not that it really makes any difference, wouldn't that have been a handy little piece of information that you could have given me right away when you first began dinging me to be your battle leader? I mean, that's like telling me to go pinch hit in a crucial game in the bottom of the ninth inning when I'm the lousiest hitter on the team and you haven't even given me a bat! There's no way! C'mon, Natalie. Quit jerking me around now with more made up bullshit, will ya? I'm just a minor league ballplayer and not a very good one at that! Just admit with me that I'm in way over my head here and deal with it!"

Kazehana's phone rang. It was Natalie.

"Kazehana! I need your help!" Natalie's tinny voice had a tinge of extreme urgency mixed with tearful remorse. "You must explain what a Sekirei battle group is and what it's power can be to Cash Darling! He doesn't know! He doesn't know or believe that my children can mesh their powers to form new and stronger ones either! Show him! He has the abilities to lead us too! I know he does! And he doesn't trust me to tell him the truth because I've been too sneaky in trying to get our battle group formed for him to lead! Please help us! Help ME! There isn't much time!"

"Uhhh, okay, I'll, I'll try," Kazehana whispered doubtfully before hanging up and listening closely to Cash's end of his mental conversation with Natalie. How was she going to get him to listen to her when she had been sneaky with him today too? And how was Natalie gonna be of any help when she was asking Kazehana to help her? On the other hand, if this could be sorted out, maybe she could still get married? Tonight?

"Well, yeah I got good grades, but so what, Natalie? How's that going to help defend you? High marks in high school chemistry, math, phys ed, home economics, and physics does NOT qualify me as a five star general! It only means I can follow a recipe to bake a pie without falling down and burning it! Oh, don't be silly! Well, yes, I FEEL that you are. Because no matter what, I still have a right to my feelings, remember? Okay, then you've just said you've made a big mistake in choosing me as your Prime Leader. That's not what I said, dammit! It's the damn command position you're trying make me function in that I object to, not your bonding with me! Besides, didn't you tell me in the beginning that I wouldn't have to do anything except keep you from being alone? There was no talk of me being made a womb Papa back then or since either, let alone a Ming the Merciless galactic battle type! Yes, I want you safe, but what in the hell makes you think I could win a war of tiddly winks let alone protect you! Kazehana's help? Yes, I trust her to do what's best for you and me. And just how is Kazehana going to do that? What do you mean her experience?"

Cash's head and eyes turned to look at Kazehana with a slightly troubled expression. She bit her lower lip and winced again as she dropped her head. Lover was going to learn the details about her too bloody past as well as Miya and Karasuba's. This was going to be even more depressing. Forget the wedding too.

"First Disciplinary Squad? The five of them led by Miya? Invasions by who? How many? I see, and the five of them killed how many? Well, the first question I have is why? Are you sure there were no other alternatives before the attacks started? No one did any negotiating ahead of time? Well, why not? Oh, so it's always been wholesale killing first, and maybe oops, so sorry sometime later to all the widows and kids the invaders left back home, huh? Now see, there is where I got a huge problem with all this MBI crap. Other than your weapon systems, just what technology do you have that can't be shared openly with the whole world? Well, what stopped anybody from faxing all that to every country so it couldn't be monopolized by any one of them? Then there's no reason for anyone to fight over it. Why wouldn't that be a viable strategy today? Hell, let 'em all take tours inside you, and YOUR Sekirei can keep them away from your weapons while they're there. They won't need to analyze pieces of your hull if you just give them the building specs. Okay, well, then just set a time in the future when your anti-matter technology could be released safely. So? Fine, if they don't cooperate we go to Plan B. Then maybe my initial and strong desires to just get you free from that island and go hide someplace isn't so dumb then? Sure. We'll just keep moving until they quit chasing or hide well enough we can't be found."

Cash nodded to himself and then shrugged as he turned back to look at the wall.

"Okay, okay, I'll talk to them all, tell them how you FEEL and how I FEEL. Yes, I'll introduce myself and talk to Mutsu too. I didn't say that. There's no reason why you shouldn't set up a viable defense system right now or even before now either. Okay, have your battle platoon practice maneuvers together, but just don't expect me to lead them. No, I don't object. Why should I? I know folks can be unreasonable assholes, and countries too, but see, why were these even goals you thought you had to sneak around to accomplish? Well, that was a very bad assumption on your part. Okay, if that happens and we absolutely have to fight, then we'll fight. I just think that we should explore all other options first, see? Wholesale, immediate, and preemptive slaughter of an enemy just doesn't have to be at the very top of your defense plans. No dammit! That kind of thinking still doesn't make me a battle leader, Natalie. No, I won't lead them. I'd get us all killed, for Pete's sakes! That's why! Fine, then let Mutsu do it! Well, fine again! If that's the way you FEEL now, then why didn't you make him your Prime Leader in the first place? What? What did Miya's flawed bonding with me have to do with that? Shared how?"

A long silence ensued as Cash simply closed his eyes and folded his arms in patient long suffering. Kazehana looked up and tried to sense with her mind what Natalie was saying or doing but couldn't. She could probably guess that Natalie was weeping in a very pitiful fashion.

"No, I know that I am bonded to you completely separate from Miya now. Yes, completely, and please stop crying. It feels phony," Cash spoke suddenly and firmly enough to make Kazehana flinch. "Because I can't really tell if it's genuine or fake just like the way my women folks bawl all the time back home, that's why. Then why can I plainly see that you still got slippery spots hiding stuff between us? Listen, I want you to always be my Sekirei, Natalie. Yes, always. Okay, yes, I was being an ass and shouldn't have said that about Mutsu, but I just want you to be open and honest with me all the time, and you just haven't been up to now. And why not? What's so damn hard about it?"

Kazehana sighed again as if he was speaking directly to her.

"Well, open up, stop trying to jerk me around ahead of time, and we'll work on these problems together. Okay, if that fails, then I'll come out there and take my chances with you. I'll do what I can in your army as a simple recruit, not a commander. Yes, really, because I've made the commitment and want you to love me. You're mine now and love grows, Natalie. Besides, I've already gave you my word as an honorable guy, and quite frankly you're too important to the future of this planet to simply be handed over to a madman bent on destruction. That's right, I'll risk it. If we go down, we'll go down together, Natalie. Til death do us part. That's human marriage. Yes it is, isn't it? I happen to think it can be very, very beautiful if you'd just give it a chance and stop being so damn sneaky! It's okay. I understand it's hard. Well, trust is a two way street, and you still feel a lot like Karasuba and Miya to me that's why. No, of course I don't trust them, or Riko either. Why should I? They all got a little slippery part of them that they keep hidden from me, just like you do."

"We're going to try starting over, I guess. That's the best I can come up with for right now, but we'll see how it goes, okay? All three can hang around, but that doesn't mean I have to be a phony. No, I'm not going to start over with you, but I really don't want us bound up with agreements and clauses like two legal beagles dancing around each other all the time either, do you? I know. I'm sorry too. No, I don't know most of your children at all or their names, so I shouldn't have called them kooks and clowns either. I was wrong, and I'm sorry I hurt your feelings with that circus remark, but your constant nagging and sneakiness upsets me, and I've had a very lousy, stressful day. No, you were right to call me that. I know I can be an ass at times. Yes, I'll listen very carefully to what Kazehana has to say, always. I love her, Natalie, and I'll love you the same way if you'll let me."

Cash turned to give Kazehana a questioning look that she read as wanting her to acknowledge that he had just said that he loved her. She sent him an apologetic nod and half smile in return before dropping her head and shoulders in self disappointment. He was also forgiving her without a word being spoken, and she didn't deserve it.

"What? Meet you? I guess so. Sure, why not? Yes, I do want to see your situation on the island. We're not doing anything tomorrow that I know about. A sleep over? You got room and facilities? I'll talk about it with Kazehana first. No, no dream date tonight. I want you to focus on getting free of Kamakura Island. Research the feasibility of building rock cutting and drilling robots, maybe heating and freezing the surrounding rocks to weaken them, acidic action, or even controlled blasting, whatever it takes, and then we'll see what talents your Sekirei can try to use too.

"You feel better? Good, now that's the kind of talk I like to hear. No, no dream date tonight, and don't start nagging me about it. Because I'm not going to be very receptive after all your constant nagging today, making me talk in public like an idiot, and still being sneaky too. No, because I'm not going to reward your underhanded behavior, that's why. There's always going to be a penalty for that crap when you pull it. We need to work on it to be really close like we should be. I do forgive you, but let's make our first date the best it can be, okay? Just trust me for once on something, will ya? It'll be better if we wait. Okay. I'm going to talk to my Rose now, and I don't want you interrupting. Just hush and listen. You can talk to her all you want later if SHE agrees to it. Yes, it's called free will, and it's very precious to most folks, including me. No, I'm going to talk to all three of them when I'm in a more calmer mood also, okay? Yes, even Riko. No, they're tired and sleeping. Tomorrow will be a better day, okay? I know, and I'm really glad that you love me."

Cash shook his head slightly and turned to see that Uzume, Himeko, Akitsu, and Toyotama were all silently looking at him from their seats in the great room with slightly wounded and apologetic looks. He gave Kazehana another brief glance and saw that she still had her head down and shoulders slumped. Clearly he would have to get all this negativity dealt with before he would be in any mood or shape to call his Mother and reassure her that he and his Sekirei weren't headed out of the solar system tonight or any other night. Cash smiled wanly to himself as that thought struck him as oddly funny. He hated heights. Besides, there was just too much baseball that had to be played here on Earth. And a wedding to attend.

"Lover, I'm so sorry," Kazehana was now looking at him with tears in her eyes. "There's so much about me and my past that I'm so ashamed about, and, and it makes me want to get a bottle and just crawl away and hide! And, not letting you know what we were doing today and, and working behind your back was just so stupid of me! I KNEW better too! I could feel it! The way you looked at me after we helped Riko put on her act! You were so disappointed in us!"

"Well, I was wrong to do that, and I'm sorry sweetheart," Cash sighed and then smiled at her. "But it's all right now. That actually made a great excuse to get away from all that chaos down there. And I'm really grateful for the way you handled our Virgin Petal problem and Natalie's concerns too. You did great, all of you. And you looked damn sexy doing it too, even Riko. I could sense right away that all those other Circles were very jealous of us."

"Husband," Akitsu called softly as she stood from her seat on the couch and took a few steps towards the open kitchen area. There was a thoughtful look in her facial expression, and her head was cocked slightly sideways as if she were listening to something no one else could hear.

"You were not wrong to feel disappointed in us. I too sensed inside that we should have included you in our plans. You have, ummm, ways of sensing and feeling about situations, Sekirei, and humans that are better than ours. We need to learn to trust your instincts and not be so quick to think ours are superior when we don't agree. Just as you were right about rejecting Miya, Karasuba, and Riko after that Tokyo Dome disaster even when we pressured you so strongly and thought you were wrong."

Cash gave her a searching look. Maybe his matrimonial commitment of love to her in their bath together this morning superseded a formal wedding tea ceremony tonight? Would the others be content with that too? It was also good to see the light of serious intelligence now shining in Kitty's luminous gray eyes, an intense spark of life that she had been missing before her dented mind had been fixed. Her insight on his supposedly "better" instincts seemed a little off since his flawed reasoning and stubbornly rejecting feelings had almost killed three of her Sisters. There would have been real misery with his remaining five now if that had happened, not to mention Natalie going bat cave crazy on him for the rest of his life. As far as his situational awareness instincts, if he was supposedly so good at it, why hadn't he simply obeyed his inner man and run before that clown had shoved the evil smelling fish in his face on national TV, let alone jumped the first plane home the day Riko had invaded his "Shinto Dawn" rooftop painting session? That would have saved everybody a lot of grief and tears, not to mention an embarrassing hot load of barf on that clown's suit.

"No!" Akitsu's eyes narrowed as she almost barked at him. Cash, even though sitting several feet away, flinched at her suddenly vehement demeanor. "Running would have been bad! We NEEDED you! Natalie needed you too! We all need you now! I need you! Karasuba's emotional imbalance HAS to be fixed too, just like you fixed my brain! So does Miya and Riko and Natalie's too, but they each have to WANT to be fixed! You've given them the chance when no other man could or would!"

_"WHAT?"_ Natalie shouted at Cash in his mind loud enough for Kazehana to tune in. _"She thinks I NEED fixed? For what? The NERVE! You tell that lame brain that I'm very, very, very ..."_

"Natalie, hush up!" Cash squeezed his eyes shut in pain while gripping his forehead with his left hand, "Give me a break here, and think! Maybe she's sensing something that you and I have overlooked and have to immediately address, okay? Can you at least run a complete diagnostic on your emotional circuits before coming unglued? Then we can talk about it when I come out to visit. Okay, just calm down, and do as I ask. Yes, I know you're a very highly and sophisticated work of construction art and not simply glued together. I was speaking metaphorically, okay? I'm sure you're very beautiful, now will you please hush and let me talk to my sweethearts?"

"Wow," Kazehana blinked in surprise at the strength of Natalie's outburst. "She isn't that loud all the time, is she? Of course not. This is the first time I've heard her. I think maybe Aki-chan is on to something here. As insane as Karasuba had become, it would take something really drastic like almost dying of rejection to get her trying to be sane again, and maybe Miya and Riko too."

"I wasn't trying to do that by putting them aside," Cash sighed while shaking his head. "I just wanted you five to be safe, and I thought the other three could be happier and live without me. I was dead wrong about all of it, and quite frankly, my sneaky Natalie has saved everybody's bacon here, so don't be thinking I'm any kind of super sensitive psyche fixing guru. I grew up in the Asshole of the Midwest for Pete's sakes! And I was the class joke every year I was in school until I graduated too. I rated about one point higher than a big bag of beef jerky as a potential prom date."

"The biggest jerk and wind bag I know is Mutsu," Himeko scoffed in derision, "and he makes you look like sweet little Oliver Twist in comparison. Be careful of Muts, My Love. He's an overly ambitious ass."

"Muts is a REAL jackass, all right," Toyotama agreed while rolling her eyes, "and full of total bull too. All that seeking of wisdom and truth crap has turned his ego into over inflated tripe. He'd be better off if somebody dried his beef out a little and shriveled him down to size, and so would everyone around him."

"Well, I love jerked beef. Take me on a prom date!" Uzume grinned as she too stood up and gave Cash a hot speculative look in an area that indicated just what kind of beef she was thinking of jerking in the very near future.

"Cash Lover," Kazehana leaned back in her chair and put one hand behind her head while staring at him with hungry, challenging eyes. She didn't need chilled saki, Kazehana had just realized. She needed hot loving. "If I could change my lousy past, and could have gone to your high school, we'd never even made it to the prom. Don't sell your instincts short either. Aki-chan is right."

Smiling silently in resignation, Cash stood up and moved around behind the still seated Kazehana, leaned down to put his arms around her, and laid his left temple on the top of her head. He let his mind sink down their mental connection and caress hers. After a silent second or two, he used his left hand to push her cooling cup of tea aside, physically caress her neck, and then slide his palm down to her sensitive Sekirei crest between her shoulder blades. She stiffened as his intimate touch and warm thoughts made her catch her breath in pleasure.

"It seems to me," Cash whispered while opening his mind even wider to her and letting more warm loving feelings flow into hers and down into her tama, "that I'm the luckiest dumb ass that ever hated the smell of little salted fish on a pizza. And don't worry about your past or mine either. All that is done and can't be undone. If it could be, then I've made one hell of a lot of mistakes I'd like to do over, most of 'em fast balls up and out over the plate that got drilled for extra bases more often than I care to think about. We won't even talk about my many other failures either. We'll do better together now, and from now on, okay hot stuff? What say we take this over to the couch, and the five of us can sit down together, discuss everything that happened today very rationally, then kiss and make up one by one. Then you can all help me figure out exactly what to say when I call my Mother in the morning, introduce my five loves to her, and let her know we're not immediately headed out to colonize planet Kepler 22-b without saying goodbye. Wait a minute. Am I seeing a beautiful fiance that REALLY still wants to get married tonight too? How about it?"

"I'd say that I'm so lucky to love you, and that I'm the real dumb ass here," Kazehana chuckled wistfully in return as she stood up and turned into him for a longing hug. She fit her head into the hollow between his neck and shoulders while sighing in regret. "I made a promise to Karasuba that none of us would have sex with you tonight so Little CJ could be interested in her tomorrow morning. I want a long honeymoon with my marriage."

Cash raised her chin and kissed her very tenderly. It made Kazehana's left leg automatically curl up behind her and her very large rose red wings pulse into existence as instant heat waved through her body. Within a heartbeat or two, Uzume was on his left and Akitsu on his right with Himeko hugging him from behind. Toyotama elbowed Himeko to one side to gain room in the group hug too. The six of them stood like that for several seconds and let their warm emotions merge through each other by Akitsu's empathic power surging through Cash's "connection" with each one. He saw that they all still wanted to do the three tea cup wedding ceremony tonight.

"Now see," Cash smiled into Kazehana's now brightly dancing and yet still sultry looking eyes. "I love you for being open and honest about your promise to Karasuba, but since I wasn't in on it when it was made, I'm not bound by it, now am I? It is now null and void by my very limited power as your soon to be formal husband. I want a much longer and more relaxed type of honeymoon, but since Kitty and Smitty got their cookies earlier today, maybe tonight would still be a great night for me to do a little more work on helping you kick that saki problem of yours if you'd like to try. Call it punishment for being so naughty to me today, okay? Then maybe Himeko would like a little time together in some soft candlelight to be properly admonished for her part in Riko's phony fainting act too. I'm thinking Little CJ might be in a Julius Lex world conquering mood after we drink our tea and make our wedding vows."

"Oh! YES! Marry us now!" Himeko hot breath blew across the back of Cash's neck. "And, and, a proper honey moon can wait, but I certainly need to be PROPERLY admonished by Julius tonight! Ummmmm!"

"Whoa, I've been bad also, Master! I need further correction! You should spork me again after we're married!"

"Husband, I'm just as guilty! I too deserve your deepest reprimand as well as a longer honeymoon!" Akitsu wiggled her shoulders to bury his right bicep in between her fabulous assets and made Cash happily nod at her inserting assertion.

"Hey! I'll wait for a proper honeymoon!" Uzume pouted immediately while using an insistent battle veil to gently turn his head towards her while mashing her luscious twins into his left side. "But how come everybody gets a turn or sporked today but me? That's not fair Joe! Shouldn't I at least get some kind of stiff rebuke for helping Riko too? And maybe we can practice a little more for when we do honeymoon?"

"I was going to ask you to help me take a bath before our wedding ceremony," Cash said innocently as he comically waggled his eyebrows at Uzume in a lewd fashion, "since we're both still kind of sweaty from playing catch and smelling rather White Castle gamy again. That definitely needs a penalty of some kind, right?"

The subdued mood in the apartment immediately switched to a more rowdy, cackling, hooting, and happy gurgling laughter as Uzume punched his shoulder in playful anger while calling him an insensitive jerk on her wedding night. That laughter ceased when Kazehana authoritatively announced that after their wedding tea ceremony her Sisters were just gonna have to wait their turns. As their Pillar, SHE had first dibs because Cash hadn't really seen the "naughty" side of her that needed to be disciplined yet, but he was going to while she practiced for her real honeymoon tonight. The yin and yang of female mood swings immediately surfaced since Cash's other four "connected " Sekirei were totally elated to be getting married, but in no subdued mood to be unfairly outranked in the bedroom by their older and bolder Sister.

***scene break***

An awakened, irritable, and totally famished Mutsu settled into a much better mood after his fourth large bowl of rice mixed with cubed Kobe beef, shitake mushrooms, steamed broccoli, various delicate spices, and some kind of oddly sweetened Teriyaki sauce. The expensive saki that had been served with his hot meal, a 5k yen per 1.8 liter bottle, had been chilled just the way he liked it too. The pre-meal light side salad with a ginger based dressing followed by king crab tempura, shumai, and sashimi appetizers had also been delicious. The very large bedroom illuminated by muted wall lighting appeared to be quite expensively decorated. It had deep, plush, burgundy colored carpeting and heavy dark velvet curtains extending across one whole window wall to his left. A large walk in closet next to an even larger looking attached bathroom indicated that they were in a very upscale apartment complex, and the digital clock on the 3D TV in the far corner informed him that it was just a few minutes before midnight. He briefly wondered what day it would be, and then decided it didn't matter. The fact that he was awake, healed, fed, still free, and comfortably resting in the lap of what he considered rather low luxury meant that he had successfully eluded any follow up from Minaka's attacks.

The young Japanese woman quietly moving to attend to him wore a traditional, long sleeved, yellow silk kimono that had intricate black floral designs. The dress was belted by a wide, black silk obi. It was the kind of attire that denoted an unmarried woman. She was quite pleasing to look at and yet thankfully silent as Mutsu contemplated his present situation. Obviously Shiina had gotten him and Yukari to Himeko and had arranged for healing, some rather common food, plebeian shelter, and yet adequately skilled servants. The young changeling had most probably contacted Mikogami and gotten the wealthy Ashikabi to somewhat hastily organize Mutsu's recovery care, or perhaps had asked Cash Archer, Himeko's new Ashikabi, to come to Mutsu's assistance since he was now resting in such common surrounds. Either way, the youngster Shiina had done well under stressful circumstances and must be complimented.

Mutsu let his mind roam his near surroundings. Shiina was indeed close by, but seemed to be very peacefully sleeping with several emotionally satisfied females as was his Ashikabi, Minato's younger sister. The powerful changeling had an odd, glowing, satiated aura about him also, one very similar to Mikogami after a long night of rutting with Ikki. Several alert minds, seven to be exact, in a nearby room were also present but very strangely and tightly cloaked for human females. A small amount of nervous excitement tinged the upper bandwidths in a few as if they were waiting on the arrival of someone, but Mutsu read absolutely no hostility or adversarial feelings in any of them. The lone, kimono clad female servant in the bedroom didn't broadcast nervousness or excitement at all, but did seem to share some kind of calm linkage with the others in the next rooms.

He wasn't particularly concerned if there had been hostile intentions towards him since his left hand gripped his sword, and he could sense his Earth based power was available through the bedrock that sustained the heavy concrete construction of the building. He had killed thousands unaided with just his weapon and mind in the past. There was nothing here he needed to fear. On the other hand, perhaps he should be polite and inquire as to who the nervously waiting females were and what they were waiting upon. Minaka was clever enough to lay a trap too. It was possible that they could be simple minions being used by MBI to lull his attention away from an impending attack from another direction.

"Woman," Mutsu said softly to the young female in the yellow kimono, "what is the reason for your friends' emotional excitement in the next room? Are they contemplating visitors arriving from MBI to apprehend me?"

"No, my lord," Sayomi bowed deeply at the pleasing baritone of his voice. "They are your other handmaids simply awaiting my lord's arrival in their midst should you feel well enough to arise and meet them. MBI is totally unaware of your whereabouts. You were brought here through a secure entrance from the subway system of Tokyo to the Prime Leader and his Lead Pillar's apartment for healing and recovery. They arranged for your wounds to be surgically closed, your blood loss reversed by transfusions, and have also placed you in a nearby apartment with us to stay concealed while you recover."

"Indeed, and who is this Prime Leader and his Lead Pillar? What are the significance of these designations?"

"Cash Archer was elected by the Sekirei womb ship Natalie, The One who Leads, to be her Prime Leader, and the ship has also made Number 03 Kazehana of the Wind the new Prime Pillar of Cash and Natalie's Prime Circle."

"The Sekirei ship has awakened and become sentient?" A trace of surprised excitement crept into Mutsu's voice. "Excellent! But that also means Minaka's window of opportunity has drastically narrowed. He will be forced to attack the ship soon even if he isn't able to utilize the eight jinki key. But why was the drunken sot Kazehana chosen as Pillar? What happened to Miya? She is the most powerful of Archer's Sekirei, and why was he made the ship's Prime Leader? Archer is totally unqualified, unrefined, under educated, and much too inexperienced to function as one. Is the ship's mental capabilities still damaged and hampered? Has a total diagnostic of its systems been run yet?"

"I do not know the answers to these questions, my lord. You will have to ask them and the ship for those answers. I do know that Miya is still in Cash's Prime Circle but as The One Who Serves."

"Miya a servant? Incredible! On the other hand, I must give kudos to that gaijin Archer for curbing her insanity. I didn't think it was possible, but it will be for naught if he doesn't curb Karasuba's too. Has anyone contacted my Ashikabi and informed him of my state and whereabouts? I do not wish to cause him needless worry."

"Yes, my lord, he has been contacted. He was here earlier and happy that you have been cared for. He left with his Circle several hours ago to begin experimenting with techniques to enhance his Circle's powers. He did not appear worried about your health at all, my lord, and complimented us upon our care for you."

"Indeed?" Mutsu lifted one slightly skeptical eyebrow. "Mikogami actually formed a Circle? How was he able to drag himself away from Ikki's bed long enough for that to transpire?"

"It is my understanding that she aided in the process, my lord," Sayomi answered while trying to suppress a small smirk and removing Mutsu's lap held dinner tray. Good, he had eaten all the Teriyaki flavored rice and beef. The Ancient Decrees' guide to winging a first born male of a womb ship had started with making sure he had been well fed and rested to set a more relaxed and unhurried mood before the next steps were attempted. The female linking procedures and escalation would have to be accurately timed just right.

"Was Ikki also as successful in getting the rest of our Sekirei tuned to him?" Mutsu mulled this news over for positive potential. Two powered circles around Miko could very well be the edge that he'd been needing against Minaka as well as the other Ashikabi. Three would be even better.

"Uhhh, no, my lord. I believe Mikogami-san's other Sekirei ran away and were re-winged by Sanada of the West and Namiji's Ashikabi named Takamo Kouji after you were so grievously wounded and later unconscious. However, in that time your own status and potential to defeat Minaka has grown greatly."

Mutsu frowned in frustrated disappointment. The young fool Miko had simply let his extra troops run away? What had he been thinking? Ikki should have been more responsible! Now what could be done? One Circle with less power than what Seo's had already demonstrated was not an enviable position. He would have to get out of here and assess these ramifications and seek possible new allies soon, but the room's warm and comfortable ambiance was definitely more pleasant for right now as was the maid service. Perhaps he should rest a little longer and let his huge meal digest properly. He could simply call Mikogami and Ikki for updates as well as compliment his Ashikabi on his recovery care and well informed servants. Had Mikogami found a servant service familiar with Sekirei in general and him in particular, or was this one simply working for Archer, Kazehana, and the rest of Archer's Sekirei? And just how had his status and potential to defeat Minaka grown by Mikogami losing their troops?

"Explain your assertion about the improvement in my status and potential," Mutsu commanded abruptly.

"Kazehana has designated you as the ship's Prime Ashikabi, thus making you the second in command of the ship's eight Sekirei Circle battle platoon once all the Circles are formed. There is only one needed now. As allies working in concert, Natalie believes eight Circles of sixty four Sekirei will be more than enough to defeat any attackers."

"Yes, the ship is quite correct," Mutsu nodded as his mind rapidly digested the scale of tactical weapon power that sixty four Sekirei could generate. He would need to take command of Mikogami's Circle immediately and begin exploring what he could soon wield against Minaka and MBI's forces. They would pay dearly for their satellite attack upon him.

"Would you like a small dessert my lord? Mikogami-san left several boxes of your favorite cream filled snack cakes, and I have some here on a platter for you."

"No, get my clothes," Mutsu threw his covers back and swung his legs over the edge of the bed while using his sheathed sword as an aid to propel him forward. A slight wave of dizziness accompanied his sudden movements, but he ignored it. "I am going to see Mikogami. Then I must talk to Archer, Kazehana, and the Sekirei ship you called Natalie. I must assess the overall situation as rapidly as possible. On second thought, hand me the Twinkies before you get my clothes. Your food and service has been most excellent. Give me the name of your employer, and I will commend you to him."

"I am not a hired servant, my lord," Sayomi smiled while sending out a mental summons to her seven Sisters to join her immediately. The time had come. She raised a Twinkie from the platter on the bed with her left hand and offered it to Mutsu who flinched backward slightly but then obediently opened his mouth to take a bite. Sayomi's right hand quickly loosed the black silk obi that had belted her kimono shut. Mutsu's eyes automatically went past her to the door opening behind her. Seven nude human females of obviously different nationalities quickly entered the bedroom and linked hands as they assembled behind Sayomi. The rest of the Twinkie was put against Mutsu's smacking lips for him to focus upon, but his eyes strayed to Sayomi's very shapely nude form now evident beneath her colorful yellow and black kimono.

"Woman," Mutsu jerked his head back slightly away from the Twinkie, thought for a second, and then took the remainder in one gulping and swallowing bite. "I am not interested in senseless mating with multiple human females, nor do I have the time. Spare yourself any further embarrassment and retire with your friends while I dress. I am leaving."

"We are not just any human females, my lord," Sayomi smiled at him anew as her hands went behind her to link with her Sisters. A mentally projecting wave of sexual arousal began to build in their minds and project towards Mutsu. "We are the Virgin Petals of the Order of Dryas Octopetala. According to the Ancient Decrees of Anu we are to become the Flower Circle surrounding our Prime Center, the new ruler of our world order. That's you, my lord. I am your First Consort, my lord, and will become your order's new Prime Pillar."

"I have no time for your female foolishness, nor your weak mind games," Mutsu snorted in mild derision, "and I am already winged by Mikogami. Cease with your mental prattle, or I will be forced to stun you all into submission. You do not have the power to overcome my will even if I wasn't already winged. Leave me I say."

"My lord," Sayomi's dark brown eyes bored into Mutsu's as she leaned closer to him. It seemed to the male Sekirei that a golden hue now surrounded her and she was emitting an oddly familiar sweet scent. The bedroom's temperature had seemed to increase suddenly also. "You have been a seeker of truth, wisdom, and knowledge, but in reality we are what you have traveled this world to find. Let your tongue taste the sweetness of our kisses, smell our creamy centers, feel the smooth textures of our bodies, and merge with us. Be the center of our circle, my lord, and be eased in your mind and body forever."

"I doubt very seriously that kissing you will have any effect upon my mind and body," Mutsu frowned again. There was something odd happening here because the room hadn't really heated up as much as his loins. The woman was very attractive and so were her cohorts now gathering around him and caressing his muscular body. Sayomi straddled his legs, eased herself down upon his thighs, and leaned in to kiss him as her sisters now cranked up their mental sexual assault to full power with her. Mutsu gave his situation the briefest thought as he felt his manhood stiffen to aching firmness and decided that possibly it wouldn't hurt to experiment here a little. Meeting with Mikogami and the others wasn't a time sensitive goal after all.

"Oh yes, my lord, it will," Sayomi whispered as her lips met his and their tongues began to slowly caress and intertwine. She raised up, marveled at his size as she used her hand to guide him, and somewhat nervously let her already balm anointed womanhood slowly sink to lose its Virgin status as they both felt the psychic bonding fire begin to whoopee loop between their lips and loins. After a brief pause to adjust to the momentary pain, Sayomi began to move in rapidly growing excitement and triumph as her large shimmering yellow wings emerged from her and her sisters' back and then a much larger and matching pair slowly formed and began rapidly pulsing behind a now moaning Mutsu. A faint golden glow began to form around all of them.

A large, dark red Sekirei crest also glowed above Mutsu's head and sank down between his shoulder blades. Surprisingly, the crest also duplicated itself to sink onto a now equally moaning Sayomi. Her shuddering Sisters, impatiently waiting their physical turns but still sharing Sayomi's mental linkage and rapidly approaching ecstasy, also received their crests simultaneously with her hot, pulsing crescendo finish with a spasmodically jerking and very copiously capable Mutsu.

The suddenly heated climate in the bedroom was very much a product of the yin and yang way the mystical Ancient Decrees of Anu applied to real life. Anu had described very accurately and exactly how to wing a first born male of a womb ship. On the other hand, nowhere in those ancient manuscripts of the Sky God did it mention just how extremely fertile a Sekirei male could be, as a now impregnated Sayomi and each of her Sisters would soon discover. There was also a trade off for the aloof, introspective, peace and luxury demanding Mutsu and his ambitious quest for world dominating power along with the equally ambitious Sayomi and her seven Sisters. It would literally come in the form of almost constant pregnancies and squalling, raucous, and tempestuous child raising for many, many years in the future. The old Sky God hadn't seen fit to mention this in his writings either.

On the side opposite of mysticism, yin also applied in practical applications of life by the form of Kazehana's suggestion for Sayomi and her Petals to get Mutsu "in the mood" while imitating female versions of a cream filled Twinkie for sexual success. This had been achieved in a most literal fashion. Yang was equally present because Sayomi had actually bypassed a lot of mood setting with a pack of Viagra tablets that had been ground into the Teriyaki sauce mixed into Mutsu's four bowls of rice and Kobe beef. Thus she had insured an eight way cream filling without any imitation really needed. Either way, and at least for the time it took to very vigorously deflower and impregnate eight Virgin Petals and fall back into an exhausted sleep, it still resulted in Mutsu and his glowing new Circle being in a much better but very temporary mood than when he had awakened. Reality would soon hit in a near future filled with daily bouts of eight individual and months long lasting waves of morning sickness.

***scene break***

Hiroto Minaka's mercurial disposition had bypassed the normal yin and yang of his usual bipolar mood swings and was now experiencing rapid fluctuations approaching that of a large standing sine wave. Everything that constantly kept going wrong with his attempts to gain access and control of the Sekirei ship had greatly multiplied his frustrations into a trigonometric singularity of totally focused rage.

On the other hand, despite one failure after another by his security teams in Sekirei containment, tracking, manipulation, and keeping the Chinese out of his computer data, tremendous progress had been made by his research teams to overcome all of it. However, that research progress had also had its own big swings between jubilation and total disgust as the mysteries of the Sekirei jinkis were finally being unlocked one by one, but, during or after testing, the results were always mixed.

Yes, they had managed to manufacture an exact duplicate of "Fa", the missing control rod stolen by Matsu. Tuning the damn thing to resonate at a precise brain frequency in the Zeta range had then given them all time consuming fits. Once they had finally gotten the frequency right and gotten a very promising golden glow out of it as well as a first time precisely metered calibration, one damn fool technical worker going to lunch had walked through the outer fringes of the jinki's glow and immediately keeled over deader than a tuna being thinly yet slowly sliced by a seaside sashimi chef from Shingu. All jinki testing had ceased as researchers began scrambling to come up with something to protect their brains before proceeding further. That didn't help Minaka's mercurial mood much either since he had told them all months ago that such protection was going to be needed.

"This is it?" Minaka demanded in towering disgust while his hands turned over the plain beige and rubbery looking head and shoulder mask with bulky tank and knob attachments handed to him. "This is the best you guys could do? It's too big! It looks like some imitation rubber helmet Captain Nemo wore in a cheap Jules Verne movie from eighty years ago? Hell, even the eyes are covered over!"

"Yes, well, Sir," one harried older researcher held up his hands in a placatory fashion. "The brain case and medula oblongata have to be completely covered in a globular fashion, even the eyes, because we're pretty sure the activated Sekirei control rods instantly shut down the autonomous system of brains resonating with them. At least that's what the last autopsy seemed to indicate. That's why the helmet comes down and rests on the shoulders and needs external oxygen tanks. We've double lined the mask's thin aluminum interior with an activated graphene net that generates discordant brain wave frequencies all the way up into the higher Zeta ranges. The lens on top gives a 270 degree visual and infrared heads up display inside the mask day and night. We've also got it equipped with com links as well as enhanced hearing aids. That's why the battery and tank back pack looks a little bulky. Sir."

"A super duper tin foil hat?" Minaka bellowed in frustration. After all, he had an imposing image to maintain, and this certainly was going to clash with his winged cape. "Covered in dried goop used to make movie monster masks? What? You couldn't paint it to look like Mecha Godzilla with a back pack? And I wear glasses, you fools!"

"Yes, yes," the researcher said soothingly. "Yours has prescription interior goggles to let you focus on the heads up screen. We can do that for all our troops that are visually impaired. The main thing is that this protection works, Sir. Brain waves in all ranges don't get in, and they don't go out. It's been thoroughly tested, and it can be easily mass produced for thousands of troops if need be, not just your MBI staff. Our guys were able to record several stimulated dolphin brain wave patterns and use them to extrapolate others to get precise neighboring band widths. That has got us amazing results without catching more dolphins. We now have six out of the eight control rods tuned to glow now too. Once we get the last two tuned and them all precisely metered like Fa, and then arranged in the right sequence, perhaps another few days or a week at best, you'll be ready to unlock the Sekirei ship!"

"We don't HAVE a few days, man! We have lost track of 89 Sekirei out of 108! All the lower numbers including Miya, Kazehana, and Karasuba! And we missed getting Mutsu! I can feel it! He is out there waiting to take revenge! He and the rest of his cohorts are NOT going to just flit around Tokyo with their thumbs up their carefree butts knowing I want their ship open either! They're going to attack! Attack, steal their 7 jinkis back, and kill us all! The only question is how soon, FOOL! You've got to get that eight way jinki tuned and ready for when they do! Immediately! Then we can go for the ship! Now get out of here, you mindless ass! And take this plain protection mask with you! Have one of your techs make one more befitting of good old visually challenged ME!"

"Y, y, y, yes Sir!"

"Delays, dunderheads, dolts," Minaka muttered as he turned his head to scan the many screens in front of him. There was still no sign of Cash Archer and Kazehana, nor any of the other now missing Sekirei including that damnable Mutsu, twice damnable Karasuba, and the infinitely damnable Miya. "and drooling idiots that can't even make ..."

"Security here," a crisp male voice interrupted as Minaka let out a steamed breath that fogged his glasses. "We have a high priority and scrambled call for your, Sir. It's General Chen from the Chinese embassy. He says you are most anxious to talk to him. Sir."

"All right, put him through," Minaka ordered after a brief hesitation spent in mentally reviewing what he knew about China's embassy staff. Chen was no dummy and never one to waste time on a frivolous social chat at 3:00 a.m. Besides, Chen was the head Chinese spy in Tokyo. Maybe he wanted to trade a little info for another quickie with his big breasted secretary descended from the Han Dynasty.

"Ah, Minaka-san, so nice of you to receive my call at this time," A rather chubby looking male image in a plain Chinese military uniform popped up on Minaka's far right security screen. The return video camera only focused on Minaka's face with nothing in the background. "I believe we finally might have an area of mutual concern and cooperation other than my secretary's sexual favors. It seems a small nightingale has sang a song of unhappiness over your coming endeavors, and its music intrigues us. We know you are almost ready to attack the closed alien spaceship and gain its technologies, but your tame little wagtail songbirds are turning into hawks, no? We may be in the position of offering our aid in return for some small compensation when we make your nightingale happy again."

"Oh? I was unaware of your passion for songbirds, Chen. And just how unhappy is it? As unhappy as you and your Russian pals when you got your asses thoroughly kicked by just five of MY Sekirei? You do realize that you lost three times as much troops and equipment than the stupid Americans and their Nato allies and didn't stay to visit us near as long. Your last kidnap attempt went even worse. Even stupid trained parakeets know when to shut their beaks and listen when the hawks circle above them. Perhaps you should do the same."

"You amuse us, Minaka-san, but we've already trained a few parakeets. Two in fact. One is in the form of a passive listening and sensing satellite we installed over Kamakura Island some years ago after that last rather embarrassing incident. The other is a submarine that cruises just outside the approach limit you set. We have some rather interesting data that can't be found in your rather porous computer systems. Perhaps you would entertain a small exchange of information instead of trying to constantly hack our military data banks."

"Me? Hack you?" Minaka gaped in wounded confusion that almost looked convincing to Chen. "We spend WAY too much time and resources trying to keep your damn fingers out of our digital underwear! Besides, you really don't have anything we need to know!"

"Ah Minaka-san," Chen chuckled with delight. "You dissemble almost as good as an old Cantonese whore claiming to be a descendent of Han royalty when she demands overpayment for her services. Enough of this word play. We know that the alien space ship has been closed to you and your alien bird people for almost twenty years. In that time it has been totally dormant on every energy level able to be measured by human technology. You have maintained the fiction of access but have actually been guarding it with the aliens you recovered and matured. However, there are two recent anomalies that suggest the ship is not quite as dormant as supposed. On my screen you will see a two week readout of the Van Allen radiation belt above Kamakura Island. Can you explain the almost two symmetrical bulges in the upper layers that appeared three nights ago? To our scientists it looks like something caused by a sudden and sustained energy surge of unknown type and possible alien origin.

"Then our submarine intercepted an open phone call from some unknown Tokyo male to a cell phone that none of your men use. Our mystery caller ordered pizza and was told that he had a wrong number. More phone activity has occurred since on that cell phone's frequency, but it has been scrambled with a highly sophisticated encryption that you have never used with your troops on the island. Since you rarely call them anyway, we feel that this activity has not been generated or even noticed by you. So who did? A docile little songbird of yours that has turned into a hawk, maybe? And if that ship has powered up it's star drives, what would the flux from the energy fields created do to the Van Allen belts? Create a dual bulge maybe?"

Minaka sat in stunned amazement, but his now stone like face revealed nothing. His mind rapidly processed the information and its ramifications. How large of an orbital energy disturbance would a contained anti matter field make? Certainly more than enough to make the Van Allen Belt look like it had grown boobs. The only viable conclusion was that Miya had somehow awakened the womb ship, was communicating with it, and had started procedures to bring the ship's power, sentient control, and weapon systems back online. It also very neatly explained where 89 missing, extremely dangerous, and highly pissed off Sekirei could be found. This was beyond bad and now teetering on the brink of total disaster. He certainly didn't have a week to fool around either. Within a day or two at the most, the Sekirei ship could be hovering overhead and blasting his MBI bunker into molten slag. An attack had to be mounted as soon as possible. He had the control rod key, but only Chen most probably had the manpower and equipment to get Minaka close enough to use that key soon enough to triumph, therefore a trade off would have to be agreed upon.

"And your country's price for using its men and equipment, Chen?"

"Equal shares of everything learned and gained once the ship is gained," Chen smiled in appreciation at Minaka's extremely quick mind, "and nothing given and/or sold to the Americans and Russians. You keep the ship, but you make all data available to us, especially on its space drives and weapons. I'll even throw in my secretary for your use for free. Matter of fact, you can have her."

"Fine," Minaka nodded curtly. Let the Chinese send a million strong army and all its naval, amphibious, and air support units. Almost half would die with the ship's Sekirei when the completed jinki octagon was energized by Minaka's forces protected by their activated graphene helmets. The rest could be obliterated by the ship's weapons, his own troops, and Minaka's laser satellites. "Be ready to move in less than 48 hours."

"It was so nice doing business with you, Minaka-san," Chen smiled to make his eyes go into thin slits of self congratulation. "You will enjoy our new partnership, and we will be ready. Call this number when you want to move. Sayonara."

Minaka sat frozen for a few brief seconds after the call screen went blank. He then hit the button for the jinki research lab intercom.

"Bring that mental protection mask back to my office immediately. I want to make sure it fits me properly as well as test the goggles inside. Get that jinki key completely tuned and ready to use in 48 hours or less. We have just run out of time."

Minaka sat squinting at his command bunker screens while not really seeing them. After a few moments he sighed in acceptance. In the yin and yang of life even soon to be world dictators had to settle for a lousy plain beige helmet once in awhile, not to mention a phony whore passing herself off as Han royalty.

***scene break***

Cash lay basking in the relieved yet prevenient afterglow of his lovemaking with Kazehana. It felt kinda like having just won a big ball game and deeply savoring the victory, and yet eagerly anticipating playing another just like it as soon as possible. Kazehana nestled warmly against his left side, her head on his chest, her luxurious black hair flooding over her shoulders and covering his stomach and loins. Her left leg and arm were thrown possessively over him, clutching him to her, and using her leverage to lightly nuzzle her temporarily satiated body against him as she murmured unintelligible sweet nothings to him with her lips and mind. Cash closed his eyes and listened carefully with his ears and psychic connection to her. Kazehana seemed to be saying how wonderful she felt now and yet mildly complaining about having wasted so much of her time. Cash was puzzled by this, and for once even Natalie was being strangely quiet.

"What are you saying and feeling?" Cash whispered to her as his puzzlement grew. Had he done something wrong, failed to last long enough, or disappointed in some fashion that he couldn't fathom? He thought she had went over the top at least twice, the last one unmistakeably strong, very vocal, and in concert with his incredibly intense finish. It had been their best joining until now and promised to only get better the longer they stayed together. What more, other than postpone that unhappy phone call to his Mother as he had, could a guy do on his wedding night?

"I'm saying what a fool I was not to find you sooner," Kazehana sighed in a warm whisper across the base of his throat, "and how lucky I was to be in MBI's bathhouse the night Karasuba told us how you rang her bell so hard and often she felt like you were the Hunchback of Notre Dame or something like that. It certainly got my attention, Mekko and Toys too, and then to see Aki-chan and Zoomer's faces when they agreed, well, even a drunk can notice THAT. I should have known how special you were then and not waited on Riko's hijack plan. I should have dumped Minato and went for you right away, but again, if it hadn't been for Riko tuning into you first, I doubt Karasuba would have found you, and none of the rest of us either without her power expanding yours. Even now you're on the very upper level of all our sensing abilities, even Aki-chan's, and darling, you REALLY ring bells in all of us all the time."

"And that's where Riko's mind is normally too?" Cash frowned slightly in surprise. He was like a hunchbacked bell ringer?

"Yeah, because she was never limited as she grew up, and she's a natural psychic powerhouse on top of that, maybe even more than Miya." Kazehana paused and then began a throaty chuckle.

"What's so funny about Riko's mind?" Cash brought his right hand over and began caressing the length of Kazehana's left side, pausing to make little side ventures over her more sensitive areas.

"Not Riko, Karasuba," Kazehana chuckled even harder as her loins began to automatically move slowly against his left thigh. "She told Sayomi that you were not a Don Juan type lover by any stretch of the imagination, but she was lying like a global cooling activist. If Sayomi only knew that you are ten times more than that, well, even Mutsu's isn't that impressive."

"You know," Cash shook his head in honest puzzlement. "I really just don't understand this at all. How come I was such a complete dud with all the gals back home, but now I seem to be some kind of world champ gigolo with my Sekirei? I know I'm not all THAT great in bed, and yet all of you go totally bonkers on me when you finish, especially Miya. Why?"

"Oh, oh my! I guess we must be open and honest about your secret then?" Kazehana giggled as if she was getting ready to share something intriguing they had just learned while playing doctor and nurse as youngsters. "The fact is that your psychic mind shares your orgasm with us! It comes, no pun here, over the top of our own, builds ours up even higher, and then bursts like a giant set of fireworks in the parade's finale at Tokyo Disney World! It's more really, it's, well, it's just indescribable in its intensity! And Cash Lover, you are very well equipped for DEEP sharing too, just the way we all love it!"

"That's it?" Cash cocked his head in mild disappointment. There was no love involved? No emotional fulfillment? Hell, a convenient object the right shape, size, texture, and connected to a few spinal circuits could probably get the job done then. What did they need him for?

"Well, no, that's just the physical part, lover," Kazehana began lightly kissing and nibbling his throat. "Aside from being tall, strong, handsome, equipped, a really sweet kisser, and having those deep blue, sexy eyes to go with your exciting smell, you also do other things that are very, very special. First you never expect anything from us, but you just accept us, warts and all. Do you know how rare that is to find in a man? And then the real kicker is this. You are like a rock, a big, wide, warm and comforting rock, almost a fort really. In your arms I feel so safe, so secure, and so, so, sheltered from everything. You know who you are and are grounded. We Sekirei are way too emotional and flighty, much more than human females in case you hadn't noticed. Being with you is like having that all drained right into your rock, all worry, all fear, all insecurity, and all unhappiness. We NEED that! The absolute best thing is that you love so deeply. Every one of us know that you would give everything you have to make us happy, even if it meant giving up baseball. That's even better than the way you love your Mum. So, my beautiful loving man, does that explain it? You just ring a Sekirei gal's bell in every way it can be rung, and it's, it's a whole lot better than booze, believe me."

"Well," Cash smiled down at her as his hand roamed back up to lightly fondle the hardening tips of her very spectacular assets. "Yes, I guess I can live with all that."

"Hey, if you keep doing that, you're in for a very long night, lover, and, ummm, and don't you dare stop either."

Cash started to turn into her but stopped abruptly. Something had seemed to just go blank in a tiny corner of his mind; something that had been there totally unnoticed until it suddenly disappeared. He closed his eyes and began an inward mental search. Natalie was there, watching and listening with a warm glow around him as always. There were all five of his connected Sekirei and their strong pulsing bands attached to him. There were his other three still glowing faintly with their slim and barely visible connecting threads. What was missing? Whatever it was, it had left a small feeling of what? Relief? He opened his eyes to look around the bedroom's ceiling as he listened carefully with his ears. Kazehana, sensing his sudden stillness, raised up to stare down into his eyes with silent and confused questions in her own. How dare he stop when she had said not to! That's when the bedroom door opened.

"Husband!" Akitsu whispered urgently. Cash turned to look at her deeply flushed face while her hands held her white silk sleeping robe together over her excited chest.

"Sugar! What is it?"

"The morning we went to eat breakfast with Minaka he never said anything to me, but his eyes and mind were constantly noticing my breasts! It made me feel … unclean! And I've felt like he has always been staring at me since, but just now, he went away!" Akitsu took short uncertain steps towards him and knelt down by the bed. She reached out to touch his arm as if she was holding onto something steady and strong in a frightening world. "OH! He just came back again! Husband, what is this?"

Cash frowned as he sat up. Yes, there was an irritating something back on the edge of his mind now, something he couldn't explain, but it was vaguely distasteful. Was that the feel of Minaka's crazed mind as Akitsu was suggesting? Then how and why had it went off and then back on?

"Natalie, why have you been so quiet, and can you tell me what's going on here?"

_"You told me earlier to hush, and no, Cash Darling. Even in sleep a human mind emanates brain waves. Minaka might have just died and then come back to life somehow, but there might be other ways to conceal his mind that I don't know about. If he managed a to make a mental shield like you do, which I doubt that he can, why drop it again so suddenly?"_

Cash closed his eyes and reached out to that irritating little burr on the fringe of his mind. He could vaguely sense anger, hatred, urgency, and some kind of hunger as well as an even fainter desire to see and play with big breasts. That was Minaka? Evil genius extraordinaire and would be world dictator with a boob fetish? There! That mental irritation had suddenly blanked out again! Now what was causing that? It was almost like a third base coach taking his hat off twice to give the bunt sign between the touching of his chest, arms, belt, ears, and every other place that third base coaches touch as they go through their signals. A sudden heavy feeling of something about to happen coursed through Cash. He turned to give Kazehana another questioning frown. Still more than half aroused sexually, she gave him a silent baffled head shake in return. She could feel he was disturbed, but she couldn't sense why, and whatever it was, couldn't it wait just a few bell ringing minutes?

"Sugar, why is your face so red?" Cash tilted his head as he glanced around him for anything else that might be unusual.

"Uhhh, I, ummm, sort of listened in," Akitsu winced guiltily as she swayed into him, "and ummm, sort of followed along when you and Onee-chan were, ummm, doing so well together. And, ummm, I sort of shared that with Zoomer, Toys, and Mekko too. They rubbed themselves on their own futons though. I was on the couch by myself. They're, ummm, still relaxing."

"I see, broadcasting like Karasuba used to do?" Cash nodded half in embarrassment and half in realization that here might be a partial answer to keeping eight female Sekirei sexually satisfied far beyond the singular powers of Little CJ. Akitsu's confession was almost a comfort.

Still, there was this damned feeling or premonition of impending unhappiness that he just couldn't shake. It worried him. What if they weren't as safe here as everyone of them thought? If the attack on Mutsu was any indication, then MBI's satellites could make awful short work of this building, let alone this floor. Matter of fact, MBI's lasers could make short work of the Izumo Inn if Minato's electronic Sekirei guard was asleep. What was her name again? The kooky looking redhead with the big glasses and braids? Minaka's irritating burr popped back up again, this time there was a feeling of smug anticipation mixed in with the others. It felt like the mad scientists in kid movies who were always chortling evilly at the ceiling in triumph while wringing their hands in synchronization with their mu wa ha has. That worried Cash even more. He used one hand to gently pull Akitsu's lips to his for a quick reassuring kiss and then turned to give Kazehana one too. They both gave a soft heated sigh of renewed desire that he was now too preoccupied to notice.

"Rose honey, get everybody up and get dressed," Cash said firmly as he made a sudden decision. It felt like the bottom of the ninth with the game on the line. Here was when a pitcher and his catcher had to make the right pitches and plays, especially with a heavy hitter coming to the plate. Or better yet, a good time to run and hide.

"Put on your battle suits too. We're getting out of here and going out to be with Natalie now. Sugar, go fill the stair landing to this floor with a block of ice. Bring the elevator up and fill it too. That way no one can come at us from below until the ice melts. As soon as you dress Rose, go warn Mutsu, Shiina, and their Petals that I don't think they're safe here either. Then you should guard the roof to stop anyone coming at us from above. Is that okay?"

"Oh Lover, it's way beyond okay," Kazehana gave him a very hot and smoky look of approval and desire, but she got a firm grip on his manhood to emphasize her next point. "But don't think that our time here is over either. You were going to ring my bell again before Aki-chan came in. I want it rung hard after we go out to Natalie. The very first thing you do. Promise?"

"Yes, ummm, wow, okay, I promise, but let's focus here, hot lips! I feel we're in danger! I'll have Smitty and Uzi fill the cloaked boxes with as much food as they'll hold. Silky and I will have to get some more energy into Miya, Karasuba, and Riko before we take off. Natalie, call all your Pillars and tell them they must get out of where they are now and hide their Circles and Ashikabi. Which one was the electronics master again? The redhead that can screw up satellites, computers, and all that stuff?"

_"Number 02 Matsu. She is Minato's lowest number Sekirei and very, very powerful. May I prepare a little training for you about my children, their names and powers and what a battle squadron can do?"_

"Well, okay I guess, but don't start dinging me about being your battle leader again. Just ask Minato's Matsu to scramble everything electronic in this town for as long as she can. We've got to give everybody a chance to get away and go into deep hiding. Got it? WHOA! Kazehana! Please stop that and get dressed!"

_"Yes, Cash Darling, complying! I have extra battle suits ready for Mutsu, Shiina, and their Circles! I also have more cloaked transport boxes. Send Riko out to get and deliver them! I'm so excited you're coming to me! What should I wear? Oh! And bedding! I, no, Uzume can make those easily, and I can make more room in my command for, Oh! This is so exciting! And, and, may I say that your loving is most satisfying to me also Cash Darling? I followed along with you and Kazehana too!"_

"Ummm, I LOVE being called hot lips!" Kazehana gurgled sexily as she reached for her new battle uniform's black lace panties.

"I LOVE being called sugar," Akitsu agreed as she let her silk robe part and clasped Cash's head to her exposed and still visibly excited chest. "Will you always let me follow along when Onee-chan gets her ding donged?"

"Uhhh, sure," Cash mumbled as he tried to conjure up an image of a space ship physically following along during sex. Now how could that work? Shrugging as the image just wouldn't form, he kissed himself free, urged Akitsu to get her uniform on, and turned to hurriedly put on his clothes. Uzume, Himeko, and Toyotama, totally nude and flush faced also, burst into the bedroom to get themselves briefly fondled and kissed before getting dressed too. Cash complied as he tried to convey his sense of danger and urgency, but he realized that there was still a trade off of attention giving now to maintain emotional happiness later. He had never really understood any female's mindset, but he felt like he might be learning a little, one mistake at a time.

Just that suddenly, the yin and yang of Cash's life was on display as the mood in Kazehana's apartment switched from light hearted and happy honeymoon practicing to a little less than grim uncertainty combined with vague urgency, heated sighs, and partial lunacy.


	24. Chapter 24

**The Game Changer**

**Chapter 24 – Outfield Drills, Field Prep**

Karasuba moved with extremely slow motion precision as she went through her mind focusing sword drills in Natalie's dry, semi globular stasis tank. Her entire body flowed in exact timing through the exacting angles and lines of different postures used in the highly refined execution of her ritual combinations of strikes, thrusts, and potential defensive parries that simply initiated new lines of attack. With her tongue pushed against the roof of her mouth, her breathing was also timed; drawn in through her nostrils on the preparation move for her cuts and/or thrusts and then being almost explosively expelled between her clenched teeth during the actual attacks. Her body and sword's movements were her own unique and aggressive style, or ryuha combination, of the ancient Samurai sword arts of Japan that incorporated various aspects of kenjutsu, kendo, and iaido, but she had discarded certain flairs and wasted movements the ancient masters had never anticipated being used at superhuman speeds.

After almost twenty minutes of her slow motion practice, her pace began to increase as she went through her combinations again, then again faster, then faster, and still faster yet until her body and sword were moving at speeds unable to be followed by human eyes. There was only brief small patches of a black and crimson uniform blur registering in the visible spectrum around the large empty stasis tank where she had so recently been an unconscious floating guest. When she halted abruptly and stood in perfect balance at the tank's exact center, her body was positioned with her sword overhead and parallel to the tank's floor and to her shoulders. She then sheathed her katana in a final hissing iaido movement also too fast to follow.

The Black Sekirei stayed still for long moments afterward, her breathing barely noticeable as her now properly focused mind assessed her coming meeting with Cash. She quite calmly noted several facts.

One, she was Number 04 Karasuba, The One Who Kills, battle commander of her Sekirei Circle.

Two, she had always been a very efficient killer, enjoying and taking pride in her skills and at times even reveling in her power to take life at will, the bloodier the better.

Three, she had never been ashamed of who she was, what she was, and what she had done, nor could she deny any of it. Matter of fact, she didn't want to.

Four, she was now estranged but irrevocably in deep Sekirei bonding to Cash Joseph Archer, a pacifistic Man/Sekirei hybrid who was now the instinctive center of her existence and would remain so until she died with him and her Sisters, unless she preceded him somehow.

Five, her Sekirei ancestors had spent several millennium bringing about their joining for just one reason, her Sekirei killing instincts and emotions would be forced into adjusting to his more peaceful Human nature by the alien quality of her specie's bonding, or she would die and another more able to easily adjust would take her place. Thus her species' raptorial blood lust would ultimately be thinned to more civilized levels.

Six, Cash Joseph Archer in no way had to adjust to her other than what he was willing to do by the depths of his human romantic emotions for her, and those had already proved to be fairly shallow. He could live quite comfortably apart from her. She would live a totally miserable life constantly craving him from the outside while looking in and fearing a permanent rejection death.

Seven, therefore, she was still in some very deep shit here.

Karasuba rolled her eyes and began pacing about in uncharacteristic frustration and uncertainty. So much for the good old ancient disciplined mind, body, and spirit focusing techniques! It had gotten her nowhere! Hell yes she was still in deep shit here! Dying from rejection pain sucked! And it could very easily happen again! She had badly misread her Ashikabi, had tried to use him for her own selfish and murderous ends, and he had very casually shit canned her! Hell, even used condoms got better fates!

He was now going to demand an apology at the very least and maybe who knew what else! Damn! She had never apologized to anyone in her life! Screw this! But she had to get his good will back or face a very long, very lonely, fear filled, and totally loveless life! How could she win him back? Win HIM? He should be trying to win HER! Or at least be attentive! Men had always craved her, not the other way around! Neither had she ever denied herself the immediate taking of anything that she had ever wanted, nor depended on anyone, especially a male, to fulfill any emotional needs! She had very nonchalantly killed for the merest of slights, and now she needed permission? But she was aching to just have Cash smile at her, let alone forgive her! Damn!

Denying her basic nature was tough! Although she had put on a great act persuading Sayomi to re-wing Mutsu, the desire to slice that arrogant bitch into bite sized pieces for the least weasel, the world's smallest carnivore, had almost been overpowering. It had taken every ounce of her willpower to not let her sword slice through another throat as it had so many times before, and now she, Number 04 Karasuba, had a case of nerves over just trying to get a man to kiss her again? Not only did she have clouds of never before experienced butterflies roiling her inner being, she had second guessed her first words to him at least 2 dozen times in the last few hours. Now she was back to square one in wondering how to begin making amends since Kazehana had wrung Cash out all night long and then again as soon as they arrived at the ship. Even her basic "jumping him for hot sex" ploy was gone! Damn!

Damn! Damn! Damn! Enough with the nerves! Since Natalie had earlier warned about Cash's desire for openness and honesty with them all, then the best way was to be just that, and then go from there. After all, she really had nothing to hide now since she had opened her mind to her Circle, and she had already self admitted to being in love with him, hadn't she? She would simply just ask him to take her back, and in return she would be his loving, faithful, and well behaved Sekirei. What was so hard about that, even if it sounded like she was actually auditioning to be his pet dog?

"Mommie Dearest," Karasuba suddenly spoke to the empty and echoing chamber. "Where is Cash now, and what is he doing?"

_"He is in my command cabin looking at the visual scans of my exterior, and we are discussing ways to free my hull from the surrounding rock strata. He came up here immediately after Kazehana __fell asleep." _Natalie's voice was almost a whisper even though she had just installed audio and visual hookups in every interior room and corridor within her hull to stay in constant communication with them all.

"Wow! He outlasted Kazehana? How close is he to finishing with you, Mumsy? Can he meet me down here soon so that we can talk? My drills are done."

A short silence engulfed the stasis chamber where the only sound was Karasuba's light boot steps as she continued to pace about in echoing agitation.

_"Karasuba, Cash Darling is coming down to see you now. Please take care, control your temper, lose the snarky attitude towards me, and choose your words carefully when you speak to him. We can't afford to have you alienated any further from him. We have eight Circles formed, but none are functioning at full power as of yet. We must get you, Miya, and Riko connected to him and your Sisters so that once the other Circles achieve their potential, they can be connected to Kazehana and me."_

"Okay, I'll give it a shot," Karasuba shrugged as she stopped pacing and stood facing the tank's iris door opening. "How about you? You two all squared away, or are you still hiding from him?"

_ "I'm," _Natalie paused._ "Still conducting a complete diagnostic on my emotional circuits and have not revealed my visual form to him yet. I lose some capacity for clear, rational, and factual thinking on anything related to my Cash Darling, and yet everything seems to be related to him now. It is very hard to quantify my testing results and any possible degradation of my neuronic norms because I can't decide what I want his first visual impression of me to be. I've asked him to test different vocal appellations and suggestive imagery to invoke emotive responses for re-calibration of my neural network, but more input is needed to generate a sample size large enough to be useful for statistical correlation. Also, my data base for American slang in the English language seems to be inadequate and also needs more input. Tell me, is 'smell like a truck stop skank' a positive or negative sensory comparison for him?"_

"And you're giving ME relationship advice?" Karasuba snickered as she shook her head. "It's very negative, and it means your interior has a decidedly offensive odor to his nostrils and turns him off big time. And for your data bank's information, the smell of fish, especially dead fish, makes him sick to his stomach."

_"Oh,"_ Natalie's flat computerized tone took on a definite nonplussed note. _"Oh dear. So that's what the joke about the blind man walking past the fish market and saying 'Hello, Ladies!' meant! Oh my! I must research decomposing gases of aquatic life and their neutralization immediately!" _

Karasuba chuckled louder, but instantly flinched into silence when the iris suddenly hissed open and revealed a silent and half pale Cash standing in the ship's corridor with a slightly troubled and wary expression in his eyes.

"Hey," Karasuba finally managed to say after briefly swallowing, wetting her lips, and exhaling in order to quell her own internal wariness and strange case of nerves. The sight of him focusing upon her was somehow very oddly unnerving now. She had never felt this way before either. Even if she had decided to do the old "jump him sexually first and talk later" routine again, her booted feet seemed glued to the tank's dull metal flooring. Something very powerful in her subconscious mind seemed to be acting upon her as if she was deep in some enemy's territory, and basic gut instincts were forcing her to be very cautious. Her mouth went dry.

"Hey," Cash jerked his chin up slightly in acknowledgment as his eyes wandered to take in the size and scope of the transparent globular stasis tank. It kinda looked to him like a giant snow globe that had been emptied of its fluid, false snow flakes, and every other internal feature except one lone, shapely, sexy looking, gray haired female in a crimson and black battle uniform, floor length black cape, beaked mask, thigh high black boots, and armed with her long curved sword.

"You, uhhh, wanna talk in there," Cash reached up with his right hand to lightly rub his forehead while vaguely pointing towards her with his left and then jerking his left thumb down the corridor. "Or would you wanna go sit down someplace and have some hot tea or something? You hungry?"

"Uhhh, no," Karasuba frowned anew at her sudden and inexplicable inability to move her legs. Almost as if she had become a puppet whose string handler had just deactivated her body, her knees buckled, and she knelt down in the tank's center. What in the hell was going on with her? "Let's, uhhh, talk here first?"

"Okay, sure," Cash nodded agreeably. He stepped inside and took about a hundred echoing paces or so to get closer to her while his head swiveled around to let him gawk again at the tank's sheer size. When he came within a few feet he stopped and knelt down too. A long silence ensued as his eyes met hers and studied her.

"You really smell good, Kara, but you still look a little peaked," Cash began awkwardly as his low baritone voice bounced around the tank. "I'm really sorry about that. It's just that, well, I really thought you would be better off trying to live and conquer the world and fight everybody and MBI without me, and, uhhh, I wanted to keep my five safe and, and, uhhh, not be caught up in all of that. And I was pretty sure you would never be very interested in watching me relief pitch for the Batavia Muckdogs either."

Karasuba winced slightly at the sad fondness and regret in his eyes and in the contrite tone of his voice. He was apologizing to her? Oddly, it caused her mind to suddenly snap into her previous sword drill focus. Even though his odoriferous approval had made her now feel superior to Natalie, his dissembling behavior and flattery to deflect possible emotional outbursts was a classic passive aggressive ploy used by males from the beginning of time to get a gal off balance and into a more receptive emotional state. She had badly underestimated him upon their first meeting. She was not dealing with a simple minded yet lovable blockhead here despite the very practiced and polished and perhaps even unconscious projections she was reading from his mind's surface thoughts, posture, voice tone, and facial expression. It was probably all just a defensive act he had developed to deal with his insane Mother. In the art of war, not knowing your enemy was usually fatal, and the same principle seemed to have applied very thoroughly in her Sekirei bonding to him too. Should she return the attack and call him Sweetums to begin and break the ice? No, she should reconnoiter first.

"Can I ask you a few questions?" Karasuba tilted her head sideways as if seeing Cash for the very first time. Those deep blue eyes of his were still very intriguing and so was his faint body odor and tight blue jeans. She immediately took off her tiara mask to appear more informal and non threatening as her nipples involuntarily hardened against the soft fabric of her battle uniform.

"Sure," Cash nodded again while appearing not to notice her sudden twin headlights, "anything you want."

"The first time we met," Karasuba shivered as she began, but Cash interrupted by holding up his hand in a stop motion.

"Well, yeah, you're right, Natalie. Simply blasting the rocks away would be very noticeable to MBI's watching troops, and besides, where would we get explosives? Uzume and Riko can do that together? You're sure? Oh, okay, interesting, but again, who knows how to place and use them? Wouldn't we be risking severe damage to your hull too? No? Survived an exploding star? Really? Well I knew you survived a crash landing here on Earth, but … oh, wow, your hull must really be tough then. Still, how do we remove the rocks once they've been broken up? Same way with acids baths or rock cutting or breakage by rapidly alternating their temperature by heating and cooling. There would still be too much debris to move, and it would be very noticeable while we did it."

Karasuba frowned in irritation at Natalie's silent and ill-mannered interruption while talking to Cash's mind and not using the tank's speakers. It was almost as if the ship was rudely flaunting her superior and intimate mental connection to Cash.

"Okay, ummm, then maybe we're looking at this whole thing backwards. Instead of removing the rocks holding you fast, let's look at ways to remove you and leave the rocks behind. Half of you is sticking out and the other half buried, right? You said you have one of your ion engines able to function a little, but it doesn't have enough power to break your hull free? What if we polish your rear end and the insides of the rock formations surrounding it? Maybe pump some kind of lubricant around your hull afterward and then see if your one engine can move you.

"No! I didn't say your ass was too fat, Natalie! Well, you're the one that said you are what the Sekirei call a rock ship, and it gave me the idea, that's all! Focus for me, will ya? Look, there has to be small gaps and air pockets in the volcanic strata around your hull we can use to begin a small hollowing out process. We don't need much leeway to start the procedure nor a lot of clearance to free you later. Think of it as a small wrinkle removal cosmetic operation, okay? Need a douche too? Well, uhhh, maybe, but ummm, I'm not too familiar with, uhhh, look, just research that separately, and, and ascertain the possibility of increasing your engine power."

Cash gripped his forehead and closed his eyes as if in pain while shaking his head. Karasuba turned and gave a sardonic look of aggrieved impatience up at Natalie's audio/visual feed overhead.

"Dammit, I know you spent thousands of years on the ocean bottom, and I'm not criticizing your exterior shape! I only suggested the polishing because my dad gave me a rock polishing kit for Christmas the year before he got drafted. I got kinda interested in geology as a hobby, studied rocks I found around our place and in Old Man Warner's fields, and I made a lot of neat looking rings and bracelets and lockets and knickknack stuff for my Mom and my aunts. Yes, of course I love my Mother! Very Much! Why wouldn't I? Geez Natalie, if sanity was the required criteria for every relationship, then we'd have a planet filled with billions of hermits and very few babies! Oh, and you're a real bodacious hottie, even if you are a stupid cow. Because you just asked me to call you a different range of names too, dammit!"

"Now, quit getting sidetracked here, and forget your circuit tests for a second! Yes! Talk now! Douche later! From those videos your showed me, you're half buried in pillow lava which is made up of theolitic basalt. That's a little harder and fine grained than other igneous rocks like granite because it's formed deep in the ocean under great pressure and very cold temperatures. Very, very common in ocean volcanic rifts, especially on the east side of Japan and all the way over to Hawaii. It can still be polished, but it usually doesn't come out very shiny unless you use some special techniques. We don't care about shininess anyway, only smoothness. You still have holes in the bottom of your hull from making your seawater batteries, right?

"What we can try is pumping a polishing sludge out through them and then begin ultrasonic cavitation between your hull and the surrounding strata. Can Uzi and Riko make nano-diamonds for abrasives? That would make the best polishing agents but any really hard grainy material will work. Sure, but you'll need another small hole with a hose outlet underneath your exposed bottom half to remove what has been polished away from where you're buried, but that shouldn't attract any notice. When you can sense some loosening and once you're smooth butt get's lubed up, you can fire off your engine, and wiggle out of here. What do you say? Geez Natalie! Did you scan Riko's damned sex guide too? Hey, there's no need to make crude jokes! Does what I suggested sound like it will work?"

Karasuba, who had been listening half tensed in frustrated silence, took a deep breath and relaxed back on her heels as Cash continued to mutely listen to Natalie in his mind. Here was a perfect example of how sharp and educationally disguised his thought processes operated as he sifted through options to solve Natalie's problem. It also gave great insight into his emotional tolerances for Natalie's oddly bent neural gestalt. Now how, Karasuba chewed her bottom lip lightly, could she optimize his mental and emotional attributes for her benefit? And would he notice if she very, very gently projected her still rising interest in having sex with him now? He had unconsciously peeked briefly at her chest and thighs several times while he was speaking to Natalie. Perhaps Kazehana hadn't wrung him completely dry after all, and he had always recovered quickly. Even the totally brainless part of him had always operated at a pretty nice high level.

"Well, talk to both of them, and if Riko can compress carbon that much, then let's give it a shot. What have we got to lose? Yes, yes, if we get out of this mess, then we'll polish the rest of your hull too. No, we'll all have to be outside when you do that, or we'll all drown. Now Natalie, I'm going to talk to Karasuba, and I don't want interrupted again unless it's a very dire emergency. Yes, sweetie pie, I love you even if you are a perverted, rotten smelling ditzo. We'll talk again later, baby cakes."

"Sorry about that," Cash apologetically let his attention blink back onto Karasuba. "The first time we met what?"

"When I landed on your roof, what was your very first impression of me?" Karasuba asked quietly as her mind continued to analyze what she had just heard in his one sided conversation with Natalie. Baby cakes? Even if he was helping with neural tests, he was on better romantic terms with an unsavory smelling and inanimate rock ship than with her? Damn!

"You looked like a predatory bird trying to decide if I was a bug that needed to be eaten, squished, or ignored, and that is pretty much the way you're feeling and looking at me now except you seem to be a little sexually nervous about it."

"What?" Karasuba blinked in genuine surprise. "I admit to being nervous. I almost died in here, dammit, but hurt you or ignore you? I'd be hurting myself. Think again. It's not true."

"Isn't it?" Cash simply stared at her as an almost electric and adversarial tension snapped into existence between them. "I mean you asked, so I'm trying to be as open and truthful as I can be. You've never really thought of me as an equal to you in any fashion, Karasuba, and I can feel you still don't. I'm pretty much a needed inconvenience to live and lovable block headed ass that you have fooled yourself into thinking you're fond about because your Sekirei bonding has forced you into it. Most of the time I've always felt like you thought of me as not much more than a warm and living dildo. I had hoped that we might be able to grow past that somehow, but I don't think so now. I could be wrong, of course, because you're trying to hide quite a bit of your deeper feelings from me. I think I'd have to touch your crest and really focus on your tama to be sure."

Karasuba looked down at the tank floor while her mind raced. Her open and honest approach wasn't going well at all! But he was wrong! Wasn't he? He wasn't seeing her love for him! Why wasn't he?

"Then what made you have any hope of us growing closer?"

"The night we spent together after you and Kitty wore your new dinner dresses, you felt different inside to me, a little, more, ummm, happy maybe. I'm not sure, but it did feel positive. It didn't last very long though. Then you tried to use my last ballgame as a means to kill Miya. That's when I realized there was something broken inside of you I couldn't overcome, and it made me think we'd be better off going our separate ways. I just hadn't counted on your violent physiological reaction to that. I should have talked to you about it and spared you a lot of needless pain. Then maybe we could have negotiated a better relationship to keep you alive without having to be around me much."

"Negotiated a better relationship? And that's what you think we're doing here now?" Karasuba squinted as she tried to read him past the solid glassy ball that was now completely shrouding his mind. There was nothing except that same sad fondness and regret.

"Yeah, pretty much. I know Natalie is going nuts wanting you, Miya, and Riko connected to her, but uhhh, I'm sure that can't happen if we don't really love each other, and uhhh, quite frankly we don't. I can tell Miya really wants connected badly, but there's something way wrong there too. Riko, well, you know all about her. Look, as far as you're concerned and to keep you alive, I'm open to trying to be friendlier maybe if you want to, except the way you keep fingering your sword makes me a little nervous."

Karasuba looked blankly at her right hand to see that indeed she was unconsciously caressing her katana's hilt. What was with that? She'd be committing suicide if she drew it now! Think! Think! Cash must somehow be reading depths to her that even she and Natalie hadn't found! It was the only explanation! But how? And what was that "just be friends bullshit"? They weren't in grade school here. She needed him to stay alive, but she wasn't going to let him just push her aside into some half existence. She was second in command of her Prime Circle, and he'd better damn well get used to the idea!

"You're reading me," Karasuba began cautiously and then paused, "even though you say I'm hiding? I don't understand. I thought, I THINK, that I'm in love with ..."

Karasuba stopped. What if he was right? Had she only been acting and moving in sheer, instinctive self preservation with Natalie and her new Circle? Had she somehow unconsciously fooled herself into thinking she loved Cash during Natalie's "office" chat and later when she admitted to wanting her broken tama fixed? How could that be? There was only one way to find out. Almost mechanically her hands unbuckled her sword belt and placed it behind her. She then moved and knelt to present her back to him. She pulled her stretchy uniform cloth off her shoulders to expose her crest.

"You're still my Ashikabi. Touch me. Explore my crest the way Toys says you can, and tell me everything you see inside me. And I mean everything, got it? I don't want to spend the rest of my life alone and just being a little friendlier once in a great while. I know you think I'm broken inside, but Natalie said you can fix me if that's true. Can you try to see the real me, even what I'm hiding to myself? Please?"

Cash frowned uncertainly. Man, he hated being put into these types of no win situations! If he tried and failed, she'd be really pissed off at him, and his chances of success felt like near zero! And nobody, especially egotistically insane and highly trained assassins, wants to see the uglier side of themselves if he succeeded! Why hadn't he just kept his big mouth shut, kissed her lightly, and let her go her own way like she really wanted? On the other hand, he had been totally wrong about Sekirei in the past, especially this one, and there was no phony and condescending "big boy" or "Sweetums" bravado in her request either. And she HAD said please. That was new too. It couldn't hurt to see what was going on underneath that shifting, insanely roiling mass of surface emotions Karasuba was actually and honestly trying to control. Her whole body stiffened as he let his hands touch her crest, then his forehead, and then finally let his focused mind sink down their very tenuous mutual thread and into her tama.

"On the surface you're feeling very angry at me for rejecting you and nervous that I will again. You feel you need to be accepted by me to stay alive and fear that you will kill without thinking, incur my wrath, and face rejection again. You're feeling some slight physical desires for me, but it's mostly induced by your body reacting to my touch, look, and smell along with a couple of slightly fond memories and the fact that you have enjoyed my ability to give you strong orgasms. You're slightly worried you will fail your new vows to her Sisters, but not much. You very much resent Kazehana being made Prime Pillar, and that you don't have #1 girl status in your Circle 's affections with me. You're also unhappy Kazehana broke her promise about not having sex with me last night, and slightly jealous of Natalie's mental connection to me, but again, those are all ego things that are all about you, not any fondness for me."

Cash went silent for a few seconds as he sank lower, sensing stiff resistance into areas she was trying very hard to consciously and unconsciously keep hidden.

"Below that you are trying to hide your very deep romantic love for a dead guy named Takehito, your continuing deep dislike/hatred of Miya, and your cherished important feelings and memories of Takehito's approval of you as a very skilled killer. You regret he couldn't see the paintings you made and are now very proud about creating. You told yourself they were your dying gift to me, but actually you were using that gift as a way to make me feel guilty for rejecting you. Even deeper you have a very, very strong desire to control and/or destroy everything in a world that separated you from Takehito and now still keeps hurting you. You're also very angry at Takehito for being such a weakling and not recognizing how much of a female he had when he bonded you as his Sekirei. You are jealous of the human female ability to consciously choose and reject their mates and wishing that you could have met a strong man you really wanted and respected and then won his heart like they do. You really don't want to be alone, but you want companionship and love on your terms only.

"As for me personally, it's a little fuzzy because you've kinda instinctively tacked my face over your deep feelings for and against Takehito, but you are very aware that you are smarter, stronger, faster, and more skilled in everything than me. You very much resent your forced submission to an inferior creature such as me by your ancestors. You would kill me and be free of your bonding if you could, and you're very frustrated that you can't. Failing that, you want to find a way to control your desires to kill for ego building fun and anger that might piss me off and without being made to feel like you are being forced to be in submission to me in any way, although you did enjoy submissive missionary position sex with me the one time you tried it. As for your initial re-winging with me, you really only jumped me on the roof the first time to use me to get revenge and kill Miya and get a little hot nookie now and then. You feel kinda silly for not taking your hard wired bonding instincts into account when you made that snap decision. At the very bottom of your tama you are very wary, surprised, and puzzled that I can see you here. You don't like baseball, and you want to have a daughter someday. That's about it."

Cash raised his head and hands and broke his contact with her as he moved slowly away to sit cross legged. Nope, he hadn't been wrong at all. Surface physical attraction, deep survival instincts, incredibly deep resentments and insane hatreds in many areas, and no love and not much fondness for him either. The motherhood thing had surprised him though. He watched curiously as Karasuba remained frozen for several long minutes. Then her tense body suddenly slumped as if her puppeteer had released her strings once again. She turned to look over her right shoulder at him with a slightly wounded and still puzzled expression. The good news to Cash was that she didn't have that hard, cold, empty, obsidian eyed predator look about her again.

"That wasn't very pretty at all, was it." As she looked and then moved quickly away, her low voice made that a statement and not a question. "Damn. Motherhood? Me? And you see me as all arrogant mouth, inflated ego, pettiness, and useless insane hate, and now I'm facing a crap lifetime way out on the fringes of your Circle? Now I really see why you wouldn't want me anywhere near you or the others."

"Well, no you don't, not really," Cash winced slightly as he contradicted her. This was not a time to make a highly trained, efficient, incredibly dangerous, and now unhappy serial killer angry. "Uhhh, I'm thinking that maybe you need to see the real me. Maybe when you do, then you'll see why I didn't think you'd fit in with the rest of us. Come. Put your temple against mine, and I'll uhhh, I'll let you look."

Karasuba hesitantly moved to his side and complied. What she had felt and seen from the mirror of his mind moving down through her tama had shaken her badly, even though it had been kinda hot in a weirdly sexual way. She had a premonition doing the same to him was going to be just as unhappy in its revelations about his feelings towards her without the sexy feeling thing being reciprocated.

Once inside, her mind clinically noted the very orderly, open, and honest fashion in which his typical, brutally blunt male mind worked, and just as she had suspected, he was self educated in many areas beyond a simple high school graduate. His memories and feelings from his past, his fondness for his family as well as his great love for baseball were no surprise either. However, his emotional capacity to love was way deeper than she ever imagined and made her memories of Takehito seem very pale in comparison.

When she finally came to the back of his mind, she stopped while mentally gazing at the perfect glowing shapes of his five loved and "connected" Sekirei, Natalie's enveloping and shimmering torus, and his very deep blue glowing orb in the center. He was as compellingly beautiful on the inside as his eyes were on the outside, and there was the radiant perfection of Sekirei bonding that she had never had! A hot wave of jealousy swept through her as she stared at the pathetic looking strands and badly flawed looking shapes of herself, Miya, and Riko. She finally turned and fled while jerking her head away from his. That sad fondness and regret she had read in his eyes earlier was almost on a level with what he would feel for a rabid pet dog that he felt sorry for!

Cash reached up with his right palm to lightly caress her left cheek, but she flinched away.

"I'm not your wounded dog, and pity isn't going to heal me," Karasuba choked out bitterly. "Kindness either, and you were right again. I had no concept of the differences. You know, for all the times you've taken me into whole new areas to teach me things, this one surprised me the most. And how I consistently keep low rating you is pretty stupid on my part, isn't it? You were right. I'm truly screwed up, and, and need some work, and, uhhh, healing. So now what do we do? Where do we start? I can't live like this."

"I wanted better for us, Kara," Cash replied helplessly. "I really did. I can see where we are, but I've got no idea what to do now. I can't just throw a switch and make us fall in love now either. There's so much insane hate running through your tama, and, ummm, I don't know how to help you get rid of it."

_"Start over with her Cash Darling!" _Natalie's urgent voice sounded in his head._"Divert her hatreds into something useful or challenging! She is capable of deep romantic love, she's bonded to you, and she does want you physically! She also wants a daughter!"_

"Well, you may be onto something there, Natalie," Cash nodded as he thought through different options.

"I'd be careful there. Natalie's almost as nuts as I am," Karasuba sighed as she tossed another weary look up at Natalie's hookup, "and you know it."

"Well, we're all a little strange," Cash smiled wanly, "but she just made a couple of good suggestions. One was to get you to channel your hatreds into areas useful and challenging to you, but I can't do that for you. Look, Karasuba, other than some pretty hot sex, impressionistic painting, and a fun dance and dinner date with Kitty, you and I don't have much in common, but we seem to be stuck with each other now whether we want to be or not. You're a trained killer that loves your sword. I'm a peace loving ballplayer that loves to pitch. I do want you to live as happily as you can. I just don't want you to be a danger to those I love. Besides that, there's a giant mistrust issue here because neither do I want you to use me and Natalie to harm anyone else like you've already tried to do."

"I have given my word to my Sisters to live and function under Kazehana's control. She won't allow that, and I have never broken my word once given. Isn't that good enough?"

"Well," Cash shrugged as he thought that over. "It's a good start I guess, but I'm not really interested in controlling you, Rose, or anyone else. I'm just interested in trusting you to be open and honest with me at all times just like I want to always be with you. Everyone needs to control themselves. If we have problems, then we can peacefully work them out together. You know, negotiate as equals to find a way to live happily, but you'll have to trim away some of that too snooty attitude for that to work. If you did, then I'm thinking that if we focus on our few positive basics, maybe we could build trust between us from agreeing on them, and then, uhhh, you know, get more friendly someday."

"Basics like what?" Karasuba asked warily, but a small corner of her felt a twinge of hope. He wasn't even asking for an apology, nor was he making impossible demands for her to become some kind of phony or a goody two shoes. On the other hand, she would have to be totally revealed to him at all times to gain his trust back, but she didn't mind being mentally nude if that was all it took. Having just been shown the perfection of how he could bond with his Sekirei, there was no way she'd ever settle for anything less, ever. She may look like a pathetic sick dog in comparison now, but there had to be a way to fix that. Wait. What had Toys described as crest ecstasy and how she had gotten "connected"?

Cash paused while he stared at her briefly and tried to compare what he had even vaguely in common with a super powered alien bird woman who was wired as The One Who Kills. There wasn't much. She did look pretty damn hot though. He took a deep breath and began as best as he could.

"Well, first, we both wanted and still want our romantic relationships to be as equals coming together by choice. Can we kinda back up and try that? I want all of us in this Circle thing to see each other as equal partners. Rose and the others are all my #1's too, no favorites.

"Second, I don't want your or their submission to me in anything. I value my personal freedom as much as you do.

"Third, I want nothing to do with me or my Sekirei conquering, controlling, and/or destroying the world, but I've got no objections in your trying to say conquer the world of impressionistic art. You're an incredible painter, why slaughter everybody when you can excite them or at least cause them to stop and think and admire your skills as much as I do? We talked about this once, remember?

"Fourth, we're both athletes, not anywhere near equal in abilities of course, but I'm not ashamed of my desire to pitch as good as I can just as you desire to be really great with your sword. And I know what kind of healthy self pride that generates. I'm willing to trade watching you train and stuff with your sword if you'll watch me pitch once in a while.

"And last, I would rather we both choose to become lovers again someday, but if not, we can at least be friendly.

"When you feel like you want to, you know, someday get it on again, and try to become more than friends, or maybe make that daughter of ours, in vitro if you'd rather, then I'll try to be the best damn father the girl can have. You will never be made to feel obligated to me in any way by anything I say or do from now on either. You're on your own to go and do as you please. Where you live, how you live, and what you want do will always be your choice. What do you think? Is that basic enough?"

After staring silently into Cash's deep blue eyes for several long moments, Karasuba, her own face impassive again and her mind totally closed to him, stood up in one fluid motion, retrieved her sword, and buckled it back on. She turned to look back over her shoulder at him.

"Sit very still, and only move your head as you watch," Karasuba commanded calmly, "then I'll tell you what MY basics are."

Starting at about three quarter speed she began her custom sword drill routine again. Within a few minutes she was again moving faster than Cash's eyes could ever hope to follow with only brief glimpses of crimson or black appearing within his range of vision. Cash held absolutely rock steady and finally quit trying to turn his head at all as swishing noises sounded all around him and echoed throughout the globular tank. Suddenly, she appeared standing rigid before him, sword above her head and parallel to the tank's floor. Her face was an inscrutable pale mask of rigid self control. Suitably impressed and yet wondering what was going on, he let his blue eyes travel up her black booted thighs, past her black lace panties, above her twin pointers, and lock onto her obsidian eyes again.

"I am Number 04 Karasuba, The One Who Kills. I cannot apologize for or deny who and what I have been and done, but I can choose my future. I choose you. I'm not going anywhere on my own, and neither are you leaving me behind. I need you, you need me, and so do my Sisters. I've just shown you why. I have already chosen to accept the position of battle commander of our Prime Circle and to be subject to Kazehana's leadership no matter how I feel. I have also chosen to submit to my Sisters' Circle constraints.

"I refuse to think of myself as second best to any female on this planet in any way, and that includes my Sekirei bonding with you, Cash Joseph Archer. Takehito was a fool to reject me, but you have shown greatly warranted wisdom and surprising strength I can respect in doing so. That makes you much, much better than him as a logical choice for my lifetime Ashikabi. You have also shown that you can take five really screwed up Sekirei, fix them, and share love with them the way I want to be loved. I therefore choose you to do the same for me. I want you to choose me as your Sekirei, forever. I will accept your decision if you do not. To show I am serious, my life is in my sword. It is yours to do with as you wish. I will never carry another. If you do choose me, you also have my word I will never work behind your back again in anything, ever. These are my basics. Now what do you think?"

Karasuba unbuckled her sword again, and this time gently laid it across Cash's lap, noticing with satisfaction the growing bulge in his jeans from her projections of physical desire for him as she did so. There wasn't any reason why she shouldn't do all she could to minimize the odds of him still refusing her, was there?

Cash stood up slowly while frowning slightly and not taking his totally focused and now piercing eyes away from hers as he gingerly gave her sword back to her. A very hot wave of intense desire swept through her to make her knees feel shaky. Damn she loved the way he could do that to her!

"Impressive sword drill, very impressive," Cash nodded thoughtfully in approval. "Nice gesture giving it to me an all, and a really good speech too. I've never been able to say really cool stuff like that on the spur of the moment, but are you completely sure about this Karasuba? I mean, I really love the dramatics, and you've always had a great flair for looking good and making an entrance and stuff, but geez, there's a lot more to being in love than screwing and just announcing you want us to love each other. It's gonna take a lot of work and give and take and both of us losing some ego for the other, maybe a lot. It'll be very hard for us to try overcoming your deep hatreds too, but I guess I'm willing to give it another go if you are. Before we do though, please consider this carefully. Even with the sexy desire thing you're consciously pushing at me now, do you really think that you can actually convince the deeper and unconscious parts of your, ummm, rather large ego to lose all that hostility and genuinely love a basic clod like me and vice versa?"

Karasuba didn't answer immediately, but let her sword slip to the floor and lightly thump on the stasis tank's floor beside her. She then took his large hands and in slow motion precision placed them up under her brief crimson battle skirt and pressed them against her very firm, flexing, and black lace clad buttocks. She also opened her mind up to him, hiding nothing of the love/hate she was feeling at the moment and oddly proud that she wasn't.

"Well, no I'm not totally sure, because I'm nuts," Karasuba shrugged as she gave him her Cheshire cat grin, ground her suddenly restless loins into his hardness, and turned her face up to his for a kiss, "but the alternatives really suck. I want your very best crest ecstasy and connection like my other five Sisters have already gotten. Now. You are hands down the best damn Ashikabi on this screwed up planet that an insane Sekirei gal like me can get, even if you do love baseball. And after all I've been through, I deserve the best, but I can afford to learn some ego trimming humility, total honesty, and a lot of hostility management to get it. Now I figure if you bang my egotistical and insane Sekirei brains out hard enough and often enough, then the whole 'being deeply in love' idea is really gonna grow on us both big time and fix me. Let's get connected. Now."

"Since I've got my own, ummm, personality shortcomings, it might not work right away like that," Cash warned while taking a deep breath and mentally shrugging his acceptance of her now honest desires, "maybe not for a long time."

"Then we'd better get started," Karasuba chuckled softly in triumph as she reached down between them to rip her lace panties off and open the bulging fly of his jeans. "Besides, there isn't much else to do for entertainment here on Mama's smelly big tub, is there?"

_" SMELLY BIG TUB?"_ Natalie's angry shout made the globular stasis tank vibrate and echo. _"WHY YOU SNARKY LITTLE …!"_

"Natalie, please hush, you silly slut," Cash commanded calmly to instantly cut through the beginning tirade.

_"WHAT! SILLY SLUT?"_

"That was for your circuit tests, remember? And you shouldn't have responded, honey lamb, since there's no dire emergency here."

"The hell if there isn't," Karasuba reached up to put both hands on his temples and pull his lips towards hers. Her right leg rose to curl around his back as he braced himself to take her weight. "Basic negotiations between us are hereby agreed upon and now closed, Sweetums. Bottom line is I'm yours. You're mine. Forever. We'll work out the rest. Now shut up, caress my crest, and drill me."

***scene break***

The bonsai warehouse scene around Mutsu resembled an elementary school fire drill with the majority of kids having missed their daily rations of attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder medications. Two thirds of the arriving Sekirei and their Ashikabi now deactivating their Karasu battle suits had no idea where they were supposed to go or do and were milling about in half panic from the heavy feeling of impending doom descending upon them all. The remaining third were trying to sort themselves out but couldn't make much headway in the crowded space they were now populating.

Here and there, pushing and shoving matches began between individual Sekirei that didn't particularly like each other in the first place, nor wanted to be rudely crowded by former enemies. Mutsu, trying to give instructions to Sayomi's Petals, was banged hard from behind as Benitsubasa nailed a helmet-less Musubi with a sneaky short punch to the chin. In the resulting tumble of close packed bodies doing a giant, "around the room" domino prat fall, Mutsu wound up on his back staring up at Musubi's Karasu suit crotch as she landed on all fours facing away from him. With a growl of disgust, Mutsu shoved her away, and bounded up to stand on top of the folding table that was his "command center".

"CEASE!" His thundering bellow lost just a little in effect as the table collapsed under his weight, but he leaped high as he felt his base give way. At the apex of his jump, he repeated his command. The jostling Sekirei either froze or instinctively jumped to protect their Ashikabi. Landing lightly, Mutsu angrily grabbed a nearby chair and stood on it while waving his sheathed sword at the crowd like a long baton.

"Separate yourselves and stand with your Ashikabi in a semi circle! Minato to my right, Mikogami next to him, then Sanada, Seo, Kouji, and Shiina here beside Sayomi! No fighting, or I'll drop you all where you stand! I want all of you Ashikabi to step in front of your Circles with your Lead Sekirei beside you!"

Mutsu glared balefully at them all as they moved. Some went sheepishly trying not to draw his attention. Others pragmatically obeyed knowing that they needed to get organized as quickly as possible. Some went resentfully while thinking who had died and put that putz Muts in charge? They moved anyway because they knew his threat was not an idle one and that he was very capable of stunning the entire room into submission with perhaps just a very few exceptions. Nevertheless, order came from chaos in very short order. Mutsu stepped down to reset the table upright while gesturing each Ashikabi and their Leaders forward, however all eight of Minato's Sekirei came with him.

"Which one's your leader?" Mutsu sighed heavily as he gave a silent and apologetic Minato a look that clearly asked when was he ever going to grow a spine?

"We're taking daily turns," Homura coughed rather sheepishly while defending his meek Ashikabi, "but we haven't been able to decide who's going to go first, so ..." He/She trailed off while shrugging and shaking his/her head.

Mutsu gave Seo and Sanada a peeved sideways glance. The two more bellicose male Ashikabi silently rolled their eyes in return while Haihane and Oriha snickered at Minato's Circle. Mutsu glanced the other way to see Mikogami was almost hiding behind Ikki, and Shiina was doing the same behind a frowning, pinch mouthed, but for now thankfully silent Yukari. Kouji, eyes half closed and sightlessly staring up at the warehouse ceiling in deep thought, had been guided forward by his Namiji who had her loving protective arm around his waist.

"Okay, fine, it doesn't matter, and we don't have much time. I just received information that our ship has awakened and Minaka has replicated the eighth jinki that Matsu took when she fled MBI. Sayomi's Order has a spy that informs us Minaka's researchers have also come very close to finding the activation keys to not only open and possess our womb ship, but also use the self destruct command to destroy us and eventually all Human/Sekirei hybrids on this planet once the activated keys are put into orbit. Anticipating our opposition, Minaka has also allied himself with the Chinese military to facilitate his plans to dominate the world by securing and blocking us from Kamakura Island while he opens our ship and uses its technology. They have a fast war fleet consisting of an aircraft carrier battle group, amphibious assault ships, and troops assembling at Shanghai only a little more than 900 nautical miles from Kamakura Island. That's less than 48 hours travel once they launch. We're going to stop them and Minaka, keep our ship safe, and either take our jinkis away from him or destroy them before he can use them against us. I have prioritized our objectives.

"First, we're going to soon be defending Kamakura Island again and need to establish our command and control center as well as our defensive measures there. Taking over MBI's guard base on Kamakura would also be the easiest way to address our now pressing lodging, food, and shelter problems as well as get better communication lines to our ship. In order to do this, we need to find a way to permanently nullify Minaka's laser and surveillance satellites and remove them as a threat later, but we want to do it without alerting the enemy that the ship is awake. Therefore, we can't use the ship's weapons yet and have her energy beams traced back to Kamakura Island. They'll know when we take over MBI's base. That can't be avoided, but they'll just think we're all the opposition they have. Matsu has the MBI satellite com links scrambled for now, but even she can't screw them up forever. Minato, you need to keep her in Norito state until we can find a way take those satellites out. Can you do that?"

"Uhhh, yes," Minato nodded just before Matsu jumped him for an overly enthusiastic, tongue locking kiss. The rest of his Circle looked on in silent annoyance.

"Rail gun," Kouji said so quietly and unexpectedly that everyone blinked in surprise.

"Rail gun?" Mutsu sighed again in frustration. "Do you know the weapon size and energy required to launch a solid projectile into low orbit with enough damage potential? And just where are we going to get one? I suppose YOU could build one out of pieces of scrap laying around in plain sight, right?"

"Certainly," Kouji replied absently. "A long section or two of the new Tokyo anti-grav train rails would do quite nicely after enhancement. It would be child's play to fit small magnetic projectiles with an electronic guidance system that Matsu could home on target. The Lightning Twins under their Norito should be able to furnish more than enough electromagnetic potential for rapid fire launching to achieve sufficient damage velocity, but there's really no need to waste time doing all that."

Kouji lapsed into silence as he idly withdrew his idea notebook and an attached, old style ink pen from the right hip pocket of his rather ragged looking jeans. He began jotting down more equations in his anti-gravity section while everyone waited expectantly for him to continue. When he didn't, Mutsu's anger and frustration finally boiled over.

"Well, are you going to tell us what we COULD do, Kouji?"

"Oh, certainly," Kouji looked up in surprise at Mutsu's loud and aggrieved tone. "The Americans have had hunter/killer satellites in orbit over Asia for years and years. I hacked their frequencies and cracked their command codes when I was nine. Got 'em on my 3D Game Boy 9000 in my apartment, I think, or maybe on that old iPod 7050. Anyway, just have Matsu hijack a couple and use their rail gun weaponry to render MBI's orbital assets incompetent. It shouldn't take more than a couple of hours. There's no need to shout, old bean. It disturbs doing my quadratic integrations quantifying the harmonic analysis of my time-domain transient simulation for electrical power systems using highly nonlinear and/or switching subsystems."

"Huh?" Almost everyone including Mutsu chorused together.

"He's building an anti-gravity engine for his old Toyota and then installing a bigger one in our lunar taxi prototype," Namiji explained quite fondly as she lightly kissed Kouji on the forehead. "I'll just pop back to the apartment and get those for you, Koo Koo, and be back in a few minutes. My Sisters will keep you safe, okay?"

"Oh, okay, dearest, that's wizard of you, really," Kouji nodded as he once again went space eyed and began writing and mumbling to himself about adding at least one factor for surge arresters into his next set of equations.

"There ya go, Muts," Seo chuckled at the still comically half irritated and half dumbfounded look on Mutsu's face. "There's problem one solved. What's next? Transportation of all of us and the extra food, medical, and material supplies we'll probably need out to Kamakura on the sneak, getting the other Sekirei and their Ashikabi to safety or joining us, or getting back in touch with Archer and the ship?"

"Archer! That mindless ass!" Mutsu snarled in immediate renewed anger. "The fool wakes us up declaring a dire emergency, blocks all the building exits with ice, and takes off! Shiina and I had to jump our new Circles to another building roof two at a time to get down to ground level! Then we're left farting around Tokyo trying to find a safe place until Taki and the Whip Twins suggested we all come here! Meanwhile he disappears taking Kazehana and her communications with the ship with him! She's not answering her phone either, and now we're screwing around here without our most powerful Circle's protective/offensive capabilities, our best healer, and Akitsu's sensing range! Not to mention Riko! Our transportation problem would be instantly solved with her! But no! He only thinks of himself! The first chance I get, I'm going to stomp his gaijin balls, kick his selfish gaijin ass, and keep kicking it clear to the Atlantic side of his gaijin country! Not only does he stay willfully ignorant of his Sekirei's potential, but he has a completely cavalier attitude towards half this planet's population! We're facing an all out war, and he doesn't want to fight? Or use our best weapons? What kind of leadership is that?"

"Cheer up Muts," Seo chuckled again while nodding his head in agreement to most of Mutsu's complaints and reaching for his phone. "I've got the ship's phone number, and Natalie can put us in touch with Riko."

"Natalie? The ship? I have to ask her some questions!" Mutsu reached for the phone but Seo yanked it away.

_"Konnichiwa, Big Daddy," _Natalie's voice answered promptly. _"Please provide both positive and negative American slang for emotive vocalizations and imagery suitable for greeting nubile females unknown to you."_

_ "_Juicy Mama, you are sounding and looking gamorgeous," Seo responded just as quickly while holding a peeved Mutsu at arm's length. Mutsu's knees went weak because he had forgotten Takehito had given Seo the ability to rob Sekirei of their power. "There's no way you could be a garg with a huge garf. How's that?"

_"Which one was positive? And could you rate them on a scale of one to ten?"_ Natalie asked hesitantly as Seo could almost feel her internet search engines going into hyper overdrive.

"The first was a very positive ten, the second more of a one," Seo shrugged while grinning. "I want you to to ask sixty seven to meet me where she got saved from an evil dog at the earliest possible moment. Have her bring the big boxes. Can do, babelicious Betty? Don't be a blonde biatch."

_"Understood, Tar Baby, and thank you for that last double comparison, you BFU fangtard. Beginning revised diagnostics of emotional norms for optimizing my first visual meeting with my Prime Leader."_

"Don't cut us off, Natalie! I want you to meet your oldest son," Seo finally handed his phone to Mutsu. "Say something flattering and then something not so flattering in American slang. Me and my group are heading over to the construction hut to meet Riko and bring her here. And don't talk long enough to give MBI a fix."

"Uhhh, Mother? Natalie? Greetings! I've always wanted to," Mutsu began earnestly.

_"All cognitive and emotive functions now approaching circuitry overload. Call later and use American slang. Thank you. Sayonara." _

Mutsu stared stupidly at the phone now emitting a steady dial tone. He then began to softly swear to himself. A gaijin moron had re-winged the strongest Sekirei Circle AND been elected Prime Leader by an obviously mentally damaged ship. Now the rest of them had a general who wouldn't fight, weapons they couldn't use, and a command and control and logistical nightmare run by way too emotional females and oversexed mindless males. Sun Tsu never had to put up with this bullshit. Sighing heavily again, he turned to Sayomi who was nodding in sympathetic understanding.

"My Dear, please get me the latest video reports from your Chinese secretary in General Chen's office. I especially want as much intel as we can get on the Shanghai staging preparations as well as her close ups of Minaka's bunker during her last visit. When Seo gets back, ask Koko to get as much as she can hack from both MBI and the Chinese systems about Minaka's jinki calibrations and those psychic protection helmets. See what materials would be needed for us to duplicate them and possibly shield us and Natalie's sentient core. We also might be able to have the ship set up a jamming sequence of interfering frequencies, if we can get her to concentrate."

"Sanada, if and when we'll ever be able to get all our Sekirei properly organized, I want these battle pairs formed. Archer and Minato's are the most innately powerful and in front, then yours and Seo's on their left, mine and Mikogami's on the right, and then Kouji's and Shiina's behind. Seo's group is the most experienced at meshing their powers. I want him and you to find out what offensive and defensive capabilities you can produce between your groups, then analyze the rest of our capabilities for enhancing support."

"Hey! That's a good idea!" Homura chimed in while looking rather smug. "Tsukuimi and I merged her Water Dragon Attack and my Fire Dragon Attack once to make a Giant Steam Dragon! It was huge!"

"Impressive," Mutsu cocked his head while raising his eyebrows in a mocking scorn. "So if we had a stacked bamboo steamer large enough, we could all eat steamed rice, fish, veggies, and dim sum for dinner? Amazing! Hey, it might even be our secret weapon against Minaka and his troops! You hit them with a lame cloud of steam that might actually clean the hull of one assault ship, and we can all stand back and watch our enemies laugh themselves to death!"

"Well," Homura returned a look of crestfallen resentment. "It did look cool when we made it."

"Sanada," Mutsu gave Minato and his mismatched Circle another greatly annoyed look. "Try to find some large scale fighting abilities in our Circles that could actually be effective over a wide range."

"Okay, Major Muts," Sanada, flashing Mutsu a slightly derisive look of his own, gave a mocking two finger salute away from his forehead while turning to saunter jauntily away.

Minato and his insulted Sekirei followed along with Matsu still smiling in dreamy eyed triumph while Tsukuimi and Homura glared daggers over their shoulder at Mutsu. Taki of the Mists, the Whip Twins, and Musubi weren't looking too pleased either. Little Kusano was making ominous growling noises in her throat as Minato tried to sooth them all with placating gestures and soft words. He didn't seem to be making much headway.

"Don't call me Muts," Mutsu snapped impatiently after them all as Sayomi offered him a soothing double pack of Ho Ho's. After a second of further thought, he called after the swaggering Sanada. "Hey! Sanada! Do you know of an appropriate nice greeting to a female using American slang?"

"Sure! Just say, Hey! Chickypoo, I'm a Hinwah shee-han! Wassup!"

"That's American slang?" Mutsu frowned uncertainly as he concentrated on committing the strange phrase to memory and reached for another chocolate covered, crème filled snack cake.

"Word. It's universal," Sanada nodded sagely over his shoulder as he began waving at the Sekirei beginning to mill about again. "Let's go girls! Everybody gather around for a little battle chat!"

"But what does it mean?" Mutsu asked around a muffled mouthful of Ho Ho.

"It means she's cute, and you're a dorky pretentious ass," Kouji said absentmindedly as his seven Sekirei took his left elbow and gently led him towards the others while he continued to scribble equations into his idea book.

Mutsu, silently rolling his eyes in frustrated irritation, had to quickly retreat behind his "command center" table as once again the scene in the bonsai warehouse resembled an elementary school fire drill about to go badly wrong, again.

***scene break***

Riko, feeling another wave of weariness hit her again, very delicately and deliberately separated the last layer of muscle and protective tissue to expose the thin metallic looking pin that had been drilled into the sacrum bone at the base of Miya's spine. Riko turned to look at her surgical partner for further instructions while trying to hold steady and psychically mesh to augment Himeko's powers. Riko could sense that a portion of Himeko's mind was keeping Miya heavily sedated. Another part was instantly healing damaged blood vessels and capillaries from their incision and probing while a third was tracing a few deliberately altered nerve pathways in Miya's spinal column.

"That strange feeling pin has some kind of unknown property that's rerouting Miya's pudendal nerve directly through her tama," Himeko whispered with her eyes half closed in deep concentration, "and bypasses the upper thoracic nerves in her spine that would normally activate her crest when bonded to her Ashikabi."

"What's the pudenda nerve do?" Riko whispered in return while holding very, very still.

"It, ummm, innervates the external genitalia of the male penis and female clitoris. It's the main activator of Sekirei bonding and crest formation, very sensitive and even able to function at a very young age like it did with Number 108 Kusano. The way Miya's been altered means that her normal Sekirei bonding capacity has been deliberately made to focus more of her psychic power somewhere else when she experiences sexual release. Rerouting through her tama means that all her emotions are concentrated directly into an orgasm for psychic power and not activating her crest. Those upper nerve fibers from her tama to her thoracic area of her spinal cord have been disconnected. That sacral bone pin is some kind of living tissue with magnetic properties, like a bone magnet maybe. Whoever did this to Miya wasn't from this planet."

"But why?"

"Since she was Natalie's original Prime Pillar," Himeko squeezed her eyes completely shut while trying to trace the alterations done to Miya's spinal nerves. "It was probably done so that Natalie could experience a much stronger psychic bonding to her Prime Leader, and at the same time give Miya a higher bandwidth capacity to communicate with her Circle's other seven Pillars during interstellar space travel. Our Sekirei psychic abilities are in our tamas, all of them. Think of this sacral bone pin rerouting Miya's pudenda nerve as a giant psychic power booster. No wonder she has such a stunted bonding connection to our Husband, doesn't have the same amount of emotional loyalty to him, and yet has an elevated physical craving for him. Her tama boosted orgasms must release an inordinate amount of endorphins in her brain that emulate addictive opiates. Rejection tama pain must have also hit her faster and harder than yours and Karasuba's, and that's why she isn't recovering as quickly too. It's also why I felt something very wrong in her spine while trying to give her more energy before we came out here. I'm so glad she allowed us to do an exploratory peek and try to fix this."

"Wow! Miya's physically addicted to Cash Joseph? Are we going to take this living metal pin out then?" Riko clenched her fists while mentally concentrating on keeping her probe from slipping and inadvertently damaging Miya's spinal nerves.

"NO!" Himeko replied vehemently. "That living pin has fused with her pudenda nerve and her sacral bone! Damage that and we might damage her entire tama more than it is and kill her! It's already badly cracked from the emotional trauma she's endured with Takehito's death and now her near rejection death! Only Husband can heal her tama, but it might take some time! All we can do to help Miya is locate all the loose nerve fibers on the upper end of her tama and reconnect them to the thoracic nerves in her spinal cord! That new loop will cut her overall psychic power a little, not much, but it will allow her to activate her crest and have an almost normal emotional bonding with Husband like the five of us! Then he can begin healing her tama!"

"What do you mean almost normal bonding?" Riko frowned. Since her light bonding was very abnormal, maybe something could be learned here to help her with Cash Joseph. Anything that could be used to help capture some positive interest in her would be more than welcome. It would be life saving.

"Uhhh, well, I think it's going to be very, very physically and emotionally intense when her crest emerges, more than any of the rest of us, even Karasuba's and Kazehana's maybe. Miya's emotional bonding to Husband is going to be boosted too. She'll also continue the way she already orgasms so hard, if and when he decides to resume having sex with her that is. It will make her, ummm, very physically active and much more affectionate towards him. Cold, calculating Miya is going to warm up to everyone else too, I think."

"Well, that's good. I guess," Riko thought about it for a second before asking, "Can we do the same thing to me? Put in a pin?"

"Sorry," Himeko shook her head while still concentrating. "Miya's got the only Sekirei pudenda pin in her sacral bone on this planet, and I wouldn't know how to attach one to you properly even if there were others. You're stuck being just as normal as the rest of us on this one, Reeker. Withdraw that probe, and let me heal the incision as you do. Slow, go slow so there won't be any scarring. I've almost got her upper tama fibers reconnected, one more, and, and, there. It's done. Let me check those thoracic nerve connections, and yes, those feel good. Okay, let's let my bond mate sleep for now. She needs the extra rest."

"As if I didn't," Riko muttered resentfully. She began cleaning her surgical tools as Himeko swabbed Miya's back clean of blood. Rats! A rather simple surgery and Miya gets herself mostly fixed with Cash Joseph without having to actually DO anything. Riko wasn't any closer to getting intimate with him other than his promise to talk to her. Fat lot of good that was going to do. She was a lousy conversationalist! She wanted some time to prepare for their time together! But no, it was Riko do this and could Riko do that! In addition, all seven of her Sisters were doing little to help. Where was all the panic and threat of imminent danger? Where was the sense of urgency and planning to confront the threats that Akitsu and Cash Joseph had felt in Tokyo? Meanwhile, Riko was being run ragged as the Circle and Natalie's gopher. She was quickly getting overly tired again too.

Her increasing weariness came from making nano-diamonds and metal-organic heat tiles for ion engine repair with Uzume, setting up ultrasonic cavitation around the bottom of Natalie's hull, resetting two repair robots to begin repairs on the second of Natalie's damaged ion drive engines, and now helping with a delicate operation on Miya while Kazehana and Karasuba had all the intimate fun with Cash Joseph. Their arrival on Kamakura hadn't been much fun for Riko, or restful either. Then Natalie had come up with the bright idea to cover her exterior hull with her own Karasu energy cloaking cover once her whole hull had been polished to look nice for her Cash Darling. That had taken another full hour of robotic programming to turn out more of the microchips needed, and Riko would now have to scrounge Tokyo for some more Rare Earth elements to complete the task. When was she ever going to get some time to herself, rest, and then map a strategy to start over with Cash Joseph?

_"Riko dear,"_ Natalie called softly out of the small bunk room's new speaker's. _"Seo-san Big Daddy needs you to meet him right away where he saved you from the evil dog in Tokyo. He also wants you to bring our transport boxes with you. When you return, could you bring at least 700 kiloliters of concentrated and citrus based, foaming industrial cleaner and one hundred and fifty three electric, time mist air fresheners that are floral scented? You'll probably have to steal all that from somewhere. I can provide a list of professional commercial restaurant cleaners and their addresses. I MUST smell better for my Cash Darling right away."_

"Oh, okay," Riko sighed heavily. A womb ship douche? She'd probably have to do that too, along with more lousy and tiring transport trips. And she hadn't even had enough time to reroute the cooling splitter in her Karasu battle suit that kept poking her butt. Oh well, she could use this opportunity to get the extra Rare Earth metals she needed as well as more duct tape. She was always running out of the ever handy tape. Whatever Seo needed moved around Tokyo, he could surely spare room for a case of duct tape, a small box of metals, and some lousy foaming cleanser.

_"Also on your way to Tokyo, could you disable a snooping Chinese submarine for me? I have intercepted and decoded transmissions that indicate they are trying to ascertain my status. Actually, all you have to do is tweak their several electronic sensors antennae to make them inoperable and maybe bend their rudder so they can only go in circles. I'll give you the boat's GPS location after you leave, but you should eat first, Child. There's hot food ready in my command center."_

"All right," Riko shrugged in resignation as she exited the small sleeping cubicle. "I'm coming, but I'm going to get my tool kit first and my battle suit. I'm going to fix my suit's cooling line before I leave. It won't take long."

Within a few minutes, Riko entered Natalie's command center to find Akitsu, Uzume, and Toyotama already eating.

"How's Miya?" Uzume paused between bites.

"Sleeping. Himeko fixed the damaged nerves in her upper spine, but Miya's still got a weird pin in her lower back's sacral bone tying her pudendal nerve up through her tama. We couldn't take that out, but Mekko says it won't really hurt her to leave it in. Everything else is functioning properly now too."

"Pudenda nerve? What is that?" Akitsu frowned in concern.

"It's, ummm, the nerve that, ummm, makes people happy during sex," Riko replied awkwardly and then changed the subject. "Where's Cash Joseph? Still with Kazehana?"

_"No. Cash Darling is negotiating with Karasuba in my stasis tank."_

"Negotiating? Natalie, I thought it was called screwing," Toyotama frowned slightly in confusion and then shook her head in wonder. "After all night with Kazehana too. How does Master do it?"

"He always lasts longer after his first time. All males do," Uzume answered in an offhand yet smugly knowing manner. "That's why I get him off quick, and then after he recovers, I get four or five really big cookies before his next one."

"Four or five? And I've only been getting one at a time?" Toyotama scowled accusingly. "Why didn't someone tell me about this? You know I'm not very experienced! Some pals you guys are!"

"You're right, Toys. We all need to really care more for each other," Akitsu nodded seriously, "and especially in this area now that there will soon be eight of us competing for Husband's time and energy. We must also be careful to give him some personal space and time to himself. That includes you too, Natalie. You badger and nag Husband too much, monopolize his attention, and you're giving him needless headaches while being very rude to the rest of us."

Riko sighed in frustration, started eating rapidly, and totally ignored the resulting immediate back and forth squabbling that ensued, Natalie versus a very firm and adamant Akitsu. Toyotama was bitching about only getting one cookie at a time with Cash Joseph? Riko had never gotten one! And the chances of her capturing Cash Joseph's interest in her, already down close to zero, were bound to get even smaller! Especially with the addition of much more experienced and highly active Miya and Karasuba now competing for his bedroom favors! Why hadn't he just taken her their first night together in his old apartment? It surely would have saved all the hurt, frustration, and stupidity that she had endured since! Now how was she ever going to get accepted by him, let alone compete with her sexier Sisters?

After finishing her quick meal and blocking out further worry over Cash Joseph, Riko hurriedly went to work on moving her battle suit's irritating coolant splitter, deciding finally to simply add an extra length of line and use a small metal bracket to locate the splitter more comfortably into the hollow of her back at the base of her spine.

Minutes later she was invisibly scudding over the Pacific Ocean towards the Chinese submarine while towing three empty cloaked transport boxes behind her. Following Natalie's GPS coordinates, Riko found the sub cruising slowly half submerged in the long, lazy ocean swells that sparkled in the afternoon sun. Riko quickly looked the sub's conning tower over, saw several antennae deployed, couldn't quickly decide which one had sensors, and simply decided to rip them all away. Several sailors on watch blinked up in open mouthed astonishment at the sound of tearing metal and destruction above them before quickly scrambling and sounding a very loud alarm. Riko searched for the sub's rudder, also had trouble mentally locating it under the disturbed water foaming from the sub's stern, and again simply settled for ripping away the sub's twin propellers. She then turned abruptly for Tokyo as the suddenly slowing submarine began wallowing and rolling badly in the now quartering waves. Speeding away and smiling in satisfaction at neutralizing the enemy boat without hurting anyone, Riko suddenly winced in pain. The cooling splitter's attaching bracket had broken loose upon her sudden turn and was now jabbing her lower spine along with the now loose and shifting splitter.

Scavenging for Rare Earth metals, more duct tape, and Natalie's foaming cleanser didn't really take all that long, but by the time Riko had finally met Seo and his Circle and followed them to the bonsai warehouse, the broken bracket and unruly splitter poking her again had made her back ache badly. Then she learned she would be transporting almost every Sekirei and Ashikabi in Tokyo out to Kamakura Island along with several tons of supplies. It was going to be a very hectic and grueling next few hours, but there was no way she was going to put up with more back pain. Irritably retiring to the one female bathroom in the warehouse, she removed her battle suit, knelt down, and once again temporarily re-attached the cooling splitter with several strips of duct tape. Before putting her Karasu armor back on and still kneeling, she arched her back to stretch and rub her aching lower spine while looking at the reddened area in the long mirror on the back of the bathroom door.

Perhaps it was the fresh memory of Miya's surgery, or just one of those freaky kinds of accidents, it didn't matter because the results were the same. While she massaged her aching lower back with her right fist, Riko looked in the door mirror to use her psychic powers to help massage her irritated sacral area. She froze as her mental kinetic pressure inadvertently kneaded her pudendal nerve.

"OHHH!" Riko exhaled and blinked rapidly as a sudden, self induced mini orgasm rippled through her loins. Very slowly and with delicate precision, she repeated her mental nerve kneading action and got an even better response from her body. A big smug grin broke over her Riko's features as she realized what had just happened.

Finally, after all this time and worry about how she was going to capture Cash Joseph's sexual interest in her, and even compete for his affections on an ongoing basis with her seven Sisters and Natalie, Riko had found something only she could do for him in the bedroom. Cash Joseph Archer also had a pudendal nerve that innervated his Little CJ. She might have to wait until after Mutsu's planned battle drills for Natalie's Sekirei platoon were done, but Riko now knew precisely how to deliberately and delicately arouse his immediate interest in her and then mentally and physically obtain intense simultaneous and multiple orgasms with her Ashikabi, repeatedly. All she needed was to get them both naked in a love motel room with two adjacent mirrors to let her see their backs at the same time, or anyplace with two adjacent mirrors actually.

No, her smug grin faded. On second thought, Cash Joseph would just see that as just another unwanted manipulation of him like the Popsicle in the sky idea, and she'd be totally exiled from him for who knew how long. On the other, the dual nerve massage would be a great item after they got on better terms mutually, if better terms could ever be achieved. So, now what? Riko glumly began donning her battle suit while mentally worrying over her approach to her estranged Ashikabi like a severely starved chihuahua trying to gnaw open a dried elephant bone.

"Reeker! I've got to pee!" An armored and highly agitated Haihane burst through the locked bathroom door and jumped into the nearest empty stall. "What in the hell are you doing locked in here? There's a war starting girl! We're heading out to invade Kamakura Island! Well, infest is probably more accurate with the way that dumb ass Muts is pissing everybody off! He couldn't lead a lead a flash flood downhill without trying to make it feel inferior first! You in here hiding from him and that stuck-up pack of Petal twits he winged?"

"No, I had to fix the cooling line splitter to my battle suit that was hurting my back before I started hauling everything and everybody out there. And it's probably going to take half the night going back and forth too," Riko sighed bitterly.

"Ain't you heard, Reeker?" Haihane's voice echoed out of her stall as she quickly removed her Karasu battle suit in order to urinate. "Mikogami's going to let us use his tri-hull yacht, that super sized one his papa gave him last year. His crew just brought it over from the yacht club's marina, and we're loading it up now with all the food and supplies we've scrounged. All you're probably going to need to do is relax, or maybe just push the boat a little faster if MBI's helicopter squadrons try to get cute. Seo finally got Kazehana on her phone, and she and Miya are going to provide our air and sea cover for the trip. We're going to war in style! Say, how's Karasuba and Arch getting along? They patch things up yet?"

"They're," Riko paused in annoyance, "negotiating."

"Heh, you mean she's allowing him to boff her brains out so she can get her connecting big power boost," Haihane chuckled knowingly. "You next in line to get connected?"

"No, Miya's next, and then Cash Joseph has only promised to discuss, ummm, our differences. Uhhh, connecting isn't too likely for some time, maybe a long time, but we're going to try to talk things out."

"Talk?" Haihane, now stripped down to just a pair of brief green panties and bra, said in disbelief as she flung open her stall door and headed for the sink to wash her hands. "In case you ain't got the memo, Reek, you only need to screw and have him hang onto your crest when you both go off. It's a helluva rush too! What in the hell is there to talk about?"

"Uhhh, Cash Joseph and I, uhhh, aren't on intimate terms and never have been."

"Get outta town! Are you shittin' me? How'd you get winged then?"

"I, ummm, accidentally used his dirty spork to eat rice when I got really hungry," Riko tried not to stutter in embarrassment, "and his dried saliva, ummm, sorta did it. He never really wanted me in the first place, and, and things have gotten more difficult since."

"A dirty spork?" Haihane turned to stare at Riko in blinking amazement and then began shaking her head in disgusted disbelief. "You're still a virgin? Hey, Reeker, I'd be laughing my ass off if this wasn't so damn serious! You and Arch have GOT to get past this fast! We NEED you guys connected big time! All eight of you! It's a good thing for you that I found Seo first, otherwise I'd be kicking your ass to smile sideways now! Matter of fact, Kazehana should! You're in the Prime Circle, you ditz!"

"I want to!" Riko began to tear up. "You don't know how much I want to, but I don't know how! I've tried everything and just keep driving him further away from me! He almost hates me now! And I don't appeal to him!"

"Hate? Arch?" Haihane's eyebrows went up and her mouth dropped open. "There isn't an ounce of hate in the guy! What's the matter with you? I'm not even winged to him and can feel that! And appeal? Reeker! Look at me! I'm the Plainest Jane of all of us, and I'm pretty sure Arch would have re-winged me on the spot if I hadn't locked into Seo first!"

"How were you going to do it? I mean get Cash Joseph's interest to, to.."

"Karasuba was gonna sneak me into Arch's bed after warming him up for me, but I'd decided I wanted the real deal and just go for him without any help. I was just going to look him in the eyes, open up, show him I wanted him, let him know I'd always be his, and let him accept me," Haihane spread her hands as if that had been the simplest thing in the world to do. "That's exactly what happened when Seo and I surprised each other, just kind of automatically meshed, and then went hot! It just happens when a Sekirei chick clicks with a strong Ashikabi. It ain't rocket surgery, you little goof! Even the silly little icicle Oriha finally caught on!"

"I tried that! Cash Joseph wanted me a little when we first met, I got real hot, but then he backed away! We, we never meshed!"

"And I bet I know why too!" Haihane now threw up her hands in exasperation. "You both looked at each others eyes, but YOU never opened your mind up to him! He felt you were just forcing yourself upon him! Arch never saw all of you and then accept you like he's hard wired to do! That's the dirty little secret about our Ashikabi, especially the stronger ones, but Arch couldn't read and trust you! And I bet he still can't! It isn't any wonder he backed off!

"Reek, for being so brainy, you can really be a dumb shit! You've run around like a dummy hiding behind your smarts, that killer bod, healthy skin, and model face of yours, and maybe even all your really neat gadgets like these battle suits too! You've always been hiding yourself from back when we were in grade school together! Hell, nobody trusted you because we could all tell you were closed off from us! That's why you got picked on so much!

"You're still closed off, driving yourself crazy, losing your temper, and screwing up everything you do and everybody else! Dammit Reeker! In case you didn't know, Minaka, MBI, the Chinese, and probably every other major military power on this planet is gonna come after us and Natalie! Very soon too! This ain't about you and your damn selfish pride and insecure fears and making folks feel sorry for you and kissing your ass anymore! We NEED you! We NEED your abilities! Get with the program, will ya? You're IN the Prime Circle and robbing us and your Ashikabi of all of its power and potential if you don't! When all eight of you high powered gals get cooking together around Arch, it's gonna be incredible! And you'll give a major boost to our other seven Circles too! Now quit feeling sorry for yourself, get out of here, and go get LAID before I get really pissed off and tell everybody exactly why you really REEK!"

Haihane suddenly grabbed Riko's battle suit collar and crotch and literally threw Riko out of the warehouse bathroom. Riko's helmet came flying at her head a few seconds later, but she mentally caught it before impact. Turning in instant fury, Riko's mind picked the semi nude Haihane up, spun her around, and started to launch the panty clad Sekirei headfirst back into the bathroom stall. The loud gasp of dismay that came from the surrounding Sekirei now staring at them both made Riko pause and semi collect her angry wits to realize Cash Joseph wouldn't like to hear about this at all. Riko trembled for a second to gain more self control, and then gave Haihane a narrowed eyed look of determination. Haihane was NOT going to get away with her high handed throw. Riko mentally reached out, let her power press down against the naked base of Haihane's spine and massaged Haihane's pudendal nerve, hard.

"hot DAMN! WHOA! HO! HO!" Haihane shouted as her eyes crossed and body quivered violently before Riko let her old tormentor simply drop weak kneed to the warehouse floor. Haihane then fell to all fours, suddenly panting hard and trying to catch her breath. Riko gave one firm nod of self congratulation at controlling her temper somewhat and began calmly putting on her Karasu helmet.

Riko glared at the partially surrounding crowd of now silently staring Sekirei in their multicolored battle uniforms. Some, especially Seo's Circle, seemed to be frowning unhappily, others smiling in approval, and most simply curious as to what was going on. A few ignored the incident as minor spats, shoving matches, and some outright fights had pretty much been the norm since they had all arrived here earlier. A now harried looking Mutsu was scowling at Riko from the other side of his folding table while he tried to think of some derogatory American slang to yell at them both.

"I'm taking boxes of urgent supplies out to our ship," Riko announced loudly to none of them in particular. "Call Kazehana if you need anything later. I have to do a few things that must be taken care of right away."

With that, Riko slammed her visor shut, mentally latched onto her transport boxes filled with Rare Earth metals, duct tape, and Natalie's interior cleansers, and launched herself up and towards the big doors on the dock side of the bonsai warehouse. She was going to deliver these boxes, check on Natalie's repair robots working on their new projects, and then get some well earned rest. Later, she was going to be with Cash Joseph, alone and uninterrupted even if this whole stupid Sekirei/Minaka war started without them.

"WAIT!" Haihane shouted just as Riko went through the exit. "REEKER! BEFORE YOU GO, DRILL ME IN THE BACK AGAIN! MAN! WHAT A RUSH!"


	25. Chapter 25

**The Game Changer**

**Chapter 25 – Team Harmony, Soul Searching**

Wherever he was, it was very, very dark, he was slowly floating up out of the velvety darkness, and his head hurt. Somewhere close by there were the sounds of a female softly weeping while mumbling some kind of gibberish in a pitiful, pleading, high pitched, whiny kind of voice. A loud wailing siren was echoing through his skull too. Both noises were making his head hurt even more. Who was she? Why was she crying? Where was he? What had happened? Hell, who was he?

Wait. Something was coming to him. Oh yeah, right, he was Number Four, a middle inning relief pitcher for the Batavia Muckdogs, named, named, uhhh, Cash Archer? Yes, Cash Joseph Archer, baseball player, but most of his teammates either called him CJ or Joe. Well, on his better days anyway. Names for him on his bad days in not finding the strike zone often enough got a whole lot more lewd, crude, and downright graphically dirty. Okay, so, that's who he was, and what he was. Now he was making some progress! What else could he find out?

There was pressure on the back of his head, shoulders, arms, back, legs, and heels. There were lighter pressures from several spots around and on top of his upper torso, and his arms felt pinned down. Pain seemed to be drifting down into him from each spot, but the middle of his forehead hurt the worse and was throbbing very painfully. Was he laying on his back? And smelling fresh blood mixed with some kind of funky dead fish smell? Baseball pitcher, head hurt, bleeding, on his back, smelling like barfed fish, sirens going off, Mom crying over him, arms and chest strapped?

So, that was it. He had mistakenly thrown another fast ball, or at least what he called a fast ball, over the center of the plate and got it belted right back at his forehead too fast to duck, again. The batted ball must have knocked him down and out, made his nose bleed, then medics strapped him to an emergency stretcher. The echoing siren meant he must be taking another ride in an ambulance, and he must have barfed up Mom's tuna salad lunch, again. Man, he hated tuna salad! Let alone getting his best pitch pounded back into his forehead! When was he ever going to learn that eating any type of fish on the days he pitched was always a bad idea and bad luck too?

Something wasn't right with his deductions. What was it? Oh right, Mother swore she'd never watch him pitch another game after he'd been carted off the field and spent two weeks in the hospital with a concussion the first time he'd gotten badly beaned. She'd said the pain was too great for her, his sister, and his aunts to bear when he'd been knocked unconscious. So who was the female weeping for him this time? And why wasn't she saying anything he could understand? Her sing song words sounded so, so, ummm, foreign? There was no mistaking her tone though. She was pleading for someone to do something. Wonder what she wanted. Maybe he should open his eyes, sit up, ask, and help her out. He made a valiant effort. His right forefinger twitched, searing pain lanced through his badly throbbing head, and all of a sudden he deduced that simply relaxing back down into velvety darkness seemed like the right thing to do next.

***scene break***

Miya, fighting the ever encroaching and increasing waves of insanity and blackness that was pounding against the shoals of her conscious mind, used every ounce of her strength to stagger inside Natalie's stasis tank and maneuver both the comatose and bleeding Kazehana and Riko down beside their badly bleeding Ashikabi and Karasuba. Akitsu, Uzume, Himeko, and Toyotama, all unconscious and all also bleeding heavily from their ears and noses, had already been dragged into the tank and placed in contact with Cash's body, each Sekirei's bloody head claiming a space on his barely breathing torso. Now crawling on her hands and knees, Miya pushed Riko's gory forehead against the left side of Cash's head and arranged Kazehana's against the right side. Karasuba's bloody head was pushed up against the top of Cash's skull. Miya slumped forward to put her left temple on Cash's forehead, and took one last deep breath of consciousness.

"Mother!" Miya expelled her lungs in whispered urgency towards the kneeling and weeping holographic form of Natalie trying vainly to clasp Cash's still bleeding head in her surreal hands. "We need Kusano here! Natalie! We need ..."

The futilely clutching fingers of Natalie's weeping and pleading form kept opening and closing while trying to pull her Prime Leader's body and head up and cradle him against her bosom. There was no sign that the totally hysterical Natalie had even heard Miya's desperate plea before Miya succumbed to the overwhelming darkness.

***scene break***

The Sekirei occupation, or infestation as Haihane called it, was very anti-climatic if somewhat marred in disharmony. Mikogami's luxury yacht wasn't even challenged as it approached Kamakura Island, eased up to and tied onto MBI's small dock, and began disembarking her cargo of Sekirei and their supplies. All this was due to several factors that hadn't been foreseen by Mutsu at all.

First, their departure was greatly delayed when Number 108 Kusano had insisted on having all of Mutsu's strike force go out and collect enough seeds, flowers, trees, and plants so that she could make Mother Natalie's island a very pretty place to live. When Mutsu had impatiently dismissed her demand, Kusano had dropped to all fours and chomped down on Mutsu's ankle like an angry little junk yard dog. It had hurt so much that Mutsu hadn't been able to concentrate enough to stun her. The Whip Twins had immediately wrapped his arms and thighs together so that he couldn't move to harm her or shake her loose. A still very pissed Homura had a ball of fire cocked to flame Mutsu's ass if he tried to hurt Kusano. A chastened but wiser Mutsu had immediately capitulated and every Sekirei in the warehouse had laughingly left to start filling Kusano's order. This had taken about an hour or so.

Second, it had taken another couple of hours before Matsu and Kochou had been able to utilize Kouji's hack codes and maneuver enough American hunter/killer satellites into position to fire their weaponry. Several of MBI's laser satellites covering Tokyo and Kamakura Island had survived the first assault and it had taken more time to reposition the hunter/killers and then fire again. Finally the two Sekirei computer geeks were satisfied that it would be safe to embark, but it had taken too much time for a fuming Mutsu.

Third, just as the yacht was ready to let go of its mooring lines, Kazehana and Miya had dropped in their tracks like two strings of cooked noodles. Kazehana went completely comatose and started bleeding heavily from her nose and ears. Miya, also bleeding, had remained conscious enough to get back up on all fours, wobble over to Kazehana, pick her up, weakly launch them both into the air, and start kinetically flying towards Kamakura Island. Every Sekirei knew that something was very, very wrong with their Prime Leader, Cash Joseph Archer. After trying desperately to contact Natalie and getting no response, Seo's Circle had each picked up a member of Minato's, and all eight of them along with their two Ashikabi began following Miya in the air, albeit much more slowly.

Fourth, Mutsu, now deprived of air cover for Mikogami's yacht, had turned to Sanada and his Circle to lead Mikogami and Kouji's Circles on a fast, cloaked battle suit raid on MBI's helicopter fleet. The mission was to do as much damage to ground and/or destroy MBI's air attack squadrons as quickly as possible. Sanada's three Circle raid was wildly successful, leaving MBI's entire helicopter base littered with masses of wrecked metal, but it had taken more precious time, and Minaka had been able to alert the Japanese Harbor Patrol to stop any and all ships from leaving. Mutsu, hand linked with Sayomi and her Petals as well as Shiina's had simply mind stunned the crews of every ship that had tried to stop Mikogami's yacht. Once again more delays occurred as it had forced Mutsu to zig and zag their way out of the harbor and past ships that had to be boarded to have their engines shut down and left to drift. The yacht, not a speed vessel to begin with, had then slowly sailed, majestically if somewhat very tardily, to Kamakura Island.

Finally, after everything that could go haywire had, except for engine trouble, the yacht had ultimately arrived and docked at Kamakura Island. Mutsu had used more stuns on MBI's patrol boats utilizing his Petal linkage and then long ranged stunned the harbor sentries on the base's small dock. Jumping onto the base from the yacht, Mutsu had then found most of the 200+ personnel of the entire MBI base eating dinner in the mess hall. It had taken time after stunning them to round up the few remaining stragglers and reload the Mikogami's yacht with MBI's now bound and sullen troops.

Leaving Sanada to sort out getting all the Sekirei fed, supplies stored, and sleeping quarters assigned, Mutsu had made his way to Natalie. Down in the ship's stasis tank, Mutsu had found Minato's Circle only semi-consciousness in concentration, and Archer's Circle arranged around and upon him like some sort macabre ritual usually found in cheesy vampire movies. Kusano, kneeling on one side of her Onee-chan, still had her hands on Kazehana's bloody temples, but other than the slight rise and fall of Archer and his Sekirei's torsos in breathing, there was no other signs of life. Seo's Circle had gathered around to touch Haihane who was also kneeling over Kazehana to link and add whatever psychic power they could to Kusano's life giving power.

"They're still alive Muts," Seo muttered while shaking his head in disbelief. "In all the years I've been around Sekirei, I've never seen anything like this. When we got here, there was a disaster alarm siren going, and I saw a badly blurred holographic figure trying to touch Archer's head. Then the siren quit. The figure, it might have been female, simply blinked a couple of times and disappeared. Minato's and my gals linked up and tried to help. Minato fainted, and that's how it all stands now. What you see is what we have. Got any idea what we need to do next?"

Mutsu stared down at the bloody mess before him, internally angry at this moron gaijin who had obviously done something so stupid as to endanger and almost kill his entire Circle and their Sekirei ship as well. Why Archer had been picked to be Prime Leader was an incredibly deep mystery and obviously very foolish choice. On the other hand, what was done was done. Now the problem was to save Archer's moronic ass and try to salvage this situation as best as they all could. The massive amount of bleeding from all their ears and noses meant that there had been some kind of hard concussive force that they had all suffered simultaneously. What could cause that? Some kind of powerful psychic meshing backlash maybe? Archer must have been playing around somehow and gotten into something way over his head. There was no other explanation.

"I'll bring my Petals down here, link up, and we'll all try to mesh with Himeko so that she can revive and begin healing whatever is wrong here," Mutsu muttered while barely able to control his growing anger. "If we have to, we'll get every Sekirei on this Island in here to help. Meanwhile, as soon as she's able, ask Tsukuimi to start cleaning them up and rinsing the floor. I don't want all this blood to distract our efforts later. Have you tried communicating with the ship up in her command cabin?"

"Yeah, no response although power levels look good. Life support is functioning. Nothing else. All diagnostic and interaction commands on her main circuit panels were either ignored or not received. Input and display screens blank. Engines inactive as are all repair circuits. Primary and secondary weapon systems are offline, no status board response, no lights on the arming and targeting array, and no readings on Natalie's gestalt monitor. It's like Natalie's just as comatose as the rest of them. Whatever happened to CJ has really hit them all very, very hard."

"Damn," Mutsu sighed in resignation. He was getting very tired of Murphy's First Law and this idiot American screwing everything up. It was like Archer was a one man embodiment of that Irish curse to plague everything and everyone he came into contact with, especially Mutsu.

"All right, I promised Mikogami we wouldn't destroy his father's yacht. Miko's family is starting to get a little pissed off about losing their toys, and after all this is over, hopefully we can get him back into their favor to support him for a leadership position in their conglomerate. We'll need those kinds of contacts despite what Sayomi's Order can do for us too. Ask Sanada to have the yacht's captain immediately get the ship back to Tokyo and claim that he was hijacked and forced to cooperate. We're here now, and we're going to stay no matter what they throw at us. I think we have the firepower to do it no matter what the humans launch. We've got enough food here to last at least a month, then we can start raiding Tokyo if we have too. If they think their losses were bad years ago, they are going to be appalled at what they'll lose in more attacks now."

"CJ isn't going to like that," Seo mused half to himself.

"Well Archer doesn't seem to be in any position to object now does he?" Mutsu retorted angrily. "And what should we do, Seo? Beg Minaka and his Chinese minions to take a little time out until Archer can be revived and consulted? We've got to get Himeko conscious, immediately. After that I'll see what I can do to get the ship to respond while you and Sanada start setting up our Island defense. Ask all the Sekirei not in a Circle to be our service personnel for the time being. The yacht captain said that there's very heavy weather off the northern coast of China. That and Minaka's helicopter fleet beat up the way we left it might buy us an extra day or two, but we still have to get our defenses prepared as soon as possible. This is our only refuge to fight for our freedom since the ship is trapped, and the ship has got to be kept out of Minaka's hands at all costs. Otherwise life on this whole planet is at great risk. Do you have any objections to these goals?"

"No, no objections, but I don't like our Sekirei killing tens and now maybe hundreds of thousands of largely helpless troops again either," Seo answered gruffly while scratching his unshaven chin. He threw Mutsu a sour look over his shoulder as he moved towards the stasis tank's open iris. "I'll talk to Sanada and get it all started."

Mutsu sighed again. The Sekirei "infestation" of Kamakura Island had been successful and largely bloodless other than Archer and his Circle, but it certainly hadn't been very harmonious.

***scene break***

Cash stood beside the thundering waterfall, its upstream waters flowing toward massive and jagged black rocks, roaring over them, and then plunging down onto more jagged boulders hidden in the heavy mists far below. The roiled, foaming, fast moving waters then emerged from the waterfall's mist filled basin and continued to cascade down a rough pebbled waterway and empty into a small lake off in the distance. The lake with its now much more serene blue water had its grassy edges neatly trimmed and landscaped with green leafy bushes and blooming flowers. Blossoming cherry trees lined carefully leveled stone pathways going both ways from the stream and around the lake. The dual paths then joined at the far shore to form a much broader and tree lined avenue that led towards a more distant Shinto shrine shadowed by an early morning sun. The shrine, even though far away, dominated the mountainous edged horizon behind it. There was little in the beautiful, peaceful scenery and the shrine's meticulous landscaping to indicate that here was a place fraught with danger and death.

Cash edged closer to the bank just above the waterfall and then stepped down into the rushing water, moving out deeper and waiting for his chance to reach out and snare the drowning female coming downstream towards him. If he missed, she would go over the falls to be broken and surely killed on the rocks below. He saw her bobbing head and immediately judged by the current drift that he would have to go into even deeper water to attempt her rescue. Not only that, but he must prepare himself to grab whatever part of her that he could reach, arm, leg, ankle, even her long gray hair, and he must NOT let go. Bracing himself against the front rocks of the waterfall, he moved further out towards the middle, the heavy pressure of the racing waters was almost more than he could fight as it slammed against him and made a foaming vee around his chest. He wished he had a rope, a long rope tied to the shore, because snagging Karasuba was going to be very dicey. Once he had her, if he did catch her, then there would certainly be a long battle back to land without both of them tumbling over the waterfall's rocky edge and dying together on the rocks below.

With all of his attention focused on the weakly struggling figure coming at him, Cash was startled to feel a slim but very strong hand suddenly grip his left arm and then move down to fiercely lock fingers with his. He gave a quick glance over his left shoulder to gratefully see Kazehana outstretched behind him, her face twisted in agony and silently urging him forward. Locking hands with her was Miya. Then Riko, Akitsu, Uzume, Himeko, and Toyotama were completing a Sekirei chain back to a thick twisted strand of vines coming from a flower pot being held by a little blonde girl standing by a blooming cherry tree on the stream's bank. She was chanting some kind of strange, "Mu, mu, mu" sounds as more vines were stretched back to anchor themselves around the tree's trunk. The chanting little blonde girl and her vines were also being held firmly in place by several older Sekirei females, a redhead, a blonde, a dark haired shrine maiden, two larger gray haired twins, and two more that Cash couldn't see clearly. It was Minato's Circle come to help them save Karasuba.

Emboldened, Cash moved out to put himself between the now flailing Karasuba and the edge of the waterfalls. He couldn't hear anything except the roaring of the falling water behind him. When they collided, she knocked him off his feet, but he instantly brought his legs up to circle her waist and lock his ankles. Her head went under the foaming water, but he grabbed her hair and yanked her face to the surface.

"I've got her! I've got her! Pull us in, Rose!"

Cash reached with his free right arm to get a firm hold around Karasuba's torso and under her armpits as Kazehana began tugging hard on his left arm. He let his feet come down to find a purchase on the rocky stream bed and used his legs to begin hauling Karasuba's almost dead weight back to shore. He brought his lips down to hers and forced his tongue into her mouth. Her black Norito wings flared weakly from her back, and he could feel her begin to kick her legs in a swimming motion to aid his rescue attempt. After a very short, hard won distance he felt Karasuba slump and go limp, so he brutally kissed her again and this time didn't break contact, willing what strength he had into her kicking legs while he tried to stagger on. Even in her weakness, her swimming was much more powerful than his walking. Just as they almost reached shore together, Cash's left leg banged into a large submerged rock. He cried out in pain, slipped and fell, and then went sideways as the rushing waters went over him and slammed the back of his head into a massive boulder. Once again, he fell into soft velvety blackness as he heard Kazehana's horrified shout of "NO!" fading somewhere above him.

***scene break***

Daybreak certainly came early in Japan, Cash yawned to himself as he stumbled up his apartment stairs to the roof door while toting his painting paraphernalia. On the other hand, what struggling artist hadn't suffered for his masterpiece before immortal admiration, awe, and greatness was bestowed upon his timeless work. Today was the beginning of a new era in impressionism. He was going to start his "Shinto Dawn" painting, an artistic wonder for the gods, or at least something good enough to sell and use the money to buy another giant jar of peanut butter, a tube of cheese whiz, and some crackers before he went for his first pitching tryout day after next. He had to make a few yen soon or be forced to return to Springfield, Illinois before he starved to death. Daybreak and choking smog may be free in Japan, but food wasn't, and neither was anything else.

Cash coughed from his first deep breath of Tokyo's airborne morning crud as he stepped out onto the roof, shambled across the pebble roofing, and set up his easel, stool, and canvas. Mixing several daubs of oil colors on his palette, Cash began preparing the top half of the canvas's color base with long swaths of dark orange blending into a deep purple edge. He peered around the edge of his canvas to check the dawn's progress, got the colors set in his mind, and began painting faster. After the sun began peeping over the building tops to the east, he finally called it quits and packed his equipment up. Time to eat a little breakfast, then begin cleaning the building's toilets and baths, and, after those chores were done, go to his afternoon throwing session and work out. Trudging down the stairs and opening his apartment door at the end of the hall, he gingerly entered with his back pushing the door open so as not to mar the still wet paint on his "Shinto Dawn" masterpiece. He straightened up from carefully leaning his painting against the kitchenette wall and turned to stow his easel, paints, wet palette, and the can of turpentine holding his dirty brushes. He heard an amused cough behind him.

Cash, after nearly jumping out of his skin, swiveled his head and then his whole body as he saw an unknown female with long gray hair and obsidian colored eyes laying on her stomach under the covers of his futon below the far window and smiling at him. He frowned in puzzled and speechless surprise. Now how had she gotten in here, and who was she? And why was she smiling at him as if they knew each other?

"Hey," she said while propping herself up on her elbows and giving her head an upward jerk in acknowledgment. "You're looking mighty fine there, big boy. I never knew how much I really loved tight blue jeans and a t-shirt on such a tall, muscular handsome man that has curly brown hair and such sexy deep blue eyes until I met you. You look absolutely yummy."

"Right back at you, Slick," Cash replied automatically as he tried for the life of him to understand what was going on here. She was an absolute world class yummy looker herself, and she had the backside shape under his blankets to match her face. He raised his right hand to scratch the back of his head while noting that she appeared to be shirtless under the blanket from her exposed arms and shoulders, perhaps with no bra too."Have uhhh, have we met?"

"You don't remember me?" The female's eyebrows went up in genuine surprise. "Wow! Talk about total impression and relationship fail! You don't know me? Don't remember ever meeting me at all?"

"Well, no," Cash, still greatly puzzled, shook his head slowly, "and I'm pretty sure I'd remember a heartbreaking beauty like you if we ever had. I mean, it's not like I'd get those kinds of opportunities once in a century to begin with, let alone make a big enough impression to find you in my bed afterward. Say! You weren't there when I went up on the roof to paint, and my door was locked. How did you get in, and why are you here, and, and who are you?"

"Interesting, a psychic dream state," She said to herself and ignoring his questions while she took several long moments to analyze what was happening here. "And I've been pulled in, but, but who? There's no one here but him and me, and I'm not using any power."

"Uhhh, I'm sorry about that Slick thing," Cash said contritely as she eyed him as if he were a creature from another dimension of time and space. "Back home, uhhh, gals in school use to mock me a lot with that yummy line because it embarrassed me, and well, I kind of used that phrase as a self defense gig to, you know, turn it back on 'em because it felt so phony. It just, uhhh, kind of slipped out."

"Ahhh, it's okay. I was being serious though. You DO look yummy to me, and I know I look yummy too, but tell me. Your new painting there against the wall, would it perhaps be the beginning of a piece that you're calling 'Shinto Dawn' maybe?"

"Well, yeah," Cash's mouth dropped open in total surprise. He had only gotten the idea yesterday and told no one about it. This was just too weird! Truly mystified, his head swiveled from her to his newly begun painting and back again. "How'd you know that?"

"And tomorrow, no, the next day, you're going for your first formal pitching evaluation by some minor league baseball team in Tokyo that you want to professionally pitch for?"

"Uh huh, but how'd you know that too? And how'd you know I'm a ballplayer let alone a pitcher? Who ARE you?"

"Okay, so YOU have given me a chance to meet you totally fresh again, is that it?" Now it was her turn to slowly shake her head in amazement while she muttered to herself. "And you've made it so you don't know a damn thing about me by taking us back to two days before we met. And you've given me the choice and complete freedom to do whatever I want now? Without any natural and physically reacting bonding instincts involved? The POWER of your unconscious mind is absolutely amazing! Even Muts and I together couldn't do this! Not even with Riko and Miya and Akitsu's or even Kusano's added help! And I'm not bonded to you now, but I'm still alive? How in the hell did you do THAT?"

Cash began edging backwards towards the door. He was imagining all this in his subconscious? Dreaming? Well that made sense, kind of. Sudden appearances in his locked apartment by gray haired, black eyed, Japanese beauties laying in his futon's blankets and rattling off names he'd never heard of, he could maybe explain rationally in a real world. On the other hand, possible unconscious time travel and meeting any nubile and extremely sexy looking and mumbling nonsense females with hair colored like this one went beyond any kinds of rational and sane thought processes, crossed over into sci-fi writing material worthy of Samurai Jack, Kamen Rider Den-O, and Heroes, and made a Quantum Leap to the very tippy toe edge of total insanity brought on by his constant worry and hunger.

He was leaving here before he found out he was nuts, again. Besides, he had bathrooms to clean. He'd skip breakfast, do his chores, work out, and come back later for a peanut butter and cheese whiz on crackers brunch. Hopefully this figment of his imagination would be gone by then, and it would stretch his meager food supplies one more day until he could get his "Shinto Dawn" painted and sold.

"WAIT!" The female called to him and made Cash halt warily as his hand reached behind him for the doorknob. "Wait, please don't go! I, I, want you to meet me! You know, get acquainted a little, tell me what you think, and, ummm, let me know you better too, okay? You're not insane, far from it! You're the most sane sonofabitch I've ever met!"

"Sonofabitch?" Cash's right eyebrow went up in instant frowning irritation. He'd been booed and bitched out in more baseball stadiums and tank town ball fields by irate fans and even more irate teammates than he cared to remember, but he'd be damned if he'd take this kind of shit from a possible figment of his own imagination! His hand grasped the knob tighter to open it as he began to turn away.

"NO! DAMN! I'M SORRY! I didn't mean to insult you!" There was a note of real panic in the female's voice. Now why would that be? She really wanted to talk to him that much? Why? No woman he'd ever met before had ever wanted to. Was she going to assault him physically and make him stay? Somehow she felt very capable of doing just that. Although he'd never been a coward running away from a confrontation before, and he had a few regular playground beating scars to prove it, he felt a wave of physical fear sweep through him. This gal felt incredibly dangerous! It would be very prudent of him to get the hell out of here now, very prudent indeed.

"No! Stay! Look! I'm not very smooth socially! I, I, I have a talent for pissing people off, and most of the time I mean to, but this time I didn't! Don't, don't be alarmed! I won't hurt you! I'll never hurt you! Please come back, and, and just sit down at the table! I'll stay here! And, and we'll just talk for a few minutes, okay? Please don't go! I'm sorry! I want, no, I NEED to talk to you about your painting, and, and my name is Karasuba! Please don't be scared of me!"

Cash eyed her suspiciously for a few seconds. He could feel that she was being very honest and sincere in her desires for him to stay and talk. Whatever he'd sensed coiled up to strike at his desire to leave was now being firmly held in emotional check by her iron will. Maybe she didn't want to hurt him after all, but why would she NEED to talk about his painting? No matter how much of his own bullshit he used to pump up his inner artiste's inspiration, Cash knew he was no budding Rembrandt or even a blind and arthritic Monet. He was just an amateur hack using what little skills he'd displayed in high school art class to make a few yen for starvation type rations. He wouldn't even be selling any of his paintings except the owner of the fast food noodle joint down the street thought it was neat advertising to underpay and humiliate an uncouth, gaijin American ballplayer in front of his customers every other day or so.

Cash continued to silently stare at her almost pleading eyes and the small apologetic grimace on her facial expressions for a few seconds. Whatever was going on behind them in that brain of hers seemed to think that this was a very significant moment and event between them. She was almost quivering in her earnest desire to just talk to him, and yet he couldn't shake the feeling that this one could pretty much do anything she wanted, anytime she wanted, so why be here with him? If there ever was a total nobody on this planet and especially in Tokyo, he was it.

Nevertheless, she felt genuine in her desire to talk. Cash finally shrugged noncommittally and moved carefully to straddle a kitchenette chair for the illusory safety of keeping something solid between the two of them for his protection. Talk was cheap, and he didn't have any friends in this town. He'd been pretty lonely for a long time before he got to Japan too, but if this started going more weird, he was leaving, fast.

"What about my paintings? Anyone with half an art eyeball can see that they're nothing very special."

"Then why do you paint? Please be at ease. I'll never call you another bad name again, ever. You have my word. I won't get weird either."

"Okay, I believe you," Cash nodded, and he did. Almost as if she had read his mind, she had said that very earnestly for whatever internal reason she had for making that declaration, and it seemed very important to her that she had. Okay, he'd stay and play along and give her the social time with him she actually wanted. What could it hurt? She wanted to know why he was painting? Fine. He'd give her the short tale of woe.

"Well, I spent almost everything I had saved on a round trip ticket to get here, and, ummm, the team that asked me to try out won't pay me any expenses until I officially make their roster. Which they sort of lied about in their reply letter to me, I think. It was kinda hard translating that. Anyway, I got here, they put me in touch with the landlord of this dump and said I would get a rent free room for cleaning the toilets, baths, and hallways every day. Then I found out I was on my own for food. I didn't have any money for entertainment, got kind of bored, went for a walk my second night here, and wandered into an art shop a couple blocks down the street and was eying some paints and a canvas for something to do cheap. The guy running the place said he'd heard of me, how I don't know, but apparently the Japanese take their baseball very seriously and follow every damn move every team makes, even potential players. The art shop guy sold me enough stuff to get started and said he'd get his cousin in the noodle shop on the corner to buy anything I painted to illustrate my stay in Tokyo in return for a little food money.

"So far nothing I've done has been worth more than a jar of peanut butter, some cheese whiz, and a box of crackers. My "Shinto Breezes" and "Shinto Blossoms" and "Shinto Moon" should have bought an extra jar or two, but that smiling bastard in the noodle shop knows I'm in no position to quibble. I'm hoping "Shinto Dawn" will get me at least an extra week of food in case I punk my first tryout because when my painting is finished, I'm gonna try to sell it to the gyudon joint around the corner, and screw the noodle guy."

"Damn," Karasuba exclaimed softly to herself. "Peanut butter and crackers? Why would you want to live like that? I mean, I never really knew that about you, and I know you've got incredible willpower, but why? You don't really like being here in Tokyo, do you?"

"Like Tokyo? What does that have to do with anything? Look, I came to Japan for one reason, well, two actually. First, I got booted out of the American minor leagues and had to get back into pro baseball somehow. I can maybe get another start here. Second, I had to find a way to face live batters to work on a special pitch, namely a strike. There was a team here that looked at my stats last year and thought I might be worth a look. So I came. It was either that or go home and work in my uncle's hardware store and live with my Mom, three aunts, and my sister again, but they drive me NUTS. I love baseball. It's all that I've ever really been mostly good at doing. I never thought much about the culture shock I'd find here since I'd never traveled internationally before, well, except for a senior trip to Paris that kept us hopping from one tourist trap to another. We didn't live there. I just thought I'd be treated living here in Tokyo pretty much the same as I was in America."

"And you haven't been?" Karasuba gave a low chuckle.

"Well, no, because I got a feeling that a lot of the Japanese I've dealt with pretty much think they're mostly superior to other cultures, which isn't as bad as the French I've met who KNOW they are. Both countries don't hold a candle to New Yorkers for superior rudeness though. With New Yorkers its instinctive to think that way as part of their Yankee genes. If it doesn't happen in New York, then it just doesn't need to be thought about, ya know? The rest of the USA and the world in general just exists as some kind of unimportant hinterland only needed to supply the city someplace to dump their trash and grow food for 'em. I didn't come to Tokyo to find happiness anyway, just pitch.

"Oh, I realized it would be different, and I tried to fit in as best I could when I came to Tokyo and got this place to stay. I just didn't know how different it would be. I should have gotten a clue when I was leaving the plane and the JAL stewardess asked me if I had liked my fright. I said I didn't feel scared at all, and everybody looked at me like I was some kind of rude and stupid freak. I mean, how did I know? All I ever really knew about Japan was what I seen on TV in old 'Iron Chef" reruns and the one time me and a couple of guys sneaked out of town and went to St. Louis to catch the old Hatsune Miku holographic stage show during 'The World Is Mine' nostalgia tour. Hell, I was so ignorant about Japan I thought 'karaoke' meant 'tone deaf'.

"Then when the team got invited to the coach's house for a dinner, I didn't know a fella is never supposed to take the last dinky piece of meat on the serving plate because 'luck is in the leftovers'. Everybody got real pissed off at me, and they put my tryout back a week. On the way out, I was so confused as to what I had done that was so bad that I bowed to the coach's house cat trying not to offend them more. Then they started laughing at me and haven't quit since, but I came here to pitch my way back to the States. I'll be double damned if I let anybody run me out of this crazy country before I do. I have a life in baseball I want to live back home and live it my way. I'll just have to learn how to adjust to folks and their customs here until I can get a chance to play ball back there is all."

Karasuba looked away from him and turned to stare sightlessly out the window. Then she turned back and cocked her head sideways to frown at him with focused intensity.

"What would you do if you met a gal here that would like to share that life with you? Maybe adjust to you?" She asked quietly. "What kind of criteria would she have to meet for you to even consider it?"

"Criteria? Like in qualifications?" Cash leaned back in renewed surprise as he took several long moments to honestly think about it. "Well, other than being in love, none, I guess. I mean, I never really considered it. I've been a romantic fool and ignorant tool all my life. It isn't likely to happen, see? Most of the guys I've met here swear that Japanese women are just like their American counterparts and are only interested in money being spent on them. I'm not saying that it's true, but if it is, then the point is moot. I'm broke, and likely to go home that way, but that doesn't matter as long as I can throw strikes again. I didn't come here to look for a wife or long term lover anyway. Don Juan I'm not, and I'm pretty much of a dumb ass dud when it comes to dealing with women. Besides, most of the Asian cultures and especially folks here take a pretty dim view of their local gals hooking up with foreigners anyway. I'm here to pitch, not to screw around, and piss people off."

"What if you met someone, loved her, and she loved you, but there was a lot of unhappiness, bad things, and anger in her past. What if all that meant you might have to give up playing professional baseball to be with her? Then what?"

"I suppose I'd have to look for a position coaching high school baseball or Little League on the side while I got a job doing something," Cash shrugged after a few seconds consideration. "Sooner or later I'd be too old or banged up to play pro ball anyway, so if it meant coaching sooner, and if we really loved each other, then things would hopefully work out for us. Love like that though, it don't come easy. What's with all these questions about love? Advice to the lovelorn isn't a big specialty of mine, and it would take a pretty screwy type of circumstances to even get a gal here to look at me twice, let alone date, and fall in love and stuff. I ain't gonna advertise on match making internet sites or hang out in singles clubs for speed dates while I'm here either."

"Let me ask you one last thing," Karasuba smiled in understanding, "and then I'll tell you why I've been asking you all these questions. Fair enough?"

"Okay, sure, fire away. What do you want to know?"

"Do you think my boobs are too small?" Karasuba gave him her signature grin as she turned on her side facing him and threw off her covers. "Be honest now. I really want to know. Use your artistic eye if you have to. What do you think?"

What surprised Karasuba was that he stared intently at her eyes for several long moments before letting his attention slowly go down her totally nude body to her toes and then just as slowly back up to her eyes. After that, he stood up more slowly and began edging towards the door again.

"I think that you are certainly one of the finest physical and athletic looking specimens of femininity and beauty that I've ever seen that has not been air brushed or photo shopped," Cash replied quietly, but that very wary look was back in his eyes once again. "Your breasts are perfect in their size and shape, an artist's dream actually, but you didn't come here to lewdly flash me. What do you really want? Why are you here? Why try to jerk me around like this when you're more than physically able to make me do anything you want? Who are you really?"

"Another epic first impression fail?" Karasuba's mouth dropped open in further stunned surprise. He hadn't even twitched at the sight of her! Neither had little CJ! And his thoughts had very clearly broadcast that he wanted to be loved, not just have a cheap and meaningless futon bang. On the other hand, he had been totally honest in his positive assessment of her boobs and had liked them just the way they were. That was very good. "Please don't go. I'll explain everything and, and cover back up too. That last one was just a little stupid female vanity, okay? I've always felt rather intimidated around my Sisters."

"Sisters?" Cash stopped at the door, but he didn't sit back down.

"Yes, it's a long story," Karasuba nodded and then turned her back to him. "Do you see sort of a dark red, bird shaped tattoo between my shoulder blades?"

"No," Cash shook his head slowly. One more weird question, strange statement, or unexplained gesture by this Karasuba like that last one, and he was out of here. He was going to need a long throwing session today to think all this through and convince himself he wasn't really nuts.

"Oh wow," Karasuba breathed in disappointment as she turned to face him, kneeling on her heels while holding a blanket in front of her and tucked into her armpits. "You've went all out on this freedom of choice thing then. And you're leaving again? Okay, wait! Let me explain! Please! Then, then you can go, and I won't stop you! It's gonna sound weird because, well, because it is, but you're not nuts! You are just a very caring, deeply loving, incredibly strong minded, and brave man!"

"Nobody has ever said any of that about me before," Cash replied skeptically, "especially nude females I've never met that somehow sneaked into a locked apartment."

"I didn't sneak," Karasuba took a deep calming breath. "You brought me here, but HERE isn't really your old apartment. It is a psychic dream state that you've created within your mind and pulled me into it with you."

"Psychic? Me? Nonsense! And I don't dream very often either, but when I do, it's never felt or been this real. You're sure I'm not nuts?"

"You're NOT nuts! Okay, just listen. It's gonna sound real screwy, but it's the truth. Please stay and listen, and then we'll sort out what you want to do. I am Number 04 Karasuba which means Raven Feather in Japanese, but I am not really a native of Tokyo. I am an alien female called a Sekirei, or wagtail bird, from another planet. We came here to find our love mates, and we bond for life and nest with the stronger psychic males on this planet. You are THE strongest, bred to be that way by hundreds of thousands of years of Human/Sekirei interbreeding. The morning after next in real life, not this dream, we will meet up on the roof, and I will mistakenly and sexually force my bonding upon you without your permission or your love. It leads to incredibly disastrous circumstances for us both, and especially me because, well, because I was an insane killer while you are a deep pacifist, and I tried to use you for things you really hated.

"We finally tried to fix things inside me by bonding deeper, and you tried to use crest ecstasy by licking my crest during our mutual orgasm on our last attempt. The problem was that, instead of bonding deeper, it went the other way. My hatred of my specie's bonding and your resentment of being bonded and made to do things by others against your will combined to create some kind of incredibly bad psychic backlash. It nearly killed us both on the spot, and my bonding to you must have been broken again. Number 01 Miya, because she was not strongly bonded to you yet, nor emotionally connected very much, was able to remain conscious long enough to bring us help.

"Then when I was dying inside my mind, and it felt like I was being swept away down a fast river and over a deadly waterfall, you came after me. You didn't have to do it, but you did. You could have very easily let me go and had another take my place, but you saved me. There's still several Sekirei that you could have that are a helluva lot nicer and more compatible than me to complete your Circle. But you refused to let me die and came after me, and my Sisters and Minato's Circle joined you too. Not only did you save me, then your mind deliberately created this psychic dream scenario to let me really see you as if we were meeting anew for the very first time and choose whether I really wanted you as my Ashikabi or live free again. You even removed all the physical triggers that make us Sekirei want to bond to human males.

"The only thing is that you also gave yourself the right to choose not to bond with me even if I did want to get winged again by you. That's why you're free to leave me here if you want. I won't die, and I'm free to bond to another or not. You can also walk free of me. There is more going on than that with others you were involved with, but that's what happened to the two of US in a nutshell. Now do you understand?"

"Well, no," Cash rubbed his jaw as he tried hard to concentrate and sort through it all, "especially the 'you are an insane killer' part. I mean, no HUMAN female ever looked as perfect as you do or have your coloring. Your eyes do have some kind of alien predator bird feel to them too, but you don't feel like an insane killer to me, incredibly dangerous in some way maybe, but not homicidal."

"I WAS, but not now! That's because you've fixed me by letting me release all the anger and hurt I had pent up inside of me all these years! That happened when you saved me! You kissed me and kissed me. You gave me your strength and refused to let me die! My tama is mine again! It's not cracked and flawed! Oh, I can still kill, and I'm very, very good at it too, but the NEED and DESIRE to kill is gone! I'm not even all that unhappy with Miya anymore! We, uhhh, kind of had a war going on that we tried to quit with Natalie's help, but ummm, well, some things just go too deep, I guess, but not too deep for you to find, see clearly, and fix! And Miya was the one that saved both of us. She HAD to save you, but she didn't have to save me. In her place I would have waved bye bye to her and blew her a kiss as she went over the edge and died, but, ummm, I have to admit she's a better person than me, in this one area anyway."

"And this Miya is unhappily bonded to me too? How does that work, and who are these Sisters and Circles you keep talking about?" Cash finally sat down as he could feel she believed she was telling him the absolute truth, and the answers to his last questions were probably going to require stronger knee muscles than what he had.

"You've originally bonded with eight Sekirei and our space ship named Natalie. The reason SHE isn't down here snooping on us is probably because you are way more deeper than any of us can read, even her, and powerful enough to set this up with no outside interference, even her. I've got a hunch if I look around your mind hard enough I'd find them all somewhere, but you want this meeting strictly between you and me, so I won't, yet. Anyway, there's eight Sekirei to a Circle, eight Circles to a jinki or battle platoon, and one Prime Leader of us all, and that's you. The only thing is, you now have just seven Sekirei and will need another to complete your Prime Circle's combat power. It's gonna be needed because we have a major world military power and some mad scientist types coming to invade our island, steal our ship, and kill us all, after we get dissected for scientific study that is."

"Jeebus, now all that does sound like a very bad dream, or at least a wild and screwy comic book plot," Cash muttered while gripping his forehead with one hand as if in great pain. "And my baseball career in Japan? In the near future I mean?"

"It was going great! You found a way to throw your fork ball for strikes as well as a better fast ball, slow curve, and hard slider! The Batavia Muckdogs reinstated you after you won your legal case, and you got paid a lot of money for damages done to your career. You were going to go back to America, but you got kidnapped by the Flying Pink Robot Terrorist of Tokyo. That was just Riko being Riko. Anyway, you're kinda stuck saving us Sekirei and our ship now, and your career is kind of on hold. I, uhhh, was responsible for delaying and screwing a lot of that up too, along with a couple of others in your Circle working for their own ends."

"Geez Louise. More bad dream stuff. Oh man! Ma has got to be simply going berserk," Cash groaned with his eyes squeezed shut. Flying Pink Robot Terrorist? Who was Riko? "Not to mention my aunts and sister. Jeebus! Now what in the hell do I do?"

"Your Mother knows you're safe for now, Sweetums," Karasuba said gently while letting her covering slip a little.

"Sweetums? That sounds a little phony, doesn't it? Maybe a lot?"

"Yeah, I think you're right," Karasuba frowned as she thought about it, and then mentally kicked herself for using that name on him. When was she ever going to stop underestimating his ability to feel things and see them clearly for what they were? Damn! "There's no caring or commitment in it, just sort of mocking amusement. I'm sorry."

"You're not used to apologizing much, are you," Cash chuckled as he tried to wrap his mind around all that she had said and logically sort it out.

All one first had to do was to believe in alien avian females from another planet bonding like birds to men here on Earth. Was that so hard? Well, yeah, especially eight of them picking him for Pete's sakes! Other than that, the rest kind of made sense actually except for the part where he was also picked to lead the whole mess into combat as the strongest male after bonding to a space ship named Natalie. There was some bad fish smell about that for sure. Who in the hell would name their alien space ship Natalie anyway? Shouldn't it be something like Ryo-Ohki or Moya maybe? Eh, it didn't matter. The thing to do was to settle what he was going to do here first with this Raven Feather, and deal/cope with everything else later.

"Well, I guess the first thing we need to know is what do you want to do Miss Karasuba?"

"Miss? Oh wow, that's a little late for what we've, uhhh, never mind. Look, I owe you my..."

"No! Forget about owing anybody anything, or any shallow obligations you might be feeling," Cash immediately interrupted her. "You've got deep desires for your life, right? Everybody does. I want to play pro ball and coach someday. What are yours? What is going to make you the happiest?"

Karasuba stared at him while an old memory of a bird being let go to fly free and find love came to mind. Yume had been right after all, and only a complete fool would try to deny it now.

"Sekirei are born to love and bring love to others. Years ago, Number 08 Yume told me that before she died, but I didn't believe her then or since because I was filled with so much bitterness, hurt, and killing rage." Karasuba stopped as she gave him a silent wounded look. "I have been such a selfish, mean, and vicious, cold blooded killing machine for so long that I don't know how to love or even show affection. I'm a mouthy, self centered, arrogant, ill mannered, stuck up bitch with no class, and I've been more trouble to everybody and especially you than I can ever possibly repay. I wouldn't even know where to start. I hired out to your enemies as a highly paid assassin and earned my specie's hatred and contempt. I want to lose all that and be a better person, because now I know that Yume was right. I want to love and be loved. Everything else doesn't really matter anymore."

"Okay," Cash agreed cautiously, "the first was very bad, but that last sounds very, very good. All you gotta do now is go find the one you want."

"I want you, Cash Archer." Karasuba half shrugged apologetically while firming up her blanket grip. Exposing herself now would surely drive him away quicker than hitting him in the face with a bloated dead carp. She was learning. "And the reason is this. You say that I'm a beauty on the outside, but you're the only one who has ever completely seen my very ugly insides and still cared about me enough to risk dying for me. I believe I could search from now until Doomsday on this planet and not find that again."

"That isn't really all that much to start a life of love and ever after happiness."

"Isn't it? Where does it say that greater love has no man than he who would sacrifice his life for another? Your American Bible perhaps? It's still a truth no matter what culture one finds oneself in, even in New York. Why can't a Sekirei killer like me embrace that truth and give her love to a man who has already proven he would sacrifice everything for me, his life, his other bonded Sekirei, his family's love, and even his own love for baseball? I need a deeply loving and caring man with great patience and understanding, one able and willing to always know what I'm feeling in the deepest parts of me. Besides, you and I are GREAT in the sack together.

"How many human females have all that? I wanted you when we first tried to fix me in the stasis tank and when I had my physical senses making me want your kisses. That broken but bonded Karasuba gave your her sword and pledged herself anew to you, and you accepted it. This new and whole Karasuba has nothing, no sword, no senses, no bonding ties, no clothes, and now wants you even more. The choice here for me is a no brainer. The problem is I've given you nothing and have nothing to make you want to choose and love me. And I'm afraid I'm not very fond of baseball, but I'll try to learn the game for you. I can still paint pretty good though, and maybe get them sold for more food. What else can I do?"

Cash massaged his temples with his fingertips as he closed his eyes. More food sounded good. As for the rest? How in the name of Naruto did he get himself into this mess? There was a rustling sound in front of him. He opened his eyes to see Karasuba kneeling in front of him with her blanket wrapped modestly around her but still displaying the outlines of her very intriguing shape.

"I kind of forgot one other thing, well, two actually." She lightly licked her lips while staring up into his eyes. "I forgot to tell you that you've already agreed to be the father of my daughter and help me raise her as best as we can. Ummm, I'm just saying that because that was a very deep desire of mine that I needed to tell you about. I mean, you pledging yourself for fatherhood of my children is kind of a big prior commitment to each other, right?"

"Yeah, I guess," Cash conceded after she paused for his reaction to that one, "but there's plenty of folks in this world running around and having kids without really loving each other and not loving their kids much either. There's no need to add to the world's misery just because a promise was made before your bonding was broken. The key here is love and being in love, right? Both of us?"

"Well, once you kiss me, if you kiss me, and now that I'm fixed, I am hard wired to give my heart to you," Karasuba nodded at his logic. "I won't be your slave, doormat, or even a goody two shoes housewife, but no other will ever love you or our children more than I will."

"Whoa," Cash protested with his hands held up in a stop motion. "I haven't even decided if I'm nuts or not here, let alone in a very creepy bad dream. Put that fatherhood thing to one side. What was the other thing?"

"I very, very much want you to marry me, marry me just like I was a human female with those until death do us part vows and everything. Will you?"

"Jeebus, we just met!"

"You know that's not true. Do you need to do that whole Darth Vader 'search your feelings' thingy? I'm your Karasuba, your Raven Feather, and you can feel that I'm telling the truth. We almost fell in love on that futon over there despite everything that was wrong between us and probably would have if I hadn't been too damn dumb and blind to see what I had in you when you were royally banging my brains out that night. It sure would have saved us both a lot of grief later. I want us to love each other so much and so hard it will make Romeo and Juliette seem like silly schoolkids acting badly in a very mediocre, middle school drama skit."

Cash broke eye contact to glance over at the futon and then back down at the shapely beauty before him. Raven Feather sounded like the perfect name for a wild thing from another planet, and she without a doubt gave out the most sexiest and self assured vibes he had ever felt. She wanted him very badly, and wanted him to love her. On the other hand, marriage? Fatherhood? Shouldn't they at least date once or twice maybe? Make out in a movie or at least grope each other in Tokyo's crowded subway trains on the way to the wedding chapel?

"And if I refuse the getting married part?"

"Then I'll borrow some clothes from you, tie them so they'll stay up, and we'll go clean toilets together, work out, and you can teach me about baseball," Karasuba gave him her squinty eyed smile of smug self satisfaction. "I'll scrounge a nice dinner, and then later when the moon comes up, we can become mating wolves again. I can see you remember THAT night! Well, I haven't forgot how to project dream states for us either if you want a few wild dates first, but there won't be any fighting or biting though, just us locked together and afterward howling up at the moon in sweet harmony all the time. Of course, if you don't make love to me, then I'll turn into a world class stalking girlfriend from Hell and hound you all over this planet and the rest of your life until you give up and marry me."

"Hey! What happened to my free will choice here?" Cash threw up his hands in wounded disbelief as Karasuba dropped her blanket, went to all fours, and began slowly crawling in a very sexy, wolf like prowl back and forth in front of him. Little CJ was making his tight jeans very uncomfortable all of a sudden.

"Lost it when you and good old Julius Lex CJ there looked at the futon and then down at my perfect tits and crotch and thought about how much you'd really enjoy making love and royally banging my Raven Feather brains out now." Karasuba grinned in self-satisfied triumph back over her left shoulder while arching her back and slightly wiggling her perfect derriere in invitation. She turned and slowly stalked back to him like a female wolf in deep heat, the usual wild intensity was in her eyes, but there was no trace of insanity. "The fact is that you already love me, or you wouldn't have saved me, so why fight it? Since we both KNOW we want each other so badly, and we almost died together proving it, there's no sense playing hard to get now, is there? Now kiss me, take me, and marry me, please?"

"What about the others you say I have? Where are they? Won't they, ummm, object?" Cash leaned back in half alarm as she used her arms to slowly pull herself up his body until her face and lips were just inches below his.

"I can see that you've got them all tucked safely away in the back of your mind. And no, they also put themselves on the line for us to get things right between us, and now we have, so let's not disappoint anyone waiting for us to howl together here. Ready? This is as far as Raven Feather goes. The war is over between us, and I've surrendered, but kissing me and loving me and making our daughter is now your choice, Throbbing Wolf."

The muscles in his neck relaxed as Cash smiled and mentally shrugged "why not?" as he let himself surrender to her. A few seconds later Karasuba moaned into his mouth and shuddered in deep pleasure when her dark red crest returned behind her and sank down to imprint between her shoulder blades. Her huge, black, iridescent wings shimmered and shook in hot, pulsing ecstasy before she stood and led her new husband over to the futon. She arranged them both into the Lotus position after she tenderly took off his clothes. Karasuba gently pulled on his arms to put his hands on her new crest, clasped her arms around his shoulders, and began moving slowly and sensuously on his lap while kissing, whining softly in contentment, and licking his face as she confirmed how totally she had surrendered herself to him.

It wasn't long before Cash turned his attention inward and watched in wonder as Karasuba's new, wild black orchid that had formed in the back of his mind began glowing, and then a large, radiant, powerful, blue psychic strand snapped forever into place as she effortlessly, tenderly, and lovingly connected her mental orchid to him. Instantly he could clearly feel everything she was feeling as her personality and emotions meshed with his during their mutual intense release. He also noticed that the glowing colors now surrounding them both in his mind resembled the same rich and beautiful golden hues that had been made on Tokyo's horizon by the predawn sun.

***scene break***

Cash sat with his back against the apartment wall at ninety degrees to a sleeping Karasuba on the futon under the window. His knees were drawn up, his arms crossed over them, and his chin was resting on his forearms as he stared down at his new bride. Although she was laying on her stomach, her face was turned towards the window where he had been standing and staring out over Tokyo's skyline earlier. Most of Karasuba's long gray hair was splayed off her upper back to expose the dark red bird outline that had mysteriously been tattooed between her shoulder blades when they had kissed. Cash frowned slightly as he studied what she had called his crest upon her. There was no doubt about it. Nothing like that had ever happened to any woman he had ever made love to before. It was hard tangible proof to go along with that glowing black orchid in the back of his mind that he had indeed just married an alien female from outer space.

What in the hell had he been thinking! He was broke! And he had no idea how to treat a wife! Let alone an alien wife! There certainly hadn't been anything that came even remotely close to this scenario being covered in that old relationship guide he'd found in the Springfield public library entitled "Dating for Dummies While Keeping Your Balls Safe, Attached, And Out Of Female Lock Boxes". He had come down from painting on the roof a typical, single, mildly educated, American dork, opened his apartment door, and whabbo! Mindless Little CJ takes over. Almost instant interstellar matrimony to the most beautiful female and greatest lay on Earth occurs?

Man, things like this don't even happen in Bollywood movies and weird dreams, let alone real life, not to goofs like him anyway. On the other hand, there she was. He could reach out, touch her, and shake her to wake her up as he already had done twice with no success. Each time she had given a small moan of pleasure and contentment but hadn't come awake. Her moans had made him feel almost smug and pleased in a weird way, but he knew damn well his Mother wasn't going to feel the same. Well, what the hell, it was done, but his cleaning chores weren't, and he couldn't wait for her to wake up either. Neither should he. Cash stood up and started putting on his clothes.

"You mindless moron," he sighed down at his crotch as he pulled up his jeans. Wait. If Karasuba was real, and it sure as hell looked as if she was, then didn't she say she had seven Sisters and a Sekirei spaceship also attached to him? And the world's military powers were trying to destroy them all? This was no time to clean toilets! Cash began looking around in instant panic when his apartment door opened.

A female in a crimson skirt uniform, long black cape, thigh high black boots, long gloves, and a weird, bird beaked mask strode two paces into the room. His first quick impression was that she was very similar to Karasuba in height, weight, and build except her breasts looked bigger and she had long lavender colored hair tied in a pony tail. Although her facial features were three quarters hidden by her mask, she certainly looked like she might be an alien bird woman, but she also didn't seem to be all that happy to be here. Her heavy, annoyed sigh upon seeing the nude Karasuba sleeping on his futon didn't sound all that joyful and encouraging either.

"Wake up, Karasuba!" The newcomer commanded as she closed the door and crossed the room, "and stop this projection! You almost killed us all! And we don't have time for this! Karasuba! Wake up!"

Giving another sigh, but this one in exasperation, Lavender Hair ignored Cash, stepped closer to the futon, stooped down, and began briskly shaking both of Karasuba's shoulders. No response.

"Karasuba! Please wake up!" The bird woman began an even more vigorous shaking before turning to look up Cash in frustration. She also had that very dangerous and powerful feel to her the same as Karasuba had. "Would you help me wake her up, Cash?"

"Already tried and no luck. Ummm, I'd appreciate it if you didn't hurt her, uhhh, Miss. You know me, right?" Cash asked uncertainly. "I mean, you know my name, but, ummm, I'm afraid I don't know you. And, ummm, if you've transported down from your spaceship a few days from now and time traveled back here like she did, then maybe your war hasn't started yet, right? Any chance Karasuba and I could sneak out of Japan before the shooting starts, head home, and not get involved?"

"Miss? Transported down? You don't know who I am?" Lavender Hair's mouth dropped open in stunned disbelief as she stood up, stared at him for a few long moments, and then began pacing the length of the apartment in deep thought before repeating herself. "You really don't know me?"

"Well, no," Cash shrugged apologetically as he edged sideways to put his body between her and Karasuba, "and I only met Karasuba just a little while ago. She seemed to think we were caught up in some kind of weird time travel dream. Uhhh, she also seemed to think she had been dying, and me and a bunch of other people saved her, but the more I think about it, the more I think I've went off the deep end insane. This ain't like any dream I've ever been in, way too real and way too detailed. Bird women from outer space hitting on me for marriage and fatherhood is like getting a golden ticket to Willie Wonka's Chocolate Factory. Never gonna happen."

"This isn't possible! MOTHER! HELP ME!" Lavender Hair stopped suddenly as she yelled at the apartment's ceiling and then resumed pacing back in forth in extreme agitation. "MOTHER! MOTHER? PLEASE ANSWER, MOTHER! I NEED YOUR HELP HERE! COME! COME QUICKLY!"

After several long moments when absolutely nothing happened, the now slightly desperate newcomer finally threw up her hands in total vexation and headed for the door to leave, but the door wouldn't open after she turned the doorknob. She began pummeling the door with hard karate kicks, the heavy blows echoing hollowly back into the apartment. When that didn't work, Lavender Hair gave up and launched herself in one powerful leap feet first at the apartment window. She bounced off the glass to land awkwardly on her back beside Karasuba. Like a caged animal, she twisted and began kicking the walls, grunting with each effort and still yelling for her mother. Finally, she picked up a kitchenette chair and began using it as a club, but the door, window, and four walls didn't even dent. Breathing heavily, she came to a halt by the kitchenette table, dropped her impromptu weapon, squeezed her eyes shut, gripped her head with both hands, and just stood there as if using some mental power to win her freedom.

Cash, kneeling protectively beside Karasuba, had simply watched the whole one sided, bouncing off the walls battle in growing concern while surreptitiously noting that the bird woman was wearing a pretty sexy looking pair of black lace panties and had a very nice set of lean but muscular thighs as well as a very nicely rounded rear end. On the other hand, Lavender Hair didn't give off any sexy vibes at all despite her spiffy outfit and way above average figure, especially the way she was standing beside what used to be a chair. After several long minutes of apparent concentrated effort, the agitated alien's shoulders slumped, and her head and hands dropped in defeat. She turned to see Cash eying her in wary curiosity.

"I don't understand!" The bird woman shook her head in frustration while looking at the twisted pieces of metal and plastic at her feet and angrily kicking it aside. The ruined chair narrowly missed his "Shinto Dawn" masterpiece when it thumped into the wall beside his new oil painting. Cash gritted his teeth and frowned in wounded indignation. Who did this, this alien female weirdo from another galaxy think she was anyhow? That was potentially at least a week's worth of peanut butter and crackers there!

"There's something VERY wrong here! This just ISN'T possible!" She resumed pacing. "How can Blackie be doing this? She's NEVER had this kind of power before! Even Mother can't enter, but why did Blackie let me in and now won't let me out? And why can't I feel her or any of my Sisters? Matter of fact, I can't feel your mind now either, Cash! Why?"

"Ummm, I don't know Miss, uhhh, Miss Sekirei? Does this mean we might be safe from future attacks here? You know, like bullets and missiles and bombs and whatnot?" Cash moved back to once again sit on the floor with his back against the wall near Karasuba's head. He shrank away when the mystified and angrily frustrated bird woman came to demurely kneel on her heels beside him. She frowned with concern into his eyes as she saw there was no recognition of her in his wariness and growing irritation at her.

"Miss Sekirei? Cash, what has happened? Why don't you know me?"

"Well, I don't know," Cash replied bluntly and then added rather irately, "Tell me something. How come I answer all your questions, but you can't be bothered to answer even one question that I've asked you? Just who in the hell ARE you, and why are you here? What's the idea of coming in here, bouncing off the walls like a demented Lucy Lui and trying to wreck my apartment without even introducing yourself? I mean, I know it's pretty much a ratty little dump, but it is MY dump. And you almost destroyed my meal money painting over there like it was no big deal. Well, it's a damn big deal to me! What's the big idea? I've never seen Japanese folks be this rude and obnoxious.

"And another thing, I don't want you hurting my new wife. Stay away from Karasuba, don't touch her anymore, and, and just, back off, and get away from me too. I don't know what's going on, but I really don't think you should be here anymore."

"OH! Oh my!" The bird woman recoiled in consternation as her palms cupped her cheeks and she began to chew her lower lip. "I didn't mean, oh! I'm so sorry!"

Cash stood up and went to the door, turned the knob, and opened the door. Now how in the hell had that happened? Had someone held the door shut from the other side, someone very, very powerful? If so, where were they now? And how come this ultra strong, bird bitchy type couldn't even break glass or dent these thin walls? He stood there, craned his head to look up and down the empty hallway, and then turned to frown even more at the dumfounded Lavender Hair. Something was really weird wrong here, and he didn't like what he was feeling from her at all.

"You know, Miss, would you mind leaving now? I've got cleaning chores to do and then go work out and throw my side session today. Whatever problems you have with somebody outside of here, why don't you just take them someplace else? Whoever you are, whatever you are, you're just not doing anything positive here. And you, you feel closed off, and phony, and kinda bad to me."

She stared at him in open mouthed horror and confusion. Shakily she stood up and took several slow steps towards him while bringing her hands up palms out in contrition.

"I'm MIYA! Your Sekirei! I'm in your Prime Circle! Please don't send me away! There's something WRONG here!" Miya took off her bird mask and stomped her right foot in frustration. "Why don't you recognize me?"

"Well, it's because I've never seen you before, maybe? If you're Miya, Number 01 Miya, then I think Karasuba said that you were unhappy in your bonding even though you helped save her life. She also said that she was brought back in time here in some kind of dream of mine to have her flawed bonding broken and set free. I don't know why you're here. At any rate, I know you and Karasuba aren't very good friends, and I really don't think she'd want you here when she wakes up. So, I don't mean to be rude, much, but I think you should just leave, and take my wrecked chair with you. I think we'd both be better off if you did."

"YOU'RE the one who has made this dream state, Cash? Not Karasuba?" Miya's eyes and mouth went wide in astonished understanding. "And you've set it in a time before you met all of us? For, for you to meet Karasuba and I anew? Oh my word! No wonder we could feel you, but couldn't find you! Then after I entered here, you somehow removed my bonding to you so that now I'm cut off from my Sisters and Mother? And you too? OH NO! My bond is gone! That will carry over in waking! Your Circle is broken! This, this can't BE, not now! Not like this! NOT AGAIN!"

Cash flinched in alarm as Miya staggered backwards in what appeared to be sheer, weak kneed panic. She thumped into his apartment wall, put both palms out for support as her legs buckled, and her back slid down the wall until her butt thumped onto the floor. She collapsed sideways, put her hands over her eyes, and her body began shaking in great wracking sobs of total grief and tortured wailing.

Rubbing his jaw in consternation, Cash stared at her for a few seconds wondering what to do or say. Man, he hated dealing with high maintenance female types when they started bawling! Especially ones he made to weep and wail from whatever crude social errors he had unwittingly committed. Had he been too blunt, impolite, and crudely obtuse in asking this obviously uptight, rather cold feeling, and arrogant emo case to leave? Well, calling her a demented Lucy Lui probably was a wee tad less than friendly and probably a budding relationship "no no" in the usual boy meets girl "cute" scenarios. Okay, okay, worry about breaking societal norms later. The thing to do was to get her calmed down enough to get her out of here and back to someplace where she might feel better. And try to do it without getting the shit kicked out of him and/or his new wife Karasuba hurt. Damn! He was never going to get his toilet cleaning done at this rate!

"Ummm, Miss Miya?" Cash began tentatively while once again edging sideways away from the open door and Miya. His goal was his kitchenette's sink. "I, uhhh, got some really nice Earl Gray tea here, black pekoe. Would you care to drink a nice hot cup? Then you can maybe calm down a little and decide where you want to go and what to do next? Don't worry about the chair. I can throw it away when I take out the trash during my chores, okay? I'm afraid I don't have any cream, but I got a few packets of sugar left. I even got a few saltine crackers and some peanut butter too. This was going to be my breakfast, but I'll share it with you if you'd like. Does that sound good, maybe? Hot tea and crackers?"

He ran some water into a small pot, set it on his hotplate to heat up, rummaged through his canvas backpack/food pantry for tea bags and sugar, and then rinsed out two small cardboard coffee cups. His only drink ware came from a Detroit airport coffee machine during a five hour layover to catch the thirteen hour Tokyo flight almost three weeks ago. He searched some more and found a pair of chopsticks in his bag. He couldn't use the damn things to eat, but they did make decent stirring sticks. Cash cautiously looked over his shoulder to see if there was any progress being made on the emo wailing and waterworks front.

"Hot tea coming up!" Cash announced with phony cheerfulness and then decided to temper that with an apology for whatever he had done to make her go bananas. "Look, uhhh, Miss Miya? I'm sorry if I, uhhh, hurt your feelings by being too rude or something. You came on pretty intense and all, and, ummm, I really don't want you hurting Karasuba, or me either, if, ummm, you know, we can help it. Well, if you feel like you really NEED to kick my ass black and blue, I guess you can, not that I could stop you probably. It wouldn't be the first time I deserved and got a few ass kickings. Well, anyway, I'm sorry you aren't too happy here, but I really think some hot tea will help you. Please stop crying. Most things usually work out and look better tomorrow. You can even stay here a little while until you feel better, okay?"

"Please don't apologize." Miya's half sobbing voice was muffled by her hands still covering her face. After a few long seconds of struggle in regaining some composure, Miya sat up to once again demurely kneel on her heels while still gripping her head with both hands, staring down at the floor, shaking her upper torso in denial, and still moaning. "This is all my fault! I made some very bad mistakes long ago, and they keep coming back to compound and haunt me time and time again no matter how hard I try to fix them! And now, and now, those stupid, stupid mistakes are going to kill all of us!"

Now weeping and wailing over being asked to leave his shabby apartment was one thing, but bawling her eyes out because everybody was going to be killed was going beyond unhappiness at some gaijin clod's social faux pas, past the usual pessimist's gloom and doom moroseness, and way over into potential "Time For Cash To Hit The Panic Button And Flee!" territory. It probably had something to do with that Flying Pink Robot Terrorist named Riko attacking, and who in the hell wanted to tangle with one of those? A calmer and more clinical part of Cash's mind wondered just exactly what form their murderous alien robot deaths were going to take, while the other more practical yet passionate part declared what did it matter? Phaser fire, brains fried, disintegrated by Illudium Q-36 Explosive Space Modulators, or simply hit with a case of killer warts, dead was dead! He and Karasuba had to get the hell out of town! Now!

On the other hand, it would be nice to find out in which direction to flee first. This was all predicated on if, and a mighty big IF at that, this uptight and now too distraught Miya chick was telling the truth or had even rationally analyzed the impending danger of their situation correctly. She was hiding something very, very deep inside her. Besides, how many times had Cash's Mother told him that his playing baseball was going to get them all killed? Too many to count. Discounting the one time a hard line drive had bounced off his thick skull and made his ears ring for six months, baseball had been pretty tame as far as death dealing went. Mother had just used her over the top emotional argument to try to make him give up something she disapproved and force him to work for his uncle again. Could that be the case with this Miya? Was she here for some other reason that was being hidden to him?

"Tell you what," Cash responded soothingly. "Maybe the big hammer won't drop on us right away. I can listen pretty good sometimes when I have to. Why don't you sit with me here at the table, drink some sweetened tea, and tell me all about what has got you so unhappy? Maybe we can think of something to help if we put our heads together, okay? If not, then we at least had breakfast, made a friend maybe, and then I can go get my chores done after you leave."

"Leave? Friends?" Miya gasped in more alarm and then bit her lower lip hard as she quickly wiped her eyes. She then stared up at Cash for a few seconds as he turned nonchalantly away to pour hot water into his mostly clean cups and added two tea bags. Idiot! Fool! Miya shouted at herself. He doesn't even know you! You've made him angry! And he's cut your bond to him! Find out why and how he's done this!

"Uhhh, yes, we should talk. I'm really sorry about the way I behaved. It's, it's just that, well, this has been a rather hard time for everyone, a lot of worry and, and pressure. Before we do, talk I mean, could I touch my forehead to your temple for a few moments? I promise you with all my heart I won't harm you or Karasuba in any way."

"Touch heads?" Cash frowned slightly in suspicion. "Why? You aliens read minds too?"

"Yes, but yours is very, very hard to read now. You've grown exponentially more powerful here lately. If I can, by touching heads physically, I might be able to see what you already know about me, and Karasuba, and other Sekirei, especially Natalie. I might also see how you've done this and find a way out."

"Natalie? Natalie the space ship? Tell me, and forgive me if this sounds rude, but what complete moron names their intergalactic space ship Natalie?"

For the first time since she had burst into his apartment, he saw Miya give a semblance of a small, warm but slightly apologetic smile.

"Well, you did, Cash."

"Oh," Cash half nodded and half shook his head in acceptance of this. He then gave a small chuckle. "Okay, yeah, I can see me being that dumb. If you promise not to melt my brains into jelly, suck them out my nose, or turn me into some kind of zombie robot with killer warts, I guess it wouldn't hurt to let you take a peek."

"I won't harm you in any way. I promise," Miya smiled wanly again. "To do so would be harming myself, and I've already thoroughly botched you're first impression of me here. I want to make amends and need to find out how."

Cash sat still as she rose gracefully, stepped to his side, and lowered her forehead to his right temple. After almost a minute, she backed away and sat down slowly in a chair opposite him while looking down and away as if in great pain. There was a very long, awkward, and then even more uncomfortable silence.

"Bad news?" Cash finally asked softly while taking a sip of his hot tea and looking at her. The tea tasted pretty stale, and this Miya still seemed to be very, very shrouded down deep. What was she hiding?

"I, I just wasn't prepared to see the deep distrust that you have for me. It hurts very badly to see the truth about the way I've failed, again," Miya answered without looking up. "You were right to reject me, and I had no idea I was still in such bad straits with you. Even now in this starting over type scenario you've set up in an attempt to correct my mistakes with you, I have made such a very poor first impression. I'm not and never have been an outgoing, sexy, self confidant type, and I know I'm not anywhere as beautiful as Karasuba, Riko, Kazehana, or Akitsu. I had hoped to win your favor again, but I didn't know how. Now it looks like I never can, because you've also cut my natural physical bonding responses to you while severing all of your emotional ties and memories of me."

"Karasuba did say that we came here to start over fresh, give each other a chance to choose," Cash nodded in semi understanding. "So you're saying the same thing is happening now between the two of us? Our former relationship was so badly flawed that it couldn't be fixed, so now we're back to square one? You and me?"

"Yes, I think that's the case here, but you're first impression of me was," Miya paused to choke back a disappointed sigh. If she had only known what was happening here when she had followed that faint mental flare in Karasuba's life force! "Very unflattering. In short, I've made another grievous error to further compound the ones in my past. Even more depressing is that you have made Karasuba your wife in your mind, you believe very strongly in monogamy, and here I am playing second fiddle to her again for my man's affections. You've made this so that you and I both have equal choice to attract one another, and I can see that I'm not very attractive to you at all. I can't even get my other Sisters' help, because, they, they aren't my Sisters anymore. I'm alone again!"

Cash sat back and winced as Miya began weeping again, only this time much more softly and more out of self pity rather than her earlier self accusing tirade. Whatever kind of relationship they must have had, this one had some very deep issues, more with herself than with, say Karasuba or anyone else. She had some kind of blanked out issues with him too. What were they? She also hadn't said a damn thing about how much or how little she was really attracted to him. Now that he could understand. He hadn't been called QPD in high school for nothing. Damn! He was no good at these kinds of troubles! Now what? Well, once again, talk was cheap. It wouldn't hurt to listen to her and get her tales of woe and despair off her rather nice looking chest. Then maybe she could put her mask back on, not that she had really taken it off in a mental sense, and then they both could go their separate ways and try to escape the evil clutches of this Robot Terrorist Riko monster.

"I got a little time here, and we can reuse the tea bags," Cash leaned forward, put a supporting elbow on the table, turned to comfortably cross his legs, and settled in to listen. "Why don't we just get acquainted a little? I'll tell you my life's story, and then you tell me yours. We can ask questions and then the other can answer them. You know, like having a real conversation? Why don't you go all the way back to the beginning before you left your home planet, and also tell me all you know about Sekirei in general, how I got involved with them, and you in particular. Better tell me who and why they want to kill us all too. Don't gloss over anything and don't leave anything out. That might start solving any deep trust issues between us, shouldn't it? At the risk of sounding like a very hokey lounge lizard in an interstellar bar scene, I want to know what a nice girl like you is doing in this part of the galaxy. Would you like that?"

"I, I," Miya swallowed, "I would like that very much."

"Okay, let's do it, but before we start, how do you know when an elephant is hiding under your futon?"

"What? I don't understand." Miya's too serious and downcast expression became confused.

"It's when you wake up and your nose is touching the ceiling." Cash waited to see her response, but she just stared at him with a quizzical frown. "This is kind of like a slow speed date, see? You know, like those singles clubs where you get five minutes or so to meet, then a bell rings, and you start rotating to meet other candidates for more in depth dating later? I just remembered that a 'Dating For Dummies' self help guide said to always try to break the ice with a dumb joke to put us both more at ease. That stupid elephant joke was the only one I could pull off the top of my head."

"Do you have more of them up there?" Miya shook her head in disbelief.

"Probably, but hey," Cash shrugged in resignation. So much for her "liking stupid humor" button. "Now you know what kind of social dud you're talking to here. You've been warned. Still want to do this?"

"I've never dated before," Miya chewed her lower lip while trying to calm down. He was still willing to interact! There was still a chance! "And yes, I want very much to talk to you, but sitting here with you is making me nervous. I'm the oldest and, and older than you, but I don't have your strength. I try so hard to be in control all the time so I won't panic and make a mess of things again! I'm not sexy enough to overcome making you more unhappy with me either. Please be patient with me, and, and treat me well. Everyone thinks I'm cold, calculating, and aloof, but I fight all the time to stay calm."

"Treat you well? This isn't going to be some kind of mental dojo duel. Look, Confucius say Hee Hoo uptight all the time needs looser jock strap," Cash tried to say lightly, but she just gave him another agonized, worried look. Cash could see that she wasn't going to drop her mental mask and gave up. "Okay, okay, the ice between us is only slightly melted. Look, I won't bite, and I'm not worried about your age at all. You still look the same age as me, maybe younger. No worries. Just relax, and, ummm, tell me about the planet you come from."

Later, a long while later, Miya finally lapsed into silence as Cash silently studied her still tear filled lavender eyes. Okay, so this Minaka and MBI and his Chinese partners were unhappy. He wasn't exactly sure what all that had to do with him. He was no soldier type, and surely these Sekirei had one of their own much more qualified to lead them in thwarting Minaka's plans, but Jeebus, this uptight Miya could talk! It was like she'd had decades of pent up crap tamped down inside, and she had also wept several times during their long conversation as little by little she had let her inner mask partially fall away from her emotions, partially but not fully. She was still very carefully hiding something.

A few sympathy tears had been shed at the deep hurts he had suffered in growing up and eventually in coming to Tokyo, but he couldn't tell how genuine they had been. More were shed over her strict raising while being unhappily groomed and surgically altered for Prime Pillar status on a star ship and for all the subsequent misery that had followed when she had panicked during the disaster that had occurred during her first mission. Also to her credit, she had left nothing out about her war with Karasuba over Takehito and all that had come about from it, but her most contrite weeping was for how badly she had failed his Sekirei Circle and fallen so short in her duty as a Prime Pillar. The problem was that she was also keeping the core of herself tightly hidden. Why? He had been wrong. Their conversation had been a mental dojo duel after all, fought to a tie. Well, it didn't matter. Once again the question Cash had for all of this was simple.

"So what is it you want that will make you the happiest, Miya? Forget all that duty and obligation crap too. You've made amends to your Sisters. You did your duty in saving Karasuba. You're more than willing to protect Natalie. Fine. You're still not happy. Karasuba said that there are still several Sekirei that can take her and your place in the Prime Circle, so forget your so called duty there too. I'm pretty sure it'll do just fine without you since no one is irreplaceable. You're free to choose the life you want to lead. You can now go anywhere in the world with whomever you want and live the way you want."

"I want you to fix my tama like you fixed Karasuba's and then accept me the same as you have her. You have removed your memories of me," Miya said slowly and once again looked down and away, "but you haven't erased mine of you. The happiest and most relaxed I've ever been in my life was our last night night together, even happier than at any time with Takehito. I'm an altered Sekirei. You've taken our psychic bonding away from me, but not my emotions. I don't want another Ashikabi. I don't want to go anywhere or live anywhere except with you. I want you to love me, love me as much as I love you. I want to live with you, and when the time comes, die with you."

"Sounds good, but I don't believe you mean what you just said at all. I think you just recited those requests as something you regard as your duty again, and I don't know how to fix your tama," Cash shook his head slowly at her total lack of passion and interest in him. "I'm pretty sure Karasuba fixed her own by somehow giving up all her anger and hatred. I'm thinking you'll need to do something similar, give up whatever is massively eating at you and let it go. You're still hiding it very well down deep behind that mental mask of yours. Maybe it's some very profound jealousy and anger at being made to feel second best all the time, even when you were a Prime Pillar. Maybe not. There's something down there you don't want revealed though, and whatever it is, I've got the very strong feeling that you'll never let me see it.

"As far as your loving me and being in love with me, they're just words that might almost sound true on your end, but it feels pretty cool and way too clinical from where I sit. No desire in your voice at all, nor your eyes or body language. I noticed early on that you never mentioned one thing about being attracted to me in any way either. The only true emotional vibes I'm catching off of you now is how desperate you are to get your Prime Circle fixed, not any great passionate attraction and love for me, no slight sexual desire, or even mild fondness for that matter. Maybe you've confused a few of your Sekirei bonded orgasms for love, a love that never really blossomed the way that it should have by your alien instincts.

"In my world, and I'm pretty sure within me in particular, folks want romantic attractions and feelings to come first, let them grow naturally, and then get them confirmed, enhanced, shared, and expressed later during sex. The way you feel, you're just another Agnes Mortensen wanting to use me like a cheap stud and arm candy and never even seeing there's a real person inside here that wants a lot more compatibility and permanence in a relationship than a quick screw once in a while. You've maybe fooled yourself that you FEEL something for me, but in reality I could just as well be a marble statue in a museum somewhere. I don't know why or how you got attracted or just attached to Takehito, but I think you'd better go find another guy like him."

Miya sat quite still, her unblinking eyes looking at him devoid of any expression. Her mind that had been racing in trying to find a way to convince him to wing her again had frozen in complete shock.

"You, you don't want me? I can't do anything to make you want me?"

"You didn't listen to what I just said?" Cash sighed in mild exasperation. "The problem we have here is that you don't WANT me, Miya! Stop trying to hide who you really are and quit putting up a phony front. You're not a Shinto shaman. You're not a mysterious innkeeper of ancient secrets. You're not a chronic failure. You are not a meek Sekirei, a humble Sensie, nor some kind of preening goddess. You're probably not even a long grieving widow because I don't really feel that you miss Takehito as much as you just like acting the part. You use all that to hide yourself. I don't really know why you do. If we ever did get together, I would want the real you, Miya, not these phony outward projections you use. You're very pretty, and you could be very sexy if you wanted to be, but for whatever reasons, we don't click on a very basic level inside you. Only you know why. Now do you understand? Who ARE you, Miya? Are you listening to me now?"

Cash stood up and gave her another mildly exasperated look of pity while slowly shaking his head. Definitely another closed off, lying to herself, uptight Agnes Mortensen type that was so skilled in hiding who she really was. They must have at least one really messed up chick like his ex on every planet in the galaxy, and he just had to get involved with another one here. Or two if he was possibly involved with that crazy sounding Riko chick too. It was enough to make a guy just want to go back to bed, cuddle the one super hottie of his that he was now sure about, and ignore the whole mess.

"You know, I think I'm still kind of tired. I'm gonna take a little nap, and then clean the toilets later. Whatever else that I need to do today can just wait. Your future war with MBI can just go screw too. You guys certainly don't need me for that."

Cash yawned and started shuffling back towards his futon. He eased himself down beside Karasuba who immediately turned into him, throwing an arm over him and softly cooing her sleeping pleasure at having him touching her again.

"Wait!" Miya finally came out of her frozen state. "Cash, what should I do? What can I do?"

"Stop being a total phony. I'm too tired to let you keep dancing me around your inner core that you're working so damn hard to keep hidden from me." Cash yawned again. "The door's open, Miya. Just go do your so called duty and fight your war that won't solve a damn thing in the long run. You don't need me to destroy whole armies again either. You've been very good at that in the past, right? If this isn't some insane dream and I really am your alien ship's Prime Leader, then I will not help you kill more, essentially helpless invading troops. You've done all that in the past, and what has it really accomplished? You're right back here thinking you have to do it again and proud that you can."

A small gasped escaped Miya's lips.

"Oh, so that's what you're really hiding from me, your pride," Cash nodded to himself as he looked over his shoulder at her, his deep blue eyes boring into hers. "You've finally slipped up and let me see the truth; Number 01 Miya, proud of being the strongest Sekirei, proud of your powers and skills that enables you to set rules and force others to obey, proud that you can pound knots on the heads of others weaker than you all day long if they don't, proud of your past victories as past leader of the original Disciplinary Squad, and proud of doing your duty and using your killing skills."

"I had to protect our ship and our children!" Miya leaped to her feet as she burst out in protest.

"But you did it in Minaka's insane way! With all your strength, you simply killed and didn't try to find any way to let those poor opposing troops live! Anyone can kill and take life, even a child can be taught how. It's adults that find ways to make and live in peace while setting their differences. That's what takes true strength and courage. As smart and experienced as you are, having seen the horrors of combat, and knowing what it does to families, it seems strange to me that you've never really embraced that, especially since Sekirei have supposedly come to Earth to love and be loved.

"In those first conflicts years ago, couldn't you have very calmly demonstrated to those enemy commanders why continuing to invade was a very bad idea without actually killing anyone? I really think you could have, but no, you had to teach the world a ruthless lesson, and then another, and then more, and you were proud that you could. You're really not much better than Minaka, a childish, insane playground bully throwing your weight around because you can use it to dominate others; feeding your ego while actually causing deep resentments and long lasting hatreds and death. Your bonding to me made you feel weak and cowardly and ashamed. No wonder you've covered all that up and why we didn't mesh right on our basic levels. Quite frankly, you'd probably be better off with some Minaka clone as your Ashikabi with the way you think, Miya, two children out to use the world as your plaything. It's really very sad. Well like I said earlier, there's the open door. Go out and conquer, Miya, but you'll do it without me. I'm not interested in mass killing. I'd rather die first."

With that, Cash turned away, and snuggled tighter to Karasuba. He was done talking to her.

Miya stood silently, reliving those battles years ago and the events that had led up to them. Takehito, although proud of her and Karasuba's skills after the fighting had started, had also essentially made the same arguments against doing battle in the first place. She had thought him a weak but lovable fool then, but the subsequent years had proved his and now Cash's assessment right. Here she was facing the same scenario all over again, but this time with even worse consequences for failure and causing more deaths as a measure for success. There should be a better way. If she left now, she wouldn't find it, and there would never be love in her life again. The only male on the planet capable of bonding with her and truly sharing love with her was across the room with his back to her. Her feet almost involuntarily took her to Cash's side, and once again she knelt down beside him and Karasuba.

She shivered slightly as memories of their past lovemaking flooded through her, his tender kisses, his large warm hands caressing her, and his sweet murmurings in her ears as he simply held her during the afterglows of their joining. She relived the way her body and soul had simply craved to be with him and had driven her to his side their last night together. She had never been happier or more peacefully content in her life than those few moments with him. How much better would it be if they loved one another as deeply as they were capable? That had never happened with Takehito, but now she could choose to have it, if only for a short while because her Ashikabi would die rather than murder his enemies. That was not weakness, but raw courage in its truest form. What was it to be? Life without love, or love that demanded her pride and possible death as its price? She stared at the contented expression on Karasuba's face, and this time there was no intense wave of jealousy, only understanding. Karasuba had chosen to love, no matter the consequences.

"Cash?" Miya asked softly as she made her choice. "Could you look at me one more time? Cash?"

He didn't answer as he was now fast asleep. Miya frowned at this for a second before shrugging. He would wake up, sooner or later, and when he did, she would be ready to give him the real Miya, but first she would ask Natalie to find a really stupid elephant joke. Stifling a small yawn herself, Miya laid down and spooned herself against Cash's back, her right arm hugging him to her. A few seconds later she too drifted back down into the velvety darkness.


	26. Chapter 26

**The Game Changer**

**Chapter 26 – Team Dynamics, Attitude Adjustments**

She was fleeing, fleeing for her life down through the maze of dark corridors, going as fast as she could with the limp and heavy burden she was carrying, but her strength was ebbing. It was going to be close, very close. Her progress in this near panic dash for safety was also being hampered by the imperative need to stop at every corridor juncture she came to in order to close off and lock their interconnecting gates. If she didn't, then there would be absolutely no hope in escaping the grim, coldly determined, and ruthless pursuer who was very actively seeking her total destruction.

To thwart her enemy and live, and save the life of the one she was carrying, she must not only elude his attempts to track her down and slay her, she must still find the only corridor that gave her a chance for victory. Once found, it might prove to be a rather slim chance at best, but it was all that was still available to her. Her pursuer was very, very skilled. Ruthlessly, thoroughly, he had walled off every other avenues of possible refuge and trapped her in this last dark pocket where he had not yet found an entrance, but it was only a matter of time until he did. Even now she could sense behind her that he was very patiently but very exhaustively finding, opening, and going through all of her locked gates on the level above, one at a time. It was slowing him down as planned, but would it be enough? Her time and strength to achieve safety and rescue was running out quickly, and so was the time to save the life of the one that was dying in her arms.

She finally entered the last corridor still open that could lead to her goal. Closing the entrance gate behind her, she hurriedly picked up her dying burden and raced to the door of their hoped for salvation, opened it, and found three more doors? She whimpered in frustration. She only had time to explore one of them for who she needed! But which one? Shaking with fear and trying to sense with her mind to find the exact psychic resonance she was looking for, she finally bit her lower lip hard, and opened the door on her far right. She backed her way through while looking over her shoulder and fell into a sunlit sky as the door slammed shut behind her. She tightly clasped the one she was carrying while tumbling slowly earthwards. Exerting what little mental energy she had left, she righted them both and slowed their descent while she looked closely at the landscape far below. It seemed right. There was an old barn and an old style two story house, and yes! They were in the right place, but was it the right time? The lot between the house and barn seemed empty, and that was a very good sign that she had chosen the right door.

Frowning in concentration, she pushed against the land below with her mind to make a soft landing at the back of the house. Noiselessly, she carried her burden around some bushes and saw the red car in the driveway. This was the right time! She crept closer as now she could hear voices out in front of the house. The female was speaking. Oh My! She had almost cut it too close!

_ "Well, I can see that you're a little nervous here. Let's forget about flowers and worrying about offending your mother with my presence here while she's gone. Why don't we go for a nice ride this sunny afternoon, and you can show me around Springfield. We can get a little better acquainted and maybe plan our prom date in such a way that you'll be comfortable at the dance and with me meeting your Mother's approval. You can drive, okay?"_

_ "Drive? Drive what?" _The male replied in puzzlement. There came a long pause. "_No, no, I'd better not leave, and you'd better go now. I gotta be real careful about not messing up my plans to play baseball next spring. Ma has to sign for that, and I gotta keep a low profile until she does. There's dozens of guys at school that would just drool all over you and take you to the prom too. Why don't you go ask one of them? You don't need a total clod like me anyway."_

She would have to time this just right. There would be no second chances. If she couldn't gain his attention and keep it here, then she and the one she carried would die.

_ "I don't WANT them!" _The female answered in a peeved and frustrated tone._ "I WANT you! Just once, forget about what your evil Mother thinks about girls, and do what you REALLY want! Take me for a ride now, and then we can plan on how we can go on a beautiful prom date together, okay?"_

_ "Evil? My Mother?" _The male almost half shouted in disbelieving anger._ "You don't even know her! Or ever met her! She isn't EVIL! I don't even KNOW you! Maybe you're the evil one here! Please go away now."_

She crept closer, easing between the side of the house and the tall bushes along side. Coming to the corner and staying hidden from the male and female who were talking, she eyed the exact spot where she would have to land. She tensed to leap while fixing it firmly in her mind.

_ "OH! WAIT! I'm SORRY! I didn't mean to insult your Mother! Cash Joseph! This is just a dream! You gave me permission to meet you in your dreams, remember? I'm Natalie! Natalie the Sekirei! YOUR Natalie! We're bonded in your mind! Look and see that I'm telling you the truth! Please come back!"_

_ "Mother wouldn't like that either, IF it is true, go away! And If you are some kind of dream girl, then stay out of mine! From now on, I'm just playing baseball! That's what I REALLY want to do!"_

He was almost to the steps going up into the front porch of his house. Off near the horizon, the blue sky was fading to gray and the female's figure was fading. NOW! She made her leap over the front bushes and landed on the first porch step in front of him.

"Cash Darling! It's me! Natalie! We're in grave danger and will die if you don't help us!"

"WHAT?" Cash recoiled in total alarm. He rapidly backpedaled a few steps and then stopped to stare aghast at the two apparent apparitions in some kind of long cloaked but short skirted uniforms and masks that had appeared before him. "WHO ARE YOU? WHAT DO YOU WANT? ARE YOU, ARE YOU, ARE YOU GHOSTS?"

"No, we're real, kind of, and we're not ghosts! It's me! Natalie! From a future time! And I need you to say these words immediately! This is a Prime Leader directive! Effective immediately, all gestalt purge and emergency reboot systems of the womb ship Natalie, The One Who Leads, will cease activity and are now hereby reset and locked to primary gestalt. Activation of all diagnostic scan and repair programs are also now locked to current Prime Leader voice command only!"

"You're Natalie?" Cash almost panted in near panic, "Again? But how'd you get in front of me? And how'd you change your clothes so fast? Where did you get that weird bird mask? Why can I see the porch right though you and, and where did the girl you're holding come from? I, I told you to leave me alone!"

"I'll explain everything as soon as you say those words!" Natalie almost stomped in foot in despair. "This is an emergency, Cash Darling! Please believe me and trust me! It won't hurt you to help us, and you're not going nuts! He's trying to kill us now! Hurry, or we'll die! You can FEEL what I'm saying is the truth, and you don't want to cause anyone to die! Right? If after you say them and you're still upset, then we can talk! SAY THEM NOW!"

"Thi, thi, this is a Prime Leader directive!" Cash stuttered obediently in now almost quaking fear at the wild sight before him and the total authoritarian tone of her command. "Effective immediately, all gestalt purge and emergency reboot systems of the womb ship Natalie, The One Who Leads, ah, ah, will cease activity and ummm, ah, are now hereby reset and locked to primary, uh, gestalt! Uh, ummm, activation of all diagnostic scan and reboot programs are also now locked to, to uh, ummm, to current Prime Leader voice command only! Did I get all that right? Are you sure you're not ghosts? You sure LOOK like you are, and, and, MAN! I'm no good at this kind of spooky shit! I think I'm going to be sick!"

"Good! I mean, you've done well, not good about feeling sick! But we're not finished! Now! Repeat these words! This is a Prime Leader Directive! All power circuits of the womb ship Natalie, the One Who Leads, will be immediately routed back to primary gestalt command and control. Secondary command and control gestalt backup will be shut down and returned to storage."

"Hey look," a slightly green Cash began while shaking his head.

"SAY THEM NOW!" Natalie's masked covered visage and voice were so fierce that he simply nodded as his eyes blinked rapidly. A tinge of resentment hit him at her terse orders requiring blind faith on his part. On the other hand she was right. He could feel the truth and honesty in her demeanor. Not only that, but the extreme urgency she was feeling was real too.

Once Cash repeated her commands in still semi shocked obedience, and as soon as he had, the surreal, ghostly forms of Natalie and the unconscious female she was carrying snapped into touchable reality. In fact, touching was exactly what Cash did. Frowning in disbelief, he took a few halting paces forward and reached out with his mitt to gently poke at the dangling left arm of the held young female. It was now solid all right. He looked at the masked face of the unconscious girl Natalie was carrying, and saw that the lower half below the bird beak looked very familiar somehow.

"Is that all? I mean, are you two safe now?" Cash looked up at Natalie who seemed to be concentrating on something off towards the horizon. Cash noted that his suddenly real and instantly returned visitor still had a very nicely endowed bosom, but now her exposed thighs below her short uniform skirt and above her thigh high black boots were also very intriguing too. Matter of fact, the unconscious gal in her arms also had a very fetching figure as well as a pair of sexy black lace panties peeking out of her uniform's brevity of loin covering cloth. Her almost half bare butt was hanging out too, and if Mother ever saw that!

"Jeebus!" Cash exclaimed in renewed panic. "We've got to get out of sight! Now! My Mom and my aunts will be home any minute, and my snitch of a sister is inside! If they catch me out here with you two, there will be royal hell to pay!"

"No!" Natalie shook her head as her attention turned back to him. She stooped down to cradle her comatose companion across her knees and then used her free hand to remove both of their bird masks. "There's one more thing you have to do here, and you have to do it now, Cash Darling! You have to kiss my daughter!"

"Whoa! What? Now just hold on here!" Cash back pedaled again while waving his arms in negation. "That's Riko, the crazy foreign transfer chick that lives next door! There is no freaking way I'm getting involved with her! She's been dogging me around like a half starved hound that thinks I'm her own personal ham bone to gnaw ever since she moved here from Japan. Besides, my Mom will be here any second! Wait! Riko's your daughter? How old ARE you? And you wanted me to take you to the prom a minute ago? Well, that's just sick!"

"Cash Darling, we don't have much time, and it's not sick, but I will explain all of that later! Please listen! Riko's dying because you cut her bonding along with Miya and Karasuba's when you got caught in a very bad psychic backlash! Your unconscious mind reset their internal bonding mechanisms so that they could all live without you, but Riko doesn't want to! She almost committed suicide when you rejected her the first time, but I was able to save her with your help. This time it isn't bonding rejection. She just gave up when you cut her off and let her drift away! I caught her mind and spirit to save her, but Riko just simply refuses to live without you! You CAN'T just let her die, Cash Darling! You MUST give her your psychic connection back again by kissing her now!"

"Say! Has this whole dream scenario thingy just been another one of Riko's screwy scams to get me to kiss her?" Cash's eyes narrowed in peeved suspicion. "Look, she is the most stubborn, close minded, thickheaded, bossy, determined to have her own way come hell and high ..."

"So are you, but she loves you anyway. And so do I," Natalie interrupted calmly. "As well as all of her Sisters."

"So I'm a stubborn, small minded jerk and a jackass to boot! Fine! But she's the worst kind of henpecking, bad tempered, high handed, manipulating, screwball, emo, drunken, and arrogant Miss Know It All smarty pants that I've..."

"I'll explain all that later, Cash Darling! Those are all just bad and immature defense habits that she's developed because she was raised in a very terrible institution and not by me like she should have been! She loves you with all of her heart! She can relearn better behavior and change those bad habits, and so can you with yours! You do have your glaring faults, right? Haven't you ever done anything similar when you absolutely had to? Gotten rid of bad habits that hurt you?"

"Well, I uhhh," Cash stopped his negative tirade at the firmness and brooking no more nonsense from him in Natalie's tone and facial expression. "I did have a bad habit of touching the tattoo behind my ear before I threw my slow curve and tipping the batter off to what I was going to throw. Then they'd murder it. I guess I still do it occasionally when I'm upset and can't concentrate on my pitching as I should."

"That's not quite the same depth and intensity level of emotional introspection and correction that she faces now, is it? It doesn't matter, because you just admitted my point anyway. You simply must kiss her now, Cash Darling, and give her hope and the will to live once more," Natalie demanded with calm firmness as she stared up at him. "If you let her die, you'll never forgive yourself. You've already committed to working with her bad habits and your own in the future, and you can feel that I'm telling you the truth. It doesn't have to be a big deal right now either. All it's going to take is for you to open her mouth and touch your tongue to hers and then mutually work out your problems later when you're both conscious. Make Riko's subconscious mind think and FEEL that you want her to live. Is a little saliva sample in a dream too much of a price to pay to save a person's life? Wouldn't you do the same for some stranger who needed mouth to mouth resuscitation if he or she was stricken by a heart attack or you had saved someone from drowning?"

"Well, yeah I guess I would, and I can see you're being truthful about her, but," Cash paused as he stared back at her. "What are you hiding from me, Natalie? What's that big slippery spot I'm feeling below your thoughts?"

Natalie gasped in dismay, and then swallowed convulsively. She closed her eyes and bit her lips to hold back her instantly welling tears. He had found her secret!

"It doesn't have anything to do with Riko," she finally responded softly while shaking her head. Natalie took in and let out a big woeful sigh. "I, I guess I've always known that sooner or later you'd find out the truth. Your psychic powers have grown so much, and now that you've connected to Karasuba, and will with Riko and Miya, there will be no way I could hide it from you in the future either. Give Riko her life back, and, and then I'll tell you everything. I promise."

"All right," Cash also sighed his acceptance and then hesitated. "Man! Is this is a weird dream or what! I am dreaming, right?"

"QUIT STALLING! KISS HER NOW!"

"All right! All Right! I'm gonna do it, for Pete's sakes! Just getting psyched up a little, okay? The idea takes a little getting used to! Damn!"

Cash grimaced slightly over his perceived distasteful duty as he bent down, grasped Riko's jaw to part her lips slightly, and very briefly stuck his tongue onto hers like a finicky kid ordered to taste Brussels sprouts for the first time. He once again scrambled backwards as very large, cobalt blue wings sprouted and shimmered beneath Riko's half suspended body and a glowing semi pink symbol of some kind also formed below her shoulder blades. It then disappeared up through the black cape and uniform fabric covering her back's upper torso. Riko weakly shifted ever so slightly as if searching for something, but she didn't wake up. Cash stood away from her for a few seconds in frowning disbelief.

"What just happened there? I've never seen that before, not even in the movies! Say, what did you mean her Sisters love me too! Who are they? When did they ever meet me? And, and you ain't no transfer student either! You lied to me earlier! Who are you really? Where do you come from, and since when did I become your Cash Darling? I mean, I'd probably remember if I ever made that kind of a relationship, and I haven't! Have I? Yeah? I have? Hey! We've got to get out of sight before Ma comes home!"

"This is MY psychic dream state, Cash Darling, and I did NOT put your Mother, your aunts, or your sister in it! YOU, a future you, taught me how to do this little time travel twist, and just in time too! Please! Just calm down! I'll explain everything!"

"No! You don't understand! Future me, my ass! And this ain't no dream! It's too real! We've GOT to hide! Then we can talk!"

"Fine!" Natalie rolled her eyes and let out another frustrated sigh at his denseness. "Where shall we go? Inside and up to your room?"

"Jeebus! NO!" Cash's eyes went wide in total horror as he reached down to snatch up two potentially incriminating bird masks from the sidewalk. "The best place is inside Old Man Warner's barn! If I hear Mom's car pull in the driveway, then I can run out and start throwing like I always do while you two stay hidden! Come ON! Let's go!"

Shortly after entering the old, dusty, two story wooden barn that was half filled with freshly stacked and sweet smelling hay thrown up on the second floor's warped boards, Natalie carefully laid the still unconscious Riko on a smaller pile of hay inside the side entrance they had come through. She arranged Riko's comatose body face up on her battle uniform cape, and then Natalie straightened to give Cash a determined look while trying to steel herself for the coming conversation, but she was cut off by Cash's sense of self preservation.

"By the way, who's trying to kill you?" Cash started a belated look around and above as that question finally hit him. "And, uhhh, are we gonna be safe here or what?"

"Yes, we're safe now, and it was my son Mutsu who was trying to kill me so that he could install another gestalt as ship commander and have himself bumped up to Prime Leader. I'm sure he would also have had his revised Sekirei ship kill you and your Circle as well if he had succeeded, but you blocked him with your directives just in time."

"Your SON was trying to kill you?" Cash eyebrows went up and mouth dropped open in disbelief. "Wow! That sucks! But, why would he want to kill ME and whatever my Circle is? I don't know the guy. Do I?"

"In the future you're my Prime Leader, Cash Darling," Natalie began to explain patiently, "and your Kazehana is now my Prime Lead Pillar. She took Miya's position. Mutsu is an incredibly ambitious narcissist, a spoiled brat and power hungry, arrogant fool who thinks he's better than anyone else and the most capable to rule this planet as it needs to be ruled. You, me, and your Circle of eight Sekirei Sisters are the only ones standing in his way."

"Your son wants to be a world dictator? Oh man, not that old Nimrod syndrome again," Cash shook his head sadly. "Everywhere I read in history that's an ultimate losing gig because it totally goes against human existence that wants to naturally live free and independently. The only folks on Earth who want their lives dictated are those whose spirits have been broken. Oh, some assholes have had some brief success clamping down in the past and forcing folks to go along with their narrow programs, but as far as overall history goes, even way back to early civilizations, they have never succeeded very often, nor have they lasted for very long when they did.

"Matter of fact, anything that goes against human nature is ultimately going to fail, even telling kids not to eat candy because it will rot their teeth. The little rug rats and crumb crunchers will get their sweets some way. You can count on it. We humans may be naturally loving critters from birth, usually, but we are also are a species of naturally sneaky rebels, free thinkers, and oddballs. I feel sorry for this Mutsu fella. I really do. Who is this Kazehana that you say is mine, and who is Miya? Circle of eight Sisters? What does that mean, ummm, exactly?"

Natalie took a deep and very fetching breath to begin explaining.

"Cash Darling, I'm the corporeal mental projection of the female gestalt commanding an alien Sekirei womb ship from another planet, an intergalactic transport for embryos brought to Earth many thousands of years ago so that they would eventually mature and intermarry with humans in order to strengthen both of our races. You are the current top product resulting from many years of that careful breeding program and should have become the world leader of the international order that now controls almost everything on a clandestine basis. Instead, you come to Tokyo in the near future and become bonded to me and eight Sekirei, your Circle, through a series of accidental circumstances that started long, long ago.

"Sometime around the last ice age on Earth, I crashed on my original mission and was shut down by my Prime Pillar Miya. Back then she was sort of my personal helpmate and command counterpart. After our crash in the ocean and when we began sinking with insufficient power to stay afloat or reach land, Miya put all my children and herself into life preserving stasis. Instead of returning to my home planet after delivery, I lay dormant and badly damaged at the bottom of the Pacific Ocean off the coast of Japan until brought to the surface almost twenty years ago by shifting plate tectonics that also caused volcanic island building.

"I was discovered by a brilliant but unstable young scientist and his equally brilliant young female lover. Unfortunately, they were rogues that had rejected the controls of the world order that bred them and you. Both were bent on finding a way to subvert their Order's leadership and even usurp power and dominate it for their own gain. My mental capacities and operating power were extremely low, but still strong enough to feel their psychic power as they came into range. In my damaged state I mistakenly thought they were my Prime Pillar and Prime Ashikabi and opened my hull for them to enter and begin repairs. Instead they began raping my data banks for all of my technology and stole my embryos from my stasis womb after only making the very minimum of repairs for their needs.

"When they tried to access my weapons systems and star drive technologies, my original Prime Pillar, Number 01 Miya, now out of stasis, learned of their desires through one of their associates working with them with whom she became enamored. After her lover's death while experimenting with my control rods, Miya put me and my data banks under a comatose Prime Pillar Directive lock until I regained enough power to initiate self repair. She also tricked and locked everyone out of my hull. The scientists then took my children to Tokyo and secretly raised them for the use of their powers in a world wide plot to rule this planet.

"Before that happened, you need to know that my discovery couldn't be kept secret. Several countries tried to invade my Island and wrest control away from these rogue scientists, but my first five children and their powers were used to slaughter all the invading troops because their inherent, avian Sekirei nature was and still is to kill all enemies at first sight, and they were taught to blindly obey Minaka from birth. My species were denied entrance to the intergalactic civilization because of our instinctive trait to kill. That's why we were interbreeding and still are with humans, to gain your specie's compassion and love that will offset our natural killing instincts when confronted.

"The rogue scientist whom I thought was my Prime Ashikabi, the one named Minaka, has now begun an ever increasingly insane attempt to regain control of me, launch me into orbit, and use my vastly superior weapon systems to dominate all the governments of the world as their sole dictator. You must prevent this at all costs, even if it means destroying me. I, I, wanted us to have a chance to really live and love each other in these dream states, but everything has happened to keep us apart, and, and it's all getting worse!"

"Okaaay," Cash said and nodded slowly as he carefully sifted though all of this, and as strange as it all sounded, and it did, very, he still couldn't see what she was hiding. Deciding to deal with all of it later, he peered deeply into her eyes as if willing her mental cover open. "What are you still hiding from me, Natalie."

She suddenly shivered in silence, her calm, straight forward, and fact reciting demeanor gone. She was staring back at him as if she was a bird transfixed by a very large, hungry, and slowly approaching anaconda.

"Answer me, Natalie," Cash said very softly. "What are you scared of ... and hiding?"

"I don't want you to hate me!" Natalie burst out while dropping to her knees, sitting back on her heels, covering her face, and then shaking uncontrollably. "When you find out you're going to HATE me! And, and I don't want to die! I'm scared! I can't move, and there's a very great chance I'll have to be destroyed! Which is still better than living without your love! I'm so scared of that too!"

Cash frowned as he knelt down beside her. He reached out to put a comforting hand on her nearest shoulder. He didn't know this incredibly beautiful but distraught, exotic woman, but somehow, deep down he did. True, she had a surreal and alien quality about her, she was very strange, her tale of woe was even stranger, and her clothes looked really weird. Females, alien constructs or otherwise had never pursued him the way she had done earlier, nor turn instantly into hot and sexy looking "see through" ghosts either. At any rate, Natalie's total heartbreak and fear of losing his love, his approval, and her life was real just as the way her body now felt to Little CJ. That was also very, very real.

"I, I KNEW something was wrong when Minaka first approached me!" Natalie continued with her voice breaking in bitter self loathing. "He didn't feel right in his mind even though he was resonating with me! I, I, I was so ALONE! I just couldn't bear to be ALONE! I, I, opened up to him KNOWING he most probably was not my Prime Ashikabi! I lied about it being a mistake! I've lied all along, and I KNEW I was lying! Then he used my children to murder his competitors! I'm guilty of that too! All those deaths and all the misery and pain of my children since that has happened has been my fault! I blamed Miya, but it was me! It was me! It was me! I opened myself to him, not she!

"That's why I was so desperate to bond with you! I wanted you to block Minaka's memory and foulness out of me because you were good and kind and able to give me some hope we could fix things somehow! My original Prime Leader was still alive, but he was too distant to help or even contact, and so I let Minaka's weak bonding power replace him! Then I replaced Minaka with yours because you are so much stronger! I had no right to ruin your life! All those poor people died because I traded myself for Minaka's dirty and foul companionship! I'm the worst kind of lying, soiled, cheap, perverted, and murdering whore! You need to break my infected bonds with you!"

A total wave of vile self loathing, bitter recrimination, and overwhelming guilt mixed with equally overwhelming fear came pouring and wailing out of Natalie as she completely broke down, her whole body rocking back and forth while shaking uncontrollably.

Cash stood up and began pacing slowly back and forth behind her, glancing over his shoulder at her occasionally as he thought this all through as best as he could. First, he would let Natalie wind down like he always did when his Mother got this way. All these years his Ma had been blaming herself and wallowing in self loathing and guilt for not preventing his Father's war death. She had always wailed that she had been more than powerful enough to get Dad's drafting into the military rescinded, but had let him talk her into doing his patriotic "duty" while she and three of her sisters had stayed home to protect and raise their two children. She had carried the guilt of her husband and her four other sisters' death from the exploded land mine that had destroyed their cargo vehicle even until today, as well as the deep pain and loneliness from losing her mate and half of her family. It had driven her nuts, and made her WAY too protective of him and his younger sister.

Cash had understood her feelings from an early age, but he had never agreed with them, nor let them grind him down. In looking calmly and objectively at Natalie's actions, he didn't really see all that big of a problem to go totally bat crazy. She had emotionally opened the wrong part of her and gotten some kind of a Minaka self hating virus, and the remains of it was still making her feel soiled. Okay. Purge it. No big deal. He stopped pacing.

"Natalie, listen," Cash commanded firmly. "I don't hate you. I doubt very seriously that I'm capable of hating you no matter what you say and do. It doesn't feel like I can in my heart, because I can sense that we're very strongly connected somehow. Anyway, nobody's perfect. You feel you made a big mistake when you're emotions were high and your ability to think was low. Then bad things happened.

"That ain't a whole lot different than a fella having too much to drink while at a pro wrestling match with his secretary when he was supposed to be at work. He then squanders his weekly paycheck after getting shitfaced drunk and betting on a losing wrestler. He insults that wrestling guy for losing and gets the living crap beat out of him. He then tells his wife he got mugged, robbed, and beaten unconscious in the subway on the way home. His secretary found him and took him to a medical clinic for treatment and got his wounds swabbed clean, and that's why he stinks of her perfume and alcohol, lost his paycheck, and was beaten black and blue. The wife buys it all until the pro wrestler later sues for breaking his pinkie when pounding on the dumb sap's thick head. Then everything falls apart and hello divorce court, but he ain't dead. He just has to regroup, start over, and try to learn and do better.

"Natalie, you feel you screwed up, right? Things got out of hand afterward and began to compound, and then you tried to cover it all up by lying to yourself and others while blaming someone else. Well, it happens, happens all the time. Hell, my dumb affair with Agnes Mortensen is a prime example of all that. Yours was just on a much bigger scale is all, because you're the only intergalactic spaceship on this planet, and you must have incredible powers and very advanced technologies that will make nations go to war to possess you.

"Matter of fact, now that I think about it, your opening up to Minaka was probably the best option back then. Otherwise, once discovered, those same invading nations would have been competing with each other instead of with your children to possess you. It probably would have started and escalated into another world war where hundreds of millions of innocent people would have gotten killed instead of the much fewer invading troops that were. You did the wrong thing but most probably got the better results. That happens too. It's like a batter missing the bunt sign from his third base coach and hitting a home run instead. Even if he grounds into a game ending triple play by bunting, then there's always a chance to do better and win the next game. Mistakes aren't the end of the universe anyway, and maybe you still might have time and a chance to make things right now. At least you can try, right?

"As far as you and me are concerned, I'm just a baseball pitcher. I'm not sure what I can do for you, especially in this kooky kind of dream thing you say we've got going on between us, but there's no way I can see that you're a lying, soiled, cheap, perverted, and murdering whore. To me, you look and sound and feel like a very sexy, very loving, very caring, and now very honest nice gal that just needs a hug. That I can do, and I think I want to keep you around me for a long, long time so that I can. I'll always be willing to give hugs as long as we stay open and honest with each other. There's no reason to hide that kind of stuff or anything else from me ever again. We can get rid of what's been bothering you now."

Slowly, very slowly, Natalie's body stopped shaking, and her bawling quieted. Deep, hiccuping sighs began to take place although she kept her hands over her face and her hunched up body turned slightly away from the sound of his voice. Cash stood behind her while feeling the depth of their mutual mental connection. She did love him, now and in the future, incredibly very much. Now wasn't that the weirdest damn thing? An alien space ship that looked like this loved him? It felt really great even if she had made him tongue taste her crazy daughter. He went over to Natalie, knelt down behind her, and put his arms around her waist. He and Little CJ once again noted appreciatively that she seemed a little too slim around the middle in relation to her very generous bust line and rounded hips. He buried his face in the massive waves of her long, thick black hair that was covering her shoulders and back while brushing her long, black uniform cloak to one side.

"It's okay, Natalie," Cash murmured softly in Natalie's right ear. "I believe now that you're a dream come true. I can feel you're a really good person, and I'm sure my life can't be ever ruined by you, now or whenever. It'll work out somehow and be okay. After it's all over, you can come and visit me here any time you feel lonely too, okay? I think I'd really, really like that as long as Ma doesn't find out, but Old Man Warner won't mind, neither will his grandson working the place now. The old guy died two months ago, and I'm really sad he did. He was a great pal to me ever since I was kid, and he sure would have loved meeting a gamorgeous babe like you while wearing such a spiffy and hot sci-fi uniform. He had a secret stash of old Vampirella pinups that you make look tame!"

Trembling still, Natalie turned on her knees to stare at Cash with wounded and apologetic eyes. She reached a hand up to caress his jaw as they knelt facing each other.

"You, you think I'm, I'm gamorgeous, Cash Darling? A ten? And, and you won't break my bonding to you? Ever? After I lied to you and tried so hard to cover it up? You still want me in your life and think I'm a top of the scale ten? I'm a babelicious Betty?"

"Yep, you said it, and you're more like a fifteen, Natalie! We're square with each other now, and I believe we can stay that way if we always work hard at it. Well, as long as you don't call my Mother evil again. Ma ain't evil. She's just has some very deep, self unforgiving issues, and feels responsible for my Dad and her sisters' deaths. You should understand that because it's screwed me up a little too, uhhh, maybe a lot. Matter of fact, since we're gonna be some kind of bonding hot item and even though every good relationship is supposed to be greater than the sum of its parts, it's you that's getting the short end of the deal here, not me. I'm just a mediocre hick ballplayer from NoWheresville, USA. You are an incredibly powerful, intergalactic beauty that would make the goddess Venus turn green with envy. I'll stick with you as long as you want me, even though I kinda feel like I'm pretty much just a wart on your big toe."

"NO, Cash Darling!" Natalie reacted fiercely. "You are everything to me! And, and I'm so sorry, Cash Darling, for everything that I've kept hidden from you, and I love you so much! I'm the wart on you!"

She began to tear up and shake again, but acting on a sudden impulse, Cash leaned very slowly forward and let his lips touch hers. She instantly responded by grabbing his cheeks in both of her hands and pulling them together harder and more insistently. Her tongue began entwining with his. She moved forward and opened her legs to straddle his as he remained kneeling. Large, brightly glowing, pulsing, shimmering, and shuddering, deep crimson wings formed and shone forth behind her. A large bird emblem also formed above her and behind her head. It began to sink slowly down to imprint between her shoulder blades while she moaned loudly in rising ecstasy. Fire swept through them both, the heat compounded as their psychic connection's intensity went up and up to crest and then burst inside their minds in a massive releasing fireball. Natalie's body began wildly bucking and rubbing against his as her hands futilely tried to be everywhere at once and still remove their clothes. He finally grabbed both of her wrists, pinned them together behind her back, and broke their kiss.

"I, uhhh, I've never done anything like this before," Cash began while gulping and panting nervously, "and my Mom might come home any minute or that goofy Riko right here beside us might wake up. She, uhhh, kind of puts me off being this close, ya know? I mean, uhhh, we might not have much time, and maybe we ought to ..."

"We've got plenty of time, or I'll just make more! Even though we've bonded psychically, I wanted my physical crest bonding and connecting experience and giving you my body just like the others, and I'm going to have them! Now! And I've got Riko in a healing coma! She won't wake up! Now help me take off my clothes, Cash Darling!" Natalie growled impatiently in between her own heavy panting, "and yours! Quickly! I've made this time for us! And forget about everyone and everything but healing ME with your love and becoming my emotional circuitry's new resonating baseline! And don't you even dare try to leave me here like this even though we're already connected! Let's connect even better and stronger! I NEED you! And don't worry about your being a virgin! I know what to do because I've read Riko's sex guide too!"

Cash blinked rapidly for a few seconds. Her daughter's sex guide? Any further thoughts about fleeing from this overheated and incredibly beautiful alien female, even if it might all be just a really weird corporeal dream, quickly faded as Natalie impatiently ripped her uniform top apart and her large, firm, and high set, bare breasts popped into view. Cash had NEVER seen anything in the flesh like them before either. After muttering darkly to herself how illogical it had been to worry about how she had looked upon their first meeting instead of how fast she could disrobe, Natalie suddenly and very fiercely attacked his virtual virginity by pushing him backwards. She then pursued him down onto their hastily arranged bed of clothes spread on dead Old Man Warner's pile of still sweet smelling hay.

When once physically joined together with her still straddling him and sharing their first mutually explosive orgasm, Natalie arched her back in muscle locked, body quivering rapture. Cash instinctively moved his hands to touch the new dark crimson crest on her back while at the same time bringing their foreheads together. He then simply hung on for dear life at the power unleashed from Natalie with a small part of him wondering what in the name Don Quixote had he gotten himself into? An intensely bright and large, crimson radiance immediately illuminated Old Man Warner's barn as their "connection" went to full power, nullifying and purging the remnants and effects of Minaka's old viral infecting influence. Natalie's left hand came up to clasp his head tighter to hers and her right arm reached out and over to put her palm on comatose Riko's forehead.

A blazing, thick golden spike of pure psychic power went up into the sky from Natalie, blasting back up through the closed corridor from where Natalie and Riko had recently fallen. It surged back up through the maze levels of gestalt circuits where they had earlier been pursued. Too late, the hunter realized that he was now the hunted. A suddenly cursing and scrambling to flee Mutsu did not have time to avoid Natalie's rejuvenated psychic backlash that erupted from her command console and engulfed him.

***scene break***

Minaka morosely stared at the 3D video of his pilots and service crews fleeing for their lives as MBI's entire helicopter squadron was ripped, twisted, and pounded into scrap metal and assorted pieces of junk by invisible forces. He had watched the composite recordings from every angle, speed, and magnification repeatedly for hours, searching for some clue or visual anomaly that would explain how the Sekirei attackers had accomplished such a devastating blow to his ambitions in such a short and ruthless fashion. There of course could be no doubt that it had been a Sekirei raid, one most probably led by that damnable Mutsu from the sheer speed and efficiency of its results, but how had it been done? The answer was crucial to invading Kamakura Island. The invasion would be a total bust before it could begin if met out in the open ocean by some invisible Sekirei weapon. But what kind of weapon? Had the destruction been accomplished by some kind of technology that had been hidden from him within the ship years ago, or was this something new the aliens had produced on their own in a very short time? Either way, what was it exactly, and what was its range?

Minaka ran a shaking and overtly fearful hand through his wildly tousled hair as his loose bowels rumbled ominously once again. That whole nerve shattering Sekirei raid had given him a world class case of the screaming shits. He ignored his bowels and tried to concentrate on what the new weapon could be. He suddenly remembered an old logic truth from his college days. Sometimes one could tell what something was by finding out what it was not. Maybe he was looking at this all wrong. Instead of asking what it was, maybe he should concentrate more on what the Sekirei weapon was not. He reran the video in slow motion from the beginning of the raid. There! The damage started on the northwest corner of the base and proceeded almost as a continuous wave to the southeast.

So, it couldn't have been some kind of swirling vortex cannon, nor could it have been something hovering overhead aiming pressure waves straight down at the entire base. The damage being done was not the same either although different machines seemed to suffer different types of harm all at once before the next in line began taking the same types of heavy damage. Blades were twisted and bent as well as just simply ripped away. Fuselages were bent and badly dented. The weaker tail rotors and engines were torn away from their mounts. It almost looked like a plague of metal munching and crunching super locusts had somehow flown in, and, wait. Minaka sat upright and peered at the images he was watching.

Of course!That was it! The damage wasn't being caused by an invisible, single alien machine, nor even just a small group of them. Each helicopter destroyed had been attacked by several individual what? Invisible robots? The Sekirei ship did have a very sophisticated repair robot that he had seen, but it was too small to been converted to attack the much bigger helicopters, and there had only been one. Minaka tried to do a quick estimation of how many small individual units it would have taken to make a continuous wave of destruction sweep across the base while assuming at least three perhaps four attacking units per helicopter destroyed as the wave progressed. This operation must have required at least a dozen individual robots, perhaps more, and all acting independently? How could those have been programmed and controlled to do such coordinated damage? There was nothing on Earth that, oh right, Sekirei were aliens after all, and he hadn't gotten even a tiny peek into the ship's weapon computers or data banks thanks to that damnable lying bitch Miya.

Minaka ground his teeth in frustration. How had Miya also concealed a platoon of flying invisible attack robots capable of totally evading detection by Tokyo and MBI's most sophisticated and integrated, multipurpose scanning devices that, that, that the Sekirei easily evaded almost at will in the subway systems. They had simply laughed at his attempts to track them, especially Kazehana and her companions. Just like that silly Riko in her pink plastic suit when she had kidnapped Archer from the Tokyo Dome and publicly thumbed her nose at every … Riko and her plastic suit? What if the new Sekirei super robots were nothing more than a bunch of jumping Sekirei in cooled plastic suits with the old wrap around video camouflage technology?

Riko's math, physics, computer, and engineering combined test scores had always ranked the highest of all the Sekirei they had raised. What if she had been purposefully holding back and hiding her real potential just as she had obviously hid her powers? Was she now skilled enough as a technician to make and modify enough undetectable suits for her cohorts? Or was the ship awake enough that its repair robots could make suits once programmed by Riko? In either case and if so, then the most dangerous time for his invasion plan would be just offshore.

No, that was not true. Kazehana could fly as well as Miya and apparently so could Riko now. Also that low life bum Seo's octet of winged Sekirei had been caught on video several times floating above and around Tokyo's tallest buildings. Minaka leaned back. Then all he needed was some kind of strong, very strong type of overhead netting for protecting his command ship's personnel and his tuned jinkis long enough to sweep over any Sekirei attacking from the sky. All other air cover would simply have to be supplied by General Chen, and that's why the inscrutable bastard and his cannon fodder minions had been cut in on the deal in the first place.

"Boss!" A weary voice spoke out of the speakers in Minaka's bunker. "We've done it! Look at your lab monitor! There was an eight note musical component to tuning those eight jinkis like we thought, but it was in the key of A Flat Minor with each jinki using at least four notes for a different chord. There was no simple majors either. It was all suspended, augmented, diminished, and added sevenths and ninths bullshit. Those alien sonsofbitches must all have tin ears. When we got 'em all going, it sounded like eight cats having their assholes reamed out with wire brushes used for cleaning gun barrels, but damned if it didn't work.

"Also, the rods have to be aligned as a right circular cone with the points at the apex. Therefore the zeta radiating output is conical not globular. At any rate, we got the whole thing resonating inside its protective chamber and sounding like a badly tuned Chinese orchestra, but its knocking the mental wave zeta band pickups off the top end of our recording scales! Look at those fricken data points and the way they perfectly line up! Our protective helmets work over the entire range too! We can be ready to load up and move out anytime you say the word! All we need is transport!"

"Finally!" Minaka rolled his eyes. It had taken twenty hours longer than he had demanded, and the whole time his loose bowels had been in an uproar of fear waiting for the Sekirei ship to possibly attack before they were ready to fire their tuned control rods. Even a whole package of Imodium tablets hadn't helped his too loose and aching asshole. When this whole alien killing thing was finally and successfully done, he'd probably be packed up for a month, tighter than a tied off and dried out sausage skin.

"Conical output eh? Then we'll have to aim the damn thing from a swivel mount! That still might be a huge problem if we can't see the Sekirei! Damn that Riko! On the other hand, simple water hoses set on spray from tanks with food coloring can outline her damn plastic suits as long as we got a strong enough netting effective enough to hold them off until we can kill them. What about the power output required to activate our tuned jinkis? Have you got an effective range estimate?"

"We're pretty sure effective killing range for projection is going to be around one kilometer with anything generating 6 megawatts or more. That's about what a large ship's diesel can put out anyway. That will give you a conical kill zone of about 300 meters in diameter at that distance. It will take the Sekirei ship's antimatter engine power to generate the 1.21 petawatts needed to kill from low Earth orbit and a little over 43 shifted orbits to get world wide coverage. There's really no power limit to what our zeta wave generator can handle because the laser activators of our system are encased in liquid nitrogen to negate overheating of our circuitry. It should be pretty simple to hook up to the Sekirei ship's engines too from what I remember about its power configurations."

"First things first! We have to get IN the ship, before we can fly the damn thing, let alone hook in the jinki kill rods, you dolt! For that we have to get close enough to the island with enough power and equipment to see and kill the Sekirei before they can kill us! We'll just have to have Chen's air and sea power keep them occupied until we get into range. That's why we have the supposedly inscrutable bastards as partners anyway. They're really about as inscrutable as Number 88 Musubi's smiling cleavage. Loved that gal's bouncing boobs. Shame to kill her, but I digress."

Minaka turned and barked at his computer console's command microphone, "Call General Chen!"

"That number has been deactivated," the toneless computer's flat response came back a few seconds later.

"What? It's their damn Tokyo embassy!" Minaka bellowed in consternation. "Redial General Chen!"

"SIR!" A panicked computer tech shouted from another terminal. "We just detected a full scale document upload from the research lab on a rogue wi-fi broadband using an encrypted squirt through an unauthorized cloud! We've tried to shut it down, but somehow we've been locked out of our own system! We even pulled all power to the lab's computers, but there's an emergency grid hookup somewhere in your bunker! We can't stop it! They're getting all of our jinki formation and calibration data! They even copied the specs on the protective helmets and zeta wave generator! There was a self translating worm attached converting all data into Mandarin! We tried to spike that upload connection through another net's cloud server, but our spike got rerouted to an s&m pigmy porn site in Australia!"

"CHEN!" Minaka leaped to his feet, his right fist clenched and his face contorted in total fury like old Captain Kirk screaming at Khan in the best classic Star Trek movie from ancient cinema history. He slammed his left hand down upon the lab comm switch. "How long would it take the Chinese to make and tune their own jinki octet? And helmets? And zeta wave generator?"

"Uhhh, since we've done all the hard work and experimenting, maybe a day or two if they have the right equipment, sooner if they've been monitoring us all along and only needed our latest completed data."

"SIR!" The agonized computer tech yelled again. "There were two more uploads piggybacked on the original, but we could track them! One just rerouted in Russian to a satellite over the Sea of Okhotsk north of Japan, and the other was routed through Mumbai and then sent in Hindi to a satellite over the Philippine Sea!"

"The Russians and Indians too? DAMN! I swear I'm going to have every one of you incompetent dumb bastards shot! What about the Vatican?" Minaka snarled sarcastically. "Are they sending all our data to their huge navy too? Maybe the Swiss? Everybody and their mothers have hacked our system! DAMN! All these years! All my work! Everything going down the drain because half of you bastards have GOT to be bribed!"

"So what we doing, boss?" The tired lab researcher and part time confidant rubbed his forehead. "Since Number 02 Matsu killed all of our laser satellites within range of Kamakura Island, we can't just fly over there. Kazehana would just knock us down like ducks circling around hunters with giant signs attached that says 'Shoot Us'. Mutsu can stun any ship crew within 3 kilometers of the island, not to mention Miya and Karasuba's talents for killing. We KNOW what those two can do, and Miya's sonic cuts have a 5 kilometer range or better. We never did really see her maximum kill limit, remember? If Riko is as strong kinetically as the reports we've gotten, then gas bombs and any type of missiles from sub orbital ramjets won't work either, let alone any kind of offshore bombardment. Even if the Chinese, Russian, and Hindi navies beat us there, they'll have the same problems."

"Then we just need a submarine," Minaka nodded in agreement while gripping his temples in thought, "preferably a nuclear powered one with the best stealth capability available. Kamakura's harbor is more than sufficiently deep to get us in close enough to kill before spotted, but those kinds of advanced subs belong to the damn Yanks! The good thing is they've had a bunch of them cruising around between Japan and China for years and should have one close enough for us to use! While the rest of those data stealing clowns and their navies keep the Sekirei occupied above and get destroyed in the process, we'll sneak in below and shove our tuned jinkis right up their alien Sekirei asses!"

"The Americans are NOT going to be cheap to hire, boss," the researcher responded skeptically, "and how do we know they haven't compromised our computer data to begin with too?"

"Because as far as we know, the gaijin American morons are the only ones that didn't upload a piggyback of our final data. We need them because right now we're running out of delivery options, and let me worry about how to screw them out of getting anything relevant for their efforts," Minaka turned to shake his fist at the computer tech's screen. "You traitorous bastards get me positional fixes, relevant weather data, and earliest possible arrivals for those three navies headed for Kamakura Island! If your data isn't accurate to three decimal places, then YOUR assholes are going to be wired shut and then cauterized! We know the Chinese are still loading in Beijing, but I need to know when the weather will clear enough for them to leave port!"

"Call the American Embassy in Tokyo!" Minaka hissed at his computer console and then activated his security commander's screen. "Security! Search this entire compound for rogue electric generators! I want our traitors found immediately! Kill anyone fleeing our compound, especially any computer and lab techs shitting themselves from fear!"

***scene break***

A sane and intelligent man would probably be fleeing this scene. Sanada stared around him at the total fiasco of unconscious Sekirei and their Ashikabi laying together in different clumps inside Natalie's stasis tank. This was partially the result of trying to save Archer and his Prime Circle. Minato and Seo and their Circles were still hors de combat and seemingly no closer to waking up than when Haihane and Kusano had both let out agonized shouts before keeling over. Their Sisters and their two Ashikabi had toppled over with them.

The other part was made when unconscious Mutsu and his equally comatose Petals had been brought down from Natalie's command cabin. This had followed Shiina's scream of agony when a strange golden glow had blasted through the ship. Then Shiina and his Petals had dropped like wet dishrags. Sanada had went up to investigate, and there was Muts and his gals laying on the command cabin floor like a domino ring disaster. What had happened no one knew. Matter of fact, no one knew what to do now. Five out of the eight Sekirei Circles were dead to the world, and Sanada was a fighter, not a thinker. Kouji, he of the endless equation calculations, was a thinker but had zero experience in reviving unconscious Sekirei and was as useless as weak willed Mikogami in planning their next move.

Sanada rubbed the beard stubble on his jaw with his left hand. Supposedly there was an invasion coming from MBI's forces soon, how soon was also unknown, and the remaining Sekirei were looking at him to lead them. Something had to be done here in trying to revive the stronger Circles. But where to start?

"Gather round here gals," Sanada made a circling motion with his arms as he came to a sudden decision. He needed advice, and who knew Sekirei better than themselves?

"Oriha, Namiji, Ikki," Sanada singled out the remaining leaders. "Which Sekirei should we try to revive first, and how can we do it? If ya all link up and concentrate on one of them, will ya risk being knocked out too?"

"Yes, there's that risk," Namiji replied slowly while frowning in thought. "I think we need Miya awake. She has the most power and experience to help all of us, especially if she gets properly connected to our Prime Leader. She might be able to revive Natalie too."

"No, Himeko has the strongest healing power," Ikki immediately disagreed. "We need to concentrate on her first. Then she can heal and awaken the others."

"Our Prime Leader is the most important," Oriha shook her head. "Let's try waking him up first because he's more powerful than any of us. Then he can call his Circle awake, especially Kazehana and Himeko. Miya's bonding is still flawed."

"Archer?" Sanada's eyebrows went up in surprise. "Archer's the most powerful? Are ya sure my love?"

"Yes. I felt it the first time I saw him," Oriha nodded emphatically, "and I saw it too. He has a life aura glowing around him even larger than Miya's."

Sanada nodded at this. He wasn't exactly sure what a life aura was, but if Oriha saw them then they must be real. Oriha may be a very low key type of lover, but she was a total no nonsense straight arrow when it came to speaking her mind, just like Haihane but not as crude. If she said she saw life auras, then one could bet his sorry ass life they were there.

"All right, what about the rest of your Circles? What do they say? Tell ya what. Why don't ya all talk it over and tell me what ya think."

The stasis tank then filled with arguing female chatter. It quickly seemed to Sanada that no two of them could agree on anything long enough to call a third stupid. Maybe this hadn't been such a hot idea after all. This lasted several minutes before help came from the most unlikely source.

"Enough," Kouji said quietly.

At first the chatter continued a few seconds, then it suddenly ceased. The whole attitude in the stasis tank went from argumentative peevishness to waiting expectancy.

"We will concentrate our revival efforts on Himeko first," Kouji commanded softly, "then on Miya and then CJ and then Kazehana. Between the four of them, and Natalie if they can awaken her, we will then have the resources we need to rectify our current dilemma. This is an exercise in parallel connecting to increase our power. Seo, Miko, and I will touch Himeko's crest and each others heads. You all will make three concentric rings with Himeko and us in the center. My Circle will all touch our Ashikabi's connecting arms with one hand and each others crests with their other hand. Seo's ring will touch the Sekirei's crest in front of them and each other. Miko's will do the same behind them. Concentrate your power as harmoniously as you can through each others crests and then project it centrally through us. There will be no further talking until we achieve success. Start immediately."

Sanada exchanged an impressed look with a blinking, relieved, and appreciative Mikogami before shrugging and moving silently into position beside Himeko. Twenty four Sekirei moved silently also. Sometimes, Sanada thought with rare insight for him, effective leadership might be something more than just bashing heads and then watching enemies flee in panic and fear.

***scene break***

Cash came awake slowly with curious, almost euphoric type of feelings that seemed to wash in healing waves down through his mind and body; warm soothing, vanilla scented waves starting from the top of his head and coursing all the way to the soles of his feet. He simply reveled in what was happening to him for several long moments before realizing that soft, gentle hands were slowly caressing his skull. With eyes still closed, he reached up with his right hand to touch his comforter's fingers as they ran through his curling hair. A bright blue stand in the back of his mind instantly strengthened at his returned contact. Himeko, cuddling Cash's head in her lap, gasped in pure pleasure as she felt her mind now meshing emotionally with his.

"Oh my Love!" Himeko lifted him up and leaned forward to greet him with a warm whisper in his left ear and then let her soft lips travel around his face in adoring kisses. "I am so glad you chose to re-wing me! Even in my wildest hopes and imaginations I never dreamed how truly wonderful my Ashikabi could make me feel, so warm, so secure, so loved! Thank you so much for loving me!"

"Silky," Cash said simply as he blinked full awake.

_"Cash Darling! You're finally awake! And whole!"_ The power of Natalie's emotional relief and loving approval flooded through his mind and hummed through Himeko's as well. Natalie's brightly glowing golden torus around his mind's central core almost crackled with energy._"I will give the other three Ashikabi and their Circles the good news! They have been so worried! But you must still rest, my Love! Rest and eat! There is much for you to consider and do later when you are feeling stronger, but for now we are in little danger! I am running diagnostics and circuit repair caused by Mutsu's treachery. Himeko will answer your questions, but I will monitor if you need to talk to me."_

Cash nodded at this, and then he felt slightly alarmed. "Where are the others? Why aren't they here with me? How long have I been out?"

"We've all been out for about thirty six hours or so, My Love. My Sisters, except for Miya, are still inside Natalie, but still unconscious on pallets in her command cabin. They're fine, but still healing in their sleep. We just ran out of room in the stasis tank from everybody that's been knocked out and all the other Sekirei coming in to help care for them. I was awakened first, then Miya. She brought Natalie back online before coming here to help me. I moved you here to get away from everyone yakking so loud while trying to touch and gawk at you. It was breaking my concentration."

"Gawk at ME? Why? Where's here? It's dark, and I'm in a big bed?" Cash took a deep breath and smelled food. Somebody was baking fresh bread, and there seemed to be the aroma of a good old fashioned American meatloaf in the oven. "I'm not inside Natalie?"

"We're in the MBI base commander's quarters on Kamakura Island," Himeko said softly with a smile in her tone. "The others know what you did in risking everything to save Karasuba, my Love. It has greatly impressed us all."

"I wouldn't know why. I damned near killed a bunch of us!"

He felt her reach to switch on a small bedside lamp. In its glow Cash saw that he was in a spacious and nicely decorated bedroom suite. He turned his head to let his eyes gaze up into hers and smile drowsily. Then he wrinkled his eyebrows in a leering, teasing expression. Himeko was wearing a very sheer, black mesh nightie that left very little to his imagination. Loving Karasuba and Natalie in his dreams must not have taken a toll on Little CJ's ability to get instantly horny now, Cash mused, and he could get very lucky while awake here!

"Love that outfit! Does this mean you've decided to keep me then, you sexy and saucy wench? You and the rest of the team won't be trading me, four hot hitting prospects, and a lot of cash for a five tool super star outfielder? You're all going to keep a gaijin ball playing bum like me that almost killed all of you?"

"Yes, Miya and I took a vote of two and decided you did very, very well for our Circle because if you'd do something like that for Karasuba, then how much more would you do for any of the rest of us? We'll keep you, but only if you take a bath, shave, and brush your teeth right away, you slovenly rogue!" Himeko returned with a low playful chuckle while hugging his head up to her thinly clad bosom. "Your body and your breath stink, and your thistle face is scratching my boobs! How dare you treat them that way! You will pay for this outrage, you ill mannered ruffian! And then I'll tell my Sisters on you, and you'll really get it from them too!"

"Yeah? Okay," Cash nodded as he tried to marshal his thoughts and memories around his last waking moments with Karasuba and the subsequent dream events that still replayed in all too real clarity. "How is everybody, Natalie? Are Minato and Seo's Circles gonna be okay?"

_"Both Circles are still unconscious and awaiting Himeko's further healing as are Kazehana, Riko, Karasuba, and Akitsu! I have them stabilized in a dream state for now! Toyotama and Uzume's psychic powers were not as seriously strained, but they are both still unconscious also! I am going to siphon some psychic power from your mind to aid and speed your six Sekirei's recovery, but you must send Himeko to me immediately! I need Kazehana awakened and empowered to mesh all my Circles so I can use them to restore each other! Then we'll revive Shiina's, and make a decision about how to deal with Mutsu and his Petals."_

"You need Silky immediately? Damn!" Cash groused in disappointment. He didn't want to deal with Mutsu's problems either. He reached up to fondle Himeko's large breasts, but she caught his hand in hers as she stopped smiling and gave him a look of intense expectation.

"There's no time for that now, and oh how I wish there would be, but I must go now that you're awake. You, my Love, MUST immediately restore my bond mate Miya to our Circle. We NEED her! We need her as much as we needed Karasuba and Riko!"

"Ahhh, Silky, I'm afraid that's not up," Cash began while wincing, but he was forcibly cut off.

"NO!" Himeko's eyes narrowed and her body shook slightly in fierce determination. "It IS up to you, and you alone my LOVE! She is part of us! None of us were perfect when you took us, and we aren't perfect even now! There is no one else for her to bond and find love like yours! No one! I am BEGGING you with everything within me! Save my bond mate! I LOVE you! I love you, and I will DIE for you! But if you don't save Miya, you will BREAK my heart! Please Husband! Please!"

Cash stared up at Himeko's suddenly tear filled, begging, and woebegone eyes before struggling to sit up. He turned to caress her face. She clasp his right hand tightly to her left cheek.

"All right," Cash nodded while sighing in resignation. He could put up with a cold, aloof, and loveless relationship with Miya if for no other reason than to keep his Himeko's soft and loving heart intact. "I'll try to bring her back if she still wants to come. She did save us all, and I'm not an ungrateful cad."

Himeko reached to grab his head and fiercely mash their lips together. She moaned softly as her Norito wings formed behind her, shuddering with the power that began coursing through her mind and body. After several long moments she tore herself away and scooted away from him while panting heavily. She turned her head to give him a look of fiery intensity as she stood beside the bed.

"When we can," she panted in short gasps while wiping away her tears, "you are going to make love to this very saucy wench of yours as if you were saving ME from death's waterfalls, understand?"

"Yes," Cash nodded again in simple acceptance. Why wouldn't he want to? And he could also see that there was going to be very little in his future that he could ever deny giving Himeko once she requested it. Her capacity to love was as deep or maybe even deeper than his. On the other hand, Himeko also had a lot more calm common sense and could be trusted to never use her power of persuasion against him lightly.

"And I suspect my Sisters are going to demand the same when this is all over," Himeko smiled as she took off her nightie and reached for her battle uniform. "But for right now, take a bath, shave, and brush your teeth, my Love. Miya is out in the kitchen making your dinner. She will protect you here until I can return. Hopefully I can also have the rest of my Sisters here soon, but not too soon, okay? I know you are not very fond of Miya now, nor interested in her, but please try your best with her, Husband. Please?"

"I hear and obey, oh dominating wife," Cash chuckled as he too stood up. How had a mostly insensitive and obtuse clod like him ever been tapped to relate to overly emotional Sekirei females? It was beyond him. He gave her a chaste kiss on the cheek and turned to answer nature's call in the suite's attached bathroom. It would help calm Little CJ's stiff reaction to Himeko changing clothes in front of him.

Thinking about his needs, he missed the part where Himeko muttered darkly to herself about how much she was going to dominate Little CJ and turn him into Julius Lex when she got the chance as her eyes followed his now bulging boxer briefs moving away from her. The sight of his mostly bare and muscular big body also made her shiver with desire. Himeko grimaced in disappointment as she turned away and readied to leave, but her mood was better. At least she had hopefully set the stage for Miya with a half aroused Little CJ as best as she could under her time and duty constraints.

Cash dawdled in the bath as long as he could, delaying his inevitable next emotional sparring round with Miya and once again reviewing information gleaned from recent events and dream state memories. There had to be some way out of the coming confrontation with Minaka and whatever military invaders were heading towards Kamakura Island, but how? Hopefully somebody would come up with a few ideas and soon or a lot of people were going to get hurt or killed.

"Natalie, how's the freeing of your hull coming?" Cash spoke to the steamed mirror as he began shaving.

_"I'm afraid little progress has been made, Cash Darling. Those efforts were shut down during our inability to think, and sensors indicate only 22.312% of my entrapped hull has experienced any smoothing from our polishing efforts. I estimate it will take another 8.441 days before we can attempt a low powered engine burn sufficient to begin wiggling for freedom. We should revisit possible solutions for blasting or cutting me free now that Minaka's satellites have been neutralized. However, I also estimate that there is a very high probability of other satellites passively observing this Island of which Minaka has no knowledge. Overt activity to free my hull will most probably alert more potential invaders as to my now awakened state. What are we going to do, Cash Darling?"_

"I don't know, honey," Cash grimaced at his reflection. "We'll just have to think of something. What we should do as soon as we can is get all our Ashikabi and Sekirei together and try to brainstorm the problem. That's all I can come up with for right now, but we need everyone awake and healed for that. There just has to be something we can do rather than slaughter everyone coming at us."

_"I have total faith in you, Cash Darling! You will find a way to save me and them! After we do, then I can't wait until we can visit our barn hideaway again! I love you so much!"_

"That was beyond fantastic hay making, wasn't it?" Cash smiled and nodded, but then he grimaced at the thought of facing Miya again in a few moments was going to be a LOT less than fantastic and probably more like sitting through one of Goofy Cottrell's boring chemistry lectures again, one that made non medicated teeth pulling and root canal drilling more entertaining. He really was in no mood to put up with any more of Miya's superior and cool acting bullshit either, now or any time in the future.

_"Give Miya your compassion, Cash Darling. You are so loving and kind really, and she has suffered through so much, and, and remember, most of it was my fault! Please don't hurt her! I owe her so much too! She saved you! She saved our Circle and me! She needs us, and she really NEEDS you!"_

"All right, all right! I'll try to take care of Miya, Natalie," Cash said softly while shaking his head, "but I'll do it my way, and YOU will be quiet as I do, understand? I'll put her back into your Prime Circle for you to use her power and keep Himeko happy if Miya chooses, but I will NOT be forced into some totally phony and bogus relationship with her again."

A definite, disapproving silence from Natalie greeted this announcement. It seemed that there was a stiff price to pay for having six Sekirei and their spaceship in "head over heels" bonded love with a freedom loving schmuck like him, and that price was some of his freedom of choice and a forced life with cold, egotistical Miya and the temperamental kook Riko. He could only hope that life with those two wouldn't suffocate him all that much. On the other hand, Natalie, Kazehana, Uzume, Himeko, Akitsu, Toyotama, and now Karasuba were vastly worth whatever troubles and grief he would ever get from Miya and Riko.

Wiping the shaving cream from his face and donning a long robe hanging from a hook on the back of the bathroom door, Cash grimaced while rummaging around through the bedroom closet and chest of drawers. There weren't any clean boxer briefs or any other clothes that fit him here. Shrugging and resigned to wait until Uzume could be awakened and outfit him, Cash took a deep breath and set out to find the kitchen. Although the hot food being prepared smelled great, Cash's body language as he went resembled a young boy who hated fish and liver being ordered to the dining table.

He entered the kitchen to see Miya with her back to him. She was demurely dressed in an old fashioned and loose lavender kimono held together by a purple sash called an obi and stirring something in a small metal pot on the electric stove. She turned her head to look at him over her shoulder with a slight smile that instantly turned into a smaller wince at his downcast facial expression and totally shielded mind.

"Are you hungry?" Miya asked quietly as she turned her head away and tried to calm her anxiously thudding heart. He looked so sexy! So big and blue eyed handsome! And his robe was partially open to show his heavily muscled and yet lightly haired chest that she had loved to stroke and caress after lovemaking.

"Yeah, sure," Cash replied neutrally. Might as well get this over with. She still felt the same as before, carefully closed, detached, and hiding herself, but he had promised. "I've agreed to put you back into the Prime Circle, but only if that is what you choose to do. I just brushed my teeth and shaved so we can kiss real quick and get it over with before eating. That way we don't have to eat all tensed up and stuff. I'm still pretty tired, and I can feel that you are too. After we eat, we can both rest until Himeko gets back. I'll take the front room couch, and you can have the bedroom."

Miya, slowly shaking her head in total disappointment at his words and attitude, didn't say anything as she began plating their meatloaf, mashed potatoes, gravy, green beans, sweet corn, and fresh baked dinner rolls. Her mind was roiling in a total emotional letdown as she tried even harder to remain calm. This was going badly, again, and it was also going to take more than a stupid elephant joke to break the sudden huge iceberg between them. She had been counting quite heavily on the old "way to a man's heart was through his stomach" adage to put him in a receptive mood as well as Himeko's aid in arousing Little CJ, but his flat and emotionless words had dashed any hope of that good start between them too. Taking a deep breath, she put their filled dinner plates on the table and then poured two cups of hot tea before sitting down across from him.

"I was hoping," Miya began without looking at him, her eyes staring down at her plate of unfamiliar American food that she had made from an internet recipe. She began picking at it with a just as unfamiliar fork instead of chopsticks. "I was hoping that we could try to be more than just lightly bonded, ummm, and distant, ummm, partners."

"For what purpose, Miya?" Cash rolled his eyes and shook his head in instant irritation as he forked a chunk of meatloaf into his mouth and began chewing. It was delicious, and an incredibly welcome change to the steady diet of weird Japanese cuisine he'd struggled to eat for over a month. Nevertheless, it didn't sweeten his sour mood. Here we go again, he griped to himself, dancing around her damn self inflicted ego issues with her damn smug and closed off superior attitude.

"We've already been through why it isn't going to happen, and we really aren't partners in anything except completing Natalie's Prime Circle and keeping Himeko happy. If it weren't for those two pressuring me on your behalf, and the fact that you went to the wall with me and the rest of us to save Karasuba, I wouldn't even be talking to you now. For that last I gave you your freedom from being unhappily bonded to me, and cut your automatic bonding instincts. As far as I am concerned, we're now square with each other and don't owe each other anything. You can go anywhere you want with anyone you want and not even get bonded if you wish that. I have no further desire to get involved with you any deeper than I absolutely have to if you really still choose to stay. But I'm warning you, if you insist on being bonded again anyway, then I am still free to choose how I want to live with you, and that includes living totally apart from each other all the time if need be."

_"That is NOT being compassionate, Cash Darling!"_

"Be QUIET Natalie! And don't interrupt me again!" Cash commanded firmly, so much so that Miya flinched badly and bit her lower lip very hard. "I am NOT going to spend one more minute here than I have to, let alone playing more emotional patty cake games with a coldly superior Sekirei and her shitty attitude that feels ashamed of having to bond with a weak and cowardly moron. She KNEW better than to come to me with her mind closed and start jerking me around while hiding herself from me again! It really pisses me off that she did! Matter of fact, that does it!"

Cash angrily stood up and let some saliva drip onto his fork before throwing it down on the table beside his plate. Then, as it sometimes happens in suddenly emotionally charged moments, he simply lost his temper and control of his mouth.

"Miya! You just don't deserve a kiss! Not from me! Not the way you are! There's your only ticket back into the Prime Circle, Miya! And from now on you can just fork off all you want! And stay the hell away from me because I just don't give a damn how well you can cook! I'd rather eat peanut butter and crackers for the rest of my life with someone I like because I sure as hell don't like the way you treat me! You, you heartless, snooty ass, whatever you are!"

As the now infuriated Cash twisted away in a total red rage to head out of the kitchen, Miya sat in total open mouth and frozen consternation. Inanely she realized it had taken less than twenty five words from her to send him into an unreasoning fury. She blinked twice slowly. Then suddenly, almost as if she was a bystander, she found her body had launched past him to block the kitchen's exit, and she was screaming at him.

"NO! NO! NO! DON'T GO!" Her arms and legs were splayed out to form a giant X across the doorway.

"Get out of my way," Cash ground out between clenched teeth. "If you force yourself on me, I'll cut your bonding again! And then I'll fix it so you can never bond with me ever! You are NOT my Sekirei, Miya, and you never will be!"

"Cash! Cash! Please listen! I'm not feeling superior! I don't think you're a weak and cowardly moron! And I'm not cold! It's all just the opposite! I was determined to show you the real me when I woke up, all of me, but I, I just couldn't open up now because I'm so SCARED and ASHAMED! I'm scared of having a crest like the others! A crest that can kill me with a Norito pledge! A crest that gives you total access to all the shameful sides of me! A crest where you will be able to see the, the, DIRTY parts of me that Takehito found and got me addicted to, to perverse things! And, and and I'm so ashamed of that! Because you'll see them and be so disgusted and reject me again! I don't care about anything anymore except wanting you to want me and love me and fix me! Because I, I can't hardly control myself! I'm NOT superior! I'm not cold! I'm WEAK! Weak and dirty! So dirty!"

Miya slumped and slid down the doorway to sit looking up at him in abject and pleading sorrow.

"Please listen to me. I felt so ashamed for failing in my duty when the star exploded and I panicked so badly. Because of it I damaged Natalie. Takehito was so gentle and comforting when he began analyzing me after revival. I, I wanted to be comforted too, desperately, and I wanted him, but as time went on, he became intimidated with my powers. It was hard for him to, to respond sexually unless he felt in total control. At first it was just a little piece of string around my wrists behind my back to get him interested enough for, for penetration, but, but then soon he needed more. My, my body has been altered to use my sexual responses for psychic communication power in deep space. That's why I orgasm so hard and so easily and, and, it's emotionally addictive, VERY addictive. Takehito discovered that, and, and made me his toy, using all kinds of things on me and making me scream and beg for more. I HAD to keep him away from Karasuba so that he would pay enough attention to me. I had to have him keep me partially satisfied and calm or go insane. Whatever he wanted, I would do, and, and then I started enjoying them, and then desperately craving them!

"When, when Takehito died, I, I, kept all of those things he used on me, hid them, and, and used them on myself to keep from losing control when the cravings got so bad. I was also using Tai Chi and Zen meditation in trying to wean myself away from their power over me. I, I couldn't stand being around other couples making love because it drove me back to Takehito's toys and fetish ropes! Those that knew better started laughing at me for becoming a strict and hypocritical prude in my Izumo Inn. They, they called me names like slut dog and horn bitch behind my back!

"But, when I bonded to you, I didn't need Takehito's sex aids anymore! I only needed you! But, the shame was killing me because I could see in your mind how disgusted you are about those things and how they absolutely cheapen true feelings and expressions of love! I had to keep a very tight shield on my mind so that no one could see, could see, what a perverted and dirty thing I had become! I NEED you Cash! I NEED your love and patience and understanding! I NEED your power to cleanse me from Takehito's perversions! I want to be able to respect myself again! Please help me! Please help me! There's no one else that can help me! There's no one else I want to love! Take me back and make me yours again!"

The self righteous and totally misplaced anger slowly drained from Cash as Miya's hands came up to cover her face and once again she began deeply weeping in desperate heaving sobs. Jeebus! He had stupidly lost his temper and even more stupidly caused another Sekirei crying jag! He slowly shook his head in total bafflement and self kicking remorse. No wonder Miya was such a messed up chick, and damn if she wasn't weeping even harder than before. It was getting nerve wracking.

On the other hand, what kind of a total small minded prick had Takehito been? What kind of alien weirdos would deliberately turn their females into surgically altered and helpless sex addicts for lousy ship to ship communication in space? What kind of moron ballplayer from Springfield, Illinois lost his temper like a little kid and went off on a greatly troubled female without even trying to give her a chance to explain? What in the names of Sigmund Freud and Marquis de Sade should he do now? Damn! He hated these kinds of things! He had no more idea what to do for Miya than he had for curing his Mother's lifelong heartache over his Dad's death, maybe even less.

One thing was for sure, he had just given Miya a greatly undeserved beat down. He could tell that she had finally opened up and told the complete truth about herself, not that it was all that earth shaking to anyone except her. Sex addiction wasn't all that rare, was it? But he had reopened and smashed into her ongoing internal emotional wounds with all the finesse of a crazed bull in a crystal ware factory, and now it was up to him to perk her self esteem back up. How to do that?

There had been something in a "Dating for Dummies" relationship guide he had read once about how all females were like big cats, very emotionally sensitive, loving attention and stroking, haughty and proud in defending their territories, and in constant internal competition and comparison with other females. If all that was true, then maybe a soft appeal to Miya's feminine pride and overall female cattiness while reaffirming her desirability might be the answer to restoring some emotional balance to Miya's situation here, as well as his expressing more appreciation of her fixing such a good meal for him. Praising some aspect of a female was always a positive.

Oh, and apologize profusely, Cash reminded himself. There had been two whole chapters on the art of making the totally sincere and abasing male apology because women loved making men apologize profusely for everything and anything to make themselves feel love worthy. At least, that was what the relationship guide had said even though it had never really worked well for him.

"All right," Cash said soothingly as he stooped down and put his right hand on Miya's shaking left shoulder. "Let's, uhhh, let's just sit back down at the table, and, uhhh, talk about this, uhhh, while we eat, okay? You make a damn good meatloaf, Miya, and those dinner rolls smell great. I really appreciate you dressing up to look so nice and going all out to fix an American style meal for me too. The least we can do is eat it, right?"

"I'm old, old and used, and so soiled that you don't want me," Miya said tonelessly with her head still down and shoulders slumped in defeat as if she hadn't even heard a word he had said. "I can't blame you for being put off."

"Hey, Miya, I'm sorry!" Cash shook her left shoulder to get her attention and then harder when she still didn't respond. "I went off like a total fool and a complete dumb ass! I should have had a lot more patience, especially since you just saved my ass and the rest of us too. Look! Hey! You better think this whole thing over real careful here! I'm no giant first prize in the Ashikabi department either, let alone some super stud lover named Throbbing Wolf. Get up and let's eat! Then we can maybe figure out what we need to do for you."

"There's nothing for me to think over," Miya responded dully. "You also need to know that you now have the psychic power to fix my tama without winging me. You can easily do it in a dream state."

"Maybe there's another Ashikabi that you'd do better with?" Cash winced at the defeat in her voice. He had just given the best sincere and abasing apology he could give, and really meant it, and she hadn't even blinked. There must be something really wrong with that relationship guide. Very little of it actually worked. Maybe the basic assumptions and premises were flawed, or as so often happened, theoretical purity never happened when being applied to real life situations.

"No, you're the best man for me, and the only one I could ever really want. I could never forget our first and last times together either. I was going to try to seduce you after we ate, if you had enjoyed my meatloaf dinner and pie, and, and then try to completely open up for you, but now I feel like I have all the sex appeal of a porn theater's wet floor mop that hasn't been rinsed in twenty years. I even forgot the elephant joke I was going to tell you.

"It's you that can do better, Cash. To be completely honest, you and Natalie don't need me to complete your Prime Circle either. I can help Number 87 Kaho re-wing with you, and then I could take her place in Kouji's Circle. She is young and strong and pure hearted, much more compatible with you and Himeko too. She would be more than powerful enough to be The One Who Serves for your Circle. Kouji probably wouldn't even notice the difference if we switched, nor I doubt that he would object if we did. Karasuba would be happier too."

Miya went silent for a few seconds while emitting a deep sigh. Cash wracked his brain trying to think of what he needed to say to make up for being such an insensitive jackass and get her spirits restored. Screw the guide for dummies. Several more long moments of silence went by as he tried to sort through anything he knew to do in relating to females and people in general. Now there was an idea. What if he just treated Miya as a person, a person he knew like say a teammate in a stadium locker room? Congratulating himself on such a pithy insight, he decided to simply try teasing her a little when she caught him off guard.

"Who in the world ever called you Throbbing Wolf?" Miya's numbed mind had somehow settled and inexplicably focused on that nickname. She suddenly began chewing on her lower lip as the intense memories of Karasuba's first projected wolf dreams with Cash made a hot wave of physical desire sweep through her body. She clenched her fists and turned her head away so as not to stare at his naked chest. She quivered to hold herself in check and not alarm and/or anger him any more than he had been. He wasn't going to want a very soiled old slut dog like her pawing away on him anyway.

"Uhhh, Karasuba, as inside joke, but I'm actually more of a Cowardly Dog or Pitiful Puppy. Anyway, to be totally honest here, uhhh," Cash attempted to smile slightly but faltered as he tried to tease her out of the deep, lower lip chewing funk that he had so witlessly caused. It was he that had to right his wrongs and restore happiness here, not her. Besides, he HAD to keep Himeko and Natalie happy too. That sloppy fork ploy just wasn't going to get it with either of them either. He HAD to kiss Miya for several reasons, so he might as well just make the best of it and stroke her female pride and cattiness.

"To be honest and for future reference, I'm not a very big fan of green beans unless they're in a thick mushroom sauce casserole. That right there is a giant strike against you getting kissed by me in the very near future. However, you still get two more strikes before I jerk your ass out of the game and bring in this here young an powerful Kaho gal as your late inning replacement. Everyone one gets three strikes in the great baseball game of life, right?"

Miya's head slowly came up with a greatly puzzled expression on her face.

"Not having mushroom sauce on your green beans is a strike against me? That's it? What about all the things I just told you about myself? The, the foul and, and shameful things?"

"Yesterday's games," Cash shrugged as he gently pulled her to her feet. It surprised him a little to see that she was almost a foot shorter than him because the innate and raw psychic power emanating from her made her seem taller. He let his mind feel hers. There was a cleanness about her emotions finally, nothing more was hidden. Maybe here was a Miya he could readily accept and love, a Miya that might have a very great and deep capacity to love him in return. And, what was that? Hot desire?

For her part, Miya's mind felt nothing from him, but her body and mind were now very much reacting to the size, strength, closeness, and all of her lovemaking memories of him. It was making her want to pant in small gasps as the old familiar bonding heat and desire began washing more intensely through her. Even without her Sekirei hard wiring, he was making her feel hot inside.

"Your past is all history, Miya. Put it behind you, and play for today. As lousy as I've pitched in the past, do you think I'm gonna quit when my best days are still ahead of me? How many have you got ahead of you? And have you seen your best days yet either? But I'm warning you right now, if you don't have a really great dessert to go with a classic meatloaf dinner, then that's strike two today. And another thing, any more tears and weeping from OLD Miya will be strike three, out you go, and hello YOUNG Kaho."

"I don't understand," Miya, still clenching her fists for control, shook her head to make the pony tail in her long lavender hair swish back and forth on the back of her silk kimono. "I, I don't have to suck your wet fork? You could still KISS me after all the dirty kinky stuff I've done?"

"It depends. I only want you if you really want me with NO hidden agendas and no world conquering ideas, got it? Can you truly love me as your Ashikabi and not be proud of killing folks? Love me as much and deeply as your Sisters? Wear my crest without fear? Can you be happy and work to help me keep all of our Circle happy like I want?"

"Oh, could I!" Miya's eyes widened in sudden gleaming hope. He might still want her! In spite of everything? "I LOVE cooking and cleaning and doing laundry and keeping a nice garden! It helps me stay controlled! I'm perfect as The One Who Serves for you! Will you give me that chance? And, and marry me too? Maybe? Like my Sisters?"

"Possibly," Cash shrugged again while giving her another slightly teasing small smile, "but only after we eat. I'm certainly not into any s&m kink nor multiple swinging, but other than those, I'm a live and let live kind of guy when it comes to what my bed partner likes. All I've ever wanted was for you to stop dancing around your problems and hiding them from me. Then I wanted you to come to me open and honest while making me know for absolutely sure that you really wanted me as your man and not as some ignorant dumb tool only to be tolerated and used for your ambitions. In other words, I can feel you've finally become open and honest with me, Miya, but can you now make me KNOW you want me and only me as your Ashikabi? An American style dinner is good, but what else have you got hot stuff? Are you too OLD and used up to tango, or do I need a YOUNGER gal like this Kaho for my Circle?"

Miya stared up at him silently as her eyes slowly narrowed a little and then turned a smoky, smoldering, deep violet color. She unclenched her fists, pulled her shoulders back slightly, and cocked her head slightly sideways as she now gave him an arched eyebrow look that could only be described as totally predatory.

Cash swallowed a little nervously. Maybe he had just overdone it a wee teeny weeny tad in the "appeal to her feminine pride and cattiness" department with that old and young stuff. If ever there was an equivalent and embodiment of the term "stalking cougar" in alien bird females, Cash was pretty sure he was looking at one now, and after all, Miya was STILL Number 01 in Sekirei power. That fact right there should give any sane, human, moron male a small pause before provoking a super powered alien female to use her abilities for anything, let alone try to prove she really wanted him for a mate. On the other hand, whatever happened next would surely beat the hell out of having to deal with more of her damned weeping, and it would keep both Himeko and especially Natalie off his ass and happy. There should be some kind of relationship guide book written, Cash decided, for things a dud human male had to learn in order to keep an alien spaceship hottie and her equally hot daughters content. It would definitely have to have a chapter or two on the care and feeding of the sexually altered and older, most powerful, and really wild gal in the nest too.

Meanwhile, Miya slowly reached down to her waist to untie the deep purple obi that held her lavender kimono together before letting both slide away from her and onto the kitchen floor. Now clad only in a brief, deeply cleaved, very sheer, black lace apron, she turned while keeping her eyes upon his over her right shoulder. She began very slowly walking on tip toes to arch her back and thrust out her barely covered breasts and naked derriere as she moved. It took Miya several long, swaying, very sexy looking seconds to reach the counter against the opposite kitchen wall where she took the lid off a plastic container.

The sight and effect of her enticing stroll on him was nothing short of totally electric. She picked up the container's contents and just as slowly walked back to him, her breasts making twin and enticing hard points that she purposefully but gently bounced and swayed against the thin lace fabric of her deeply cleaved apron front. She held up a lemon meringue pie whose top was baked to a perfect, light golden brown. Her "cougar" expression then changed to a smug smile that very closely resembled Karasuba's, self pleased, Cheshire cat grin as she saw that his robe had parted slightly to reveal a very interested Julius Lex.

"I don't believe there will be a strike two or strike three, nor any need to call YOUNG Kaho," Miya observed dryly as she carefully set her pie down on the table. She turned to give him another heated look of determination that would have made much stronger men than Cash quake in their two toed socks. "I can see that I've just made a big hit with Kazehana's old naked apron ploy. Dinner can be reheated, and we can eat this pie in several different ways afterward, but right now I think we both want something better, much better. Don't you?"

Now very intimidated, Pitiful Puppy Cash swallowed slightly while having a very small urge to flee for his life while screaming in healthy man fear of being outdone, overwhelmed, and devoured by this mating hungry female. That tiny urge died as a now incredibly stiff Julius Lex suddenly seized control of his feet and vocal chords. He wasn't going anywhere, nor did he really feel that any weenie screaming was going to help him keep up let alone match her coming assault on Julius Lex anyway.

On the other hand, manly performance fears aside, there was nothing phony or bogus about Miya now, nor anything looking old and used, neither were there any world conquering ambitions and misplaced homicidal pride. She was almost quivering in her desire for him too, and that was without any hardwired Sekirei physical cues. She was simply broadcasting from her mind and body how badly she wanted him for her life mate, so what could he openly and honestly say in return? Yet, shouldn't he at least warn her that he was very probably unable to sexually keep up with her, let alone her Sisters?

"I want you, Cash," Miya urged softly as she felt his hesitation. "I want you with everything within me, no false pride, no more secrets, no more hidden agendas, no more unhappiness with Karasuba, ever. I just want to love you, and give you every reason to fall in love with me, and, and marry me someday too. I will be totally open for you, mind and body, for the rest of our lives. I know you have deep misgivings about me, but let me be The One Who Serves you, now and forever. Take me. Take me, cleanse me, and put your crest upon me. Make me yours. I will not fail you again, believe me."

"Well, I DO believe you, and actually, you've already cleansed yourself, Miya. What I'm really worried about here is me failing you."

"Don't be. Although Kazehana is now your Pillar, it's still a fact that you and I were both very carefully bred by our ancestors to be perfect for each other, Number 01 Prime Pillar to bond completely with her Prime Leader. It's just that, well, in your baseball terms, we've had a very bad first inning. I'm very sure that everything will be perfect for us from now on, no more games, no more mental dueling, and no more misunderstandings, ever, just an incredibly deep love that we have been made to share."

Cash finally nodded in acceptance as he set aside all of his earlier irritated anger, mistrust, reservations, and his own misgivings about himself. Pitching a bad first inning he was very familiar with. It had happened all too often, but usually things had gotten better as long as the manager had left him in the game and given him a chance to correct his pitching mechanics in inning number two. Miya also greatly deserved a second chance and had just made an open and totally sincere pitch for his winging of her. Besides, she was one helluva great meatloaf cook. He couldn't wait to taste her pie either. As for her intimidating sexual addiction needs, he would just have to do what he could for her and hope for the best.

He held out his right hand to take her left palm and used his left hand in a slight sweeping invitation for her to accompany him back to his bedroom. Cash blinked as Miya's sheer black lace apron suddenly and almost magically came untied as she sighed in deep relief and desire. She moved into him, opening his robe and caressing him as they began walking together. The warming silken feel of her against him was incredible, but not so incredible that he couldn't try to warn her one last time about expecting too much from his shortcomings during any bedroom dojo duel. For her part, his bare body touching hers ignited the smoldering fires within like a massive bellows had begun suddenly blowing huge gusts of oxygen up through a blacksmith's forge to make its heat go white hot.

"Uhhh, Miya, I just want you to know, I know I can be a real ass at times, but I don't want to be," Cash halted and looked down at her with worried eyes. "I'm really no marathon Throbbing Wolf guy in the sack either, so, uhhh, treat Pitiful Puppy well, okay? I'm also going to need you to be very patient with me in, ummm, understanding and meeting your emotional needs and ummm, stuff, because I think that old 'Dating for Dummies' relationship guide really sucks, ya know?"

"Don't worry, Cash, and please don't tease me any more," Miya urged him gently forward into the bedroom, her breath coming in heavy gasps as she rubbed her scalding hot body against him. "Just take responsibility of me before I lose, lose my wits! I'm sure our minds will completely bond as, as, as our ancestors intended! OH! Oh! I'm not bragging, but, but I am VERY experienced, trained, and ummm, ah! Ah! Greatly skilled in all facets of lovemaking, or, or, oral and otherwise! Probably more than Kazehana, Karasuba, and Uzume combined! Oh my! I've been altered just for, for you! We, we'll do great together! And, and, OH! Often too! Just relax! I don't care that you're not perfect! I'm not either! But you'll be MINE once we kiss! I'll be YOURS! And, and then I will treat you So! SO! VERY well! Always and forever and ever! Here! Feel the beating of my heart, and, and no more stopping and teasing! Please! TAKE ME NOW!"

Cash obediently let her now burning and greatly shaking hand guide his palm to her wildly beating chest, but somehow he missed and cupped her left breast instead. Her skin was burning hot. Matching her mind's eager openness if not her heat, Cash also let his mental guard go completely down to let her see his desire for her. He also revealed that his inner man was bemused at his own inconsistency of intentions. This winging of Miya was going much differently than his original offer of a quick kiss and fast meal, and he was very glad that it was. Her next reaction to his cupping hand and now mental openness and approval of their union had certainly never seen the fine print of that "Dating for Dummies" guide either.

Miya gave a loud and hot feral growl as she gripped Julius Lex firmly while lunging hard into him. She went up on her toes once again in order to raise her open lips towards his, her hot breath now panting hard in anticipation against his chest and neck and jaw as she rose up and used her free hand to grab his head down to her. Her lunging action made Cash stumble backwards and land on the bed.

In his mind Cash also felt Natalie gasp in her own rising and shared anticipation, but she obediently didn't say anything as Miya's lips, tongue, and body pounced on his from above. Despite that old familiar feeling of now being totally in too deep over his head to ever cope, Cash and Miya both immediately knew he would never again be able to flee his renewed bonding fate with her as the strongest psychic fireball he'd ever experienced erupted between them, and quite frankly, he didn't feel like fleeing. Neither did Julius Lex.


	27. Chapter 27

**The Game Changer**

**Chapter 27 - Prima Donnas, Game Strategists**

Physically exhausted, Cash lay on his back with a lightly snoring Miya snuggled under his right arm, but his wide awake mind was still churning over the hard facts of the "Shit About to Hit the Fan" problems he was facing. There were armies ready to invade Kamakura Island, his Natalie was stuck and couldn't escape, and the island's Sekirei defenders were in various states of unpreparedness, uninspired disharmony, and badly fractured leadership. They were also underpowered and disorganized mostly due to him, his ignorance of Sekirei in general, his woeful lack of leadership skills, and his having to be dragged kicking and screaming into finally acknowledging his position as their Prime Leader.

Man, he had NEVER been the Big Kahuna in any kind of social or competitive scene before, and that included his forced one year membership in the seventh grade Boys Baking Club that his Mother had made him join to "round out" his education. To be fair, he had learned to make a chocolate cake from a box mix, but the time had been mostly wasted since he had always botched the ready made icing and had posted the worse "social interaction" points in the class. Why anyone, let alone an amorous spaceship full of oversexed alien bird people, would look to him as any kind of loving savior, clever strategist, inspiring leader, and all around unifying head guy was way beyond his comprehension, but it had happened, and now he was being forced to deal with it thanks to Miya.

The mind boggling and body numbing psychic power that had earlier engulfed Cash and Miya had blasted way beyond anything called a hot Earth moving type orgasm, past what one could call a once in a lifetime momentous event, and entered squarely into the supernatural realm of mind and soul shattering makeovers. One result of Miya's Number 01 enhanced psychic power blazing new trails through his mind, among others, was that their bonding had made Cash finally realize and accept the fact that he was Natalie's Prime Leader, now and forever. He would always be the Ashikabi center of her strongest Circle for as long as he lived too. These could never be changed.

Winging and now strongly connected to Miya, Karasuba, and Natalie had also slammed shut any cowardly concept that he would ever be able to palm any of his leadership responsibilities off and onto one of the other Ashikabi. Despite Miya's claim to contrary, Cash was sure that none of them could re-wing those three powerful Sekirei now, let alone Kazehana and Akitsu. The old baseball adage that he had semi lived by in the past was now completely and vividly true in his life. The player who holds the ball is responsible for what happens to the ball, and any way he looked at it, Cash Joseph Archer, Prime Leader, was now holding the Sekirei ball on Kamakura Island.

Another result of his powerful bonding with Miya was that once accepting his Prime Leader responsibility, the crushing weight of how to lead and deal with the problems they all faced was now racing around in his mind with no relief in sight. He had zero confidence in performing under this kind of unfamiliar pressure either. For most of his whole life he had been a virtual loner in and out of school and never the biggest star and leader of any team he'd played on. Oh sure, he'd pitched in and won a few championship games as a kid growing up and had done very well at other times too, but the heavy hitters bopping in runs and/or the fast running, sure handed fielders had been the admired team leaders, never CJ Archer the oddball loner with a good arm that always sat apart in the dugout. No one had ever looked to him for leadership on the field or in the locker room either, let alone be THE Prime Leader of anything.

On the other hand Cash had silently watched the inner workings of team chemistry over the years, some good, some bad, some mediocre, and knew prima donna poison that greatly weakened a team's performance on the field when he saw it. Those poisonous players who thought way more of themselves, their abilities, and decisions than anyone else did, and tried to force their opinions upon other players, had ruined many a potential championship team. Cash could clearly see that the Sekirei on Kamakura Island were badly infected. Two of the more poisonous prima donna concerns that he had absolutely no desire to face let alone deal with, those involving Mutsu and Riko, had to be solved and solved quickly if Natalie and her brood had even a small prayer of surviving the near future. And how in the hell could he hope to solve either, especially when his instincts told him that as Prime Leader he would be in the minority of one as to what he thought ought to be done with Mutsu? He was totally in a lose-lose scenario in dealing with Riko's case too, damned if he kept her and damned if he didn't.

Besides these, time was running out in finding a win-win solution for their coming invasion crisis that could potentially get a lot of folks slaughtered, including all that he loved here, and his own tender little body as well. His Sekirei team had to be made very healthy as quickly as possible, or the game would be over at the first call of "Play Ball!" This was why he was still wide awake after being "connected" to Miya and then later thoroughly wrung out and hung out to dry by an ecstatic new wife who had loudly and repeatedly pronounced herself as "I'm Miya Archer!" in the throes of their last wild joining. Note to self: never, EVER allude to or even hint that a female, especially a cougar type, was too old to make love!

Well, at least he had survived that, Cash sighed while mentally shaking his head in relief, but he had gotten damned lucky in doing it. The more worrisome part was surviving which ever way he went with Riko, because as the way things stood in his Circle, he could feel some very strong resentments and anger against her as well as strong feelings of sympathy and protectiveness for her. There was going to a be a very nasty outbreak of prima donna poison in Cash's very near future, and it could very easily shatter all peace for all time in his Circle. Even hot sex couldn't overcome these kinds of negative relating things, even in the long term. Then there would eventually come a time when his libido slowed and after that he wouldn't even be able to perform at all like most aging human males, then how would any long term poisoned relationship with his Sekirei wives fare?

Cash gently freed himself from Miya's satiated embrace, groaned as he slid to the opposite side of the bed, groaned louder as he staggered up, and continuing groaning as he shuffled hunched over towards the bathroom. Appeal to Miya's feminine pride and cattiness? What in the name of Nefertiti had he been thinking? Note #2 to self: Never, EVER do that again, especially to Miya. His small shuffling steps while holding onto the base of his spine with one hand resembled an underfed and arthritic octogenarian with a terminal case of lumbago complicated by severe dehydration.

If there had been a single drop of available DNA to be had in his body, Miya had found it and siphoned it out of him one way or another, until in desperation, Cash had spooned her and finally put his head upon her new, dark crimson Sekirei crest. Letting his mind sink down to caress her now very healthy looking and brightly glowing tama while holding onto Miya's wildly gyrating hips, he had went even lower down past an unusual looking nerve linkage at her tama's base and further down to some kind of tangled looking and brightly glowing node at the base of her spine.

Once his mind touched that, the bedroom had again brightly lit up in a blazing Norito fireworks of "I'm Miya Archer!" wailing and giant glowing lavender wings as large as Natalie's. Miya had finally found the deeply loving, soul purging, and satisfying completion that she had so desperately craved from her Sekirei bonding with him. After she had calmed, Cash had simply rolled onto his back in dizzy, hard panting, and cross eyed relief while she had simply turned over and snuggled into his armpit, mewling soft endearments and softly kissing and licking his chest until she had quickly fallen asleep.

Here was something else he was also going to have to find a way to deal with, Cash realized as he hung onto the bathroom sink for support and eyed further six step progress to the john, or poor and very sore Little CJ was never going to survive the few hours left until all hell broke loose from the coming invasion. His physical inability to love, satisfy, and emotionally cope with the very divergent personalities of his Circle was now totally exposed to be greatly inadequate at best and looming disastrous in reality.

Then how would he relate to his wives? Not only was he on the fast track of becoming a used up, empty, and dried out husk in the very near future, but he'd be an insane husk too. Already he was hearing whispering wisps of ghostly echoing words in the back of his mind as well as experiencing an ebb and flow of emotions that didn't seem to be anywhere near his usual focused and balanced calmness. There were feelings of hot anger, bitter resentment, unfocused worry, and uncertainty mixed with even stronger feelings of deep love and warm contentment now washing through him. It was all very disconcerting.

Cash eyed himself in the bathroom mirror, or what resembled a very wan and pale imitation of how he remembered what Cash Joseph Archer was supposed to normally look like. Staring back at him was a hollow eyed zombie wannabe auditioning for a bit part in an old horror movie called "The Night of the Living Dead" or even one rejected from the old "Thriller" video classic. Matter of fact, those old made up Hollywood clowns had looked better than he did and would probably still make a helluva lot better Prime Leaders than him today too.

Shrugging in total defeatism, Cash stumbled slowly toward the toilet. All hell was going to break loose later, of that there was no doubt, but he might as well face his humiliating downfall, defeat, and death with an empty bladder, right? He finally made it, relieved himself, and was washing up as he REALLY felt the weight of impending doom approaching. Then he heard a door open with a slam somewhere close. Naturally, Cash hadn't counted on the arrival of impending doom and all hell breaking loose THIS soon, but it did when Uzume burst into the bedroom to let him know that she was VERY disappointed and pissed off at him.

"JOE! DAMMIT JOE! How COULD you?" The sounds of Uzume's battle veils snapping angrily about her out in the bedroom made Cash wince and immediately look for a place to cower out of sight. There was no place to hide in the bathroom. There wasn't even a curtain around the fricken shower stall let alone a towel closet! "THREE TIMES! HOW could you REJECT REEKER THREE TIMES! DAMN YOU JOE!"

The bathroom door whipped open with a loud crash. Here we go again, Cash inwardly gritted his teeth, and then decided to die like a man for once. He appeared to calmly wipe his hands on a small towel and then turned to face Uzume's fury while giving her a narrow eyed look of determination. A battle veil from her right side snapped loudly above his head and to the left. The sound hurt his ears and seemed to rattle his brain just enough to make him feel totally and calmly resigned to his dark fate.

"If you just HAVE to whip the shit out of me, wife," Cash said softly after heaving a deep sigh, "then get it over with. If there's anything left of my mouth afterward, then I'll tell you why I tried to let Riko go again."

"Careful," Miya added even more softly in Uzume's left ear as a hard finger jabbed Uzume's crest. Miya's psychic touch made Uzume's knees go weak. The chill of a potential Norito pledge that Uzume would be unable to stop washed through Uzume's roiled emotions. The frosted edge to Miya's threatening whisper also cut sharply into the Veiled Sekirei's hot anger as Uzume gave a still naked but very protective looking Miya a fast, backward wounded glance. Uzume then turned that same look back towards Cash while now trying very hard not cry.

"Reeker won't wake up Joe! Mekko has done everything she can do, but my bond mate and best friend in the whole world is probably dying! Mekko says she has to have help, and you're down here," Uzume threw another unhappy look over her shoulder at Miya, an accusatory, angry, and frustrated look. "Down here screwing around! Screwing Miya when Reeker NEEDS you to live! Like you don't even care! Just like last time with Kazehana! You, you!"

Cash let his head droop and sighed again. Here it was. A prime example of prima donna poison within his own Circle, ye olde team toxicity causing anger, resentment, discouragement, weakness, and warring factions where strength, peace, encouragement, and loving unity should always be. And here again, Riko and her unhappy bonding situation was smack dab in the center of it. Even Karasuba, Natalie, and now Miya getting their places in the Circle healed wouldn't help mitigate Uzume's complaint much, and if Riko died, Uzume would never forgive him. Neither would Akitsu and Himeko, then Riko's poison would last and last and last so that time and hot sex would never overcome the soul sickness within his Circle.

On the other hand, temperamental Riko was totally untrustworthy, mostly unlikable, and still closed off, breaking promise after promise to all of them, and if he kept her, Kazehana, Miya, Karasuba, and Toyotama would never trust and always resent her. Cash let his mind touch his dream restored, faint psychic strand leading to Riko sleeping in the comatose state Natalie had kept around her. There was still life there along with very strong feelings of shame, loneliness, fear, and deep despair that were greatly hindering any desire for Riko to wake up and face the real world. She wasn't dying, but she certainly wasn't Prime Circle material either. First things first, Cash counseled himself. After all, Uzume had done her part and her best in his stupidly caused backlash problems, and she greatly deserved his and Natalie's attention to her immediate concerns. Might as well try to get up to speed while doing it.

"Natalie. How we doing, sweetheart? What have we got coming at us militarily?" Cash wearily ran a right hand through his hair and then rubbed the back of his neck.

_"Sensors indicate no armed vessels within a radius of one planetary rotation at standard shipping travel speeds other than an atomic powered submersible in Tokyo Bay. There are passive satellite and high flying intelligence gathering systems monitoring Kamakura Island on an irregular basis, but none are showing signs of hostile intent. Cash Darling, would you give me permission to bring online and arm my weapon systems for defensive measures only? If something destructive gets launched at us, I wish to have the absolute ability to destroy it before it harms you and my children."_

"Permission granted," Cash sighed again. It only made sense to at least provide what air and sea cover capabilities they had for now. He had no idea what kind of weapons Natalie could deploy that made defense "absolute", but whatever they were, he would just have to trust her. On the other hand she could be very ruthless when it came to his defense. That needed tempering. "Natalie, if any attacking human life is at risk from your defensive actions, you will attempt warning them to disengage and give them a sufficient chance to turn around and leave and/or bailout before firing, understood?"

_"Understood and will comply, and thank you my Love! Having my weapons offline has greatly worried me for your safety until now!"_

"All right. Now, how is Himeko doing?"

_"Himeko is very tired, Cash Darling. It's greatly hindering her abilities to heal others. Toyotama is also awake, and she is meshing with Himeko to help awaken Kazehana, Karasuba, and __Akitsu, but we need your Norito kisses and Miya's power added to theirs. Riko is stable. The other __Circles have awakened and are heading to the mess hall for a meal. They're all very hungry. I have Mutsu locked in a coma down in my stasis tank, and at my suggestion, Sanada has Mutsu's Petals separated in two groups of four locked in different bunk compartments within me. Cash Darling, we have a very serious problem there."_

"Yeah, uhhh, I know, and we're coming to deal with it all," Cash nodded and turned to frown slightly at Uzume. "Riko isn't dying, Uzi, nor is she in any danger of it. Natalie has her stabilized, but we'll all three head back to Natalie right now to get her and the rest of our Circle awake. It'll only take a minute for Miya and I to get dressed, and I want you to calm down. Miya's needs and our needs of her enhanced power were more critical than Riko being awakened, okay? We're going to work on Kazehana, Karasuba, and Akitsu first too. I cut Riko's ties to me because they were too weak and flawed to be of much use to us, now and in the future. I felt we all deserved better, one way or another, and I gave us all the opportunity to do whatever it took to fix things for all of us. Please understand, and will it help any to say I love you and will always love you even if you still feel like ripping me to shreds?"

Uzume's battle veils suddenly drooped as her head dropped and shoulders slumped. She turned her face away while slowly shaking her head.

"I'm such a dope. I couldn't feel Reek at all, and just assumed that you." Uzume paused to look up at Cash with her big brown eyes shining with near tears and biting her lower lip hard so as not to bawl. "I should have known and trusted you, Joe, and, and I'm such a stupid ungrateful bitch! I'm sorry Miya. I knew you needed Joe really bad too, especially after you almost died in saving all of us. None of the rest of us could have done what you did. It's just that Reeker has never got a decent break, dammit! And I feel so guilty being loved so much while she's always been so freaking miserable!"

"I promise I'll get Riko happy somehow and soon," Cash reached out and caught Uzume's arms to pull her into his left side for a hug. "She has a right to that, in or out of our Circle, but we have an even bigger problem in Mutsu. Him and his Petals have to be dealt with immediately. You can see that, right?"

"What are we going to do about him, dear?" Miya asked in neutral monotone. The flatness of it told Cash volumes about how short of a life span Mutsu would have if Miya would be making the sole decision on his fate. "He has never been a trusted part of any unit he's ever been in and never acted in any interests except his own unless forced. His trying to kill Mother and replacing you as Prime Leader is NOT acceptable."

"I know, but then again, he's still Natalie's son," Cash shook his head as he shifted his torso and reached past Uzume to gather Miya into his right side. "We'll try to think of something while getting everyone awake and then getting them something to eat at the mess hall. You and I still have a meatloaf dinner and pie to share, right? We'll all want a shower later too. Maybe our troubles won't look quite so bad once cleaned up and having full stomachs. Then we can all talk everything over and solve our more immediate problems, hopefully. "

***scene break***

The mess hall of the former MBI base was reverberating with lively chatter as Cash and his battle clad Circle entered and then moved down one side past the kitchen windows from where uncircled Sekirei were serving food and taking used tray returns. Pausing only to murmur greetings along the lined rows of tables and nod at the Ashikabi and few Sekirei he actually knew by name, a still pale, hollow eyed, and weary looking Cash made his way to the raised stage at the far end of the hall and climbed the steps. He turned to face the quickly stilling crowd and sat down on a tall stool at stage center. Kazehana and Toyotama knelt down in front of him, Miya and Himeko knelt on his right, Karasuba and Akitsu knelt on his left, and Uzume and Riko stood behind so they could see over his shoulders. Riko was looking very subdued and pale.

Cash fingered his unfamiliar long black cloak hanging from his shoulders and glanced down at the rest of his skin tight, black belted and high booted outfit that matched his Circle's regular crimson and black battle uniforms. He looked, Cash thought with great dismay, as if he just stepped off a movie set that had been shooting "Buck Rogers", but he was actually dressed more like a cheap imitation of the villain "Ming the Merciless" than any kind of swashbuckling and intergalactic movie hero. At least they hadn't made him wear that damn bird beaked mask.

"Uhhh, hi," Cash began and then swallowed after clearing his throat. Damn! He hated public speaking with a passion! He had almost ducked instinctively because in high school days his speech openings in front of his English classes were always begun with an incoming round of spitballs and paper wads thrown by the other students who had loved to torment the oddball CJ Archer.

"LOUDER!" Some female voice yelled from the rear of the mess hall. This caused a loud amused twitter to run through the crowd.

"Uhhh, HI!" Cash began again after licking his dry lips. "I've never been much of a public speaker and got lousy grades at it in high school! My mouth is kinda dry now to be honest! So please bear with me!"

With that, a grinning Seo tossed an empty plastic glass up to a startled Cash who automatically caught it. Right on cue, a blonde Sekirei Cash knew as Number 09 Tsukuimi expertly arced a shot of water into the glass from where she sat on the front row. The water was then topped off by Akitsu calmly reaching over and plopping two chunks of ice into the glass with a pointed and twice dipping forefinger while smiling prettily up at him. Slightly disconcerted and doing a comical double take, Cash blinked while the crowd chuckled its appreciation of their sisters' demonstrated skills. Shrugging, he took a big gulp, drained the glass, and tossed it back to Seo while they now cheered and laughed outright.

"Okay! Thank you, uhhh, Tsukuimi! And you too Kitty!" Cash chuckled nervously while relieved that breaking some of his nervous tension at being in front of this daunting group had been so easily done. "I'm sure most of you know that I am Cash Joseph Archer, a baseball player from America, uhhh, a minor league pitcher actually, and for reasons totally beyond my control, I am now your Prime Leader, and your sisters up here with me are your Prime Circle."

"BORING!" Came another shout from the rear followed by, "LOOSEN UP! STRIP! LET'S SEE WHY YOU ARE!" and then, "YEAH BABY! GIVE US A SHOW! WOOT! WOOT!"

Cash, wincing in surprised disbelief, waited several long moments to let the good natured and laughing catcalls, whistles, and the unified hand clapping, foot stomping, and chanting of "STRIP! STRIP!" die down. Man, spitballs and paper wads were one thing, but no way had he even thought of being asked to strip! The chants got louder.

"Whoa, tough crowd," Cash gulped in semi terror towards Kazehana's ear when she turned to look up at him with a very teasing smile. She winked over his shoulder at a widely grinning Uzume who instantly made Cash's uniform shirt and cape disappear. Cash nearly fell off his stool as the entire crowd began hooting and howling in laughter.

That went up several decibels when Karasuba very deliberately leaned in and gave Cash an exaggerated, long tongued lick starting at his bared navel and going up to the suddenly exposed few strands of hair on his now naked sternum, the action making Cash suck in a deep breath and tense up tightly in sheer frozen shock. This displayed the fact that one Cash Joseph Archer, Sekirei Prime Leader, had a fine set of hard muscled abs as well as nicely defined arms, chest, and shoulders.

Not to be outdone, normally low key and dry humored Miya reached a hand over and lightly rubbed his tummy's washboard while turning to give the crowd a hissing shudder and sultry moue lipped look indicating that Cash's skin was almost too sexy hot to touch.

Simultaneously, Uzume's head came down from behind to fake taking an exaggerated giant vampire bite out of his neck while a wickedly chuckling Toyotama and Himeko started slowly imitating a hotly flushing Akitsu. She was seriously responding to the crowd's request by taking off her cloak and unfastening the snaps on her uniform top. Cash gulped in total dismay as she quite calmly threw her shirt open and exposed her naked, pink tipped, spectacular, and slightly bouncing and swaying assets.

"WHOA! AKI-CHAN! NICE RACK!"

"DAMMIT!" Cash bellowed in a total, public speech opening meltdown as he leaped up. "Knock this shit off! Uzi! Gimme back my shirt! Kitty! Cover up! JEEBUS!"

"YES! CJ! NICE BOD! START THE MUSIC! LET'S PLAY TUCK A BUCK! HEY! CJ! NICE PECS AND OBLIQUES! SHAKE THAT BOOTY YOU BAD BOY! HO! HO! GIGOLO! GRIND ME A POUND DADDY! THEY'RE TOO SEXY FOR THEIR SHIRTS! TOO SEXY FOR THEIR SHIRTS! TOO SEXY!"

Even louder whistles and foot stomping reverberated around the hall as the crowd of Sekirei and their Ashikabi also stood up to sing along and cheer their prime entertainers on. Even the single and unattached Sekirei cooking and serving in the kitchen were hanging over the window counters and joining in the wild audience's appreciation of Cash's stage circus. Then Kazehana reached up with her right palm cupped and started moving it slowly towards Cash's loins. That did it.

"ROSE! YOU TOUCH MY JUNK, AND THERE'S NO NOOKIE FOR YOU FOR A MONTH! ANY OF YOU!" Cash yelled in narrowed eyed frustration while pointing a forefinger at Kazehana's nose.

"YO! That's the way CJ! Take CHARGE big fella!" Seo yelled back while greatly enjoying and laughing at Cash's total discomfort.

The appreciative crowd then howled anew as Kazehana snatched her offending hand back in cross eyed dismay and hid it behind her back like a little kid caught attempting to steal from a cookie jar. Karasuba, caught in a slow, tongue out stalking of Kazehana's target, quickly sat back on her heels with a very exaggerated angelic expression on her face as she looked up at Cash with wide, puppy dog eyes of total innocence. Miya did the same to make them appear as an almost matched innocent pair on either side of him. Uzume urgently waved her right hand in a big sweep to restore Cash's crimson uniform top, but it was stretched so skin tight and thin to really matter, and she didn't restore his half covering cloak.

The effect did little to hide Cash's muscular physique, nor did anyone miss Uzume's crude and sexy pantomime behind Cash's back as to just how big Cash's junk unrealistically might appear if exposed. In desperation mixed with a heavy dose of total stage fright, Cash frowned as he tried to think of any way to salvage any shred of his dignity out of this entire fiasco. Salvation came from the most unlikely source in the audience who were all now uncontrollably whooping at Cash's disconcerted, flustered, and completely dumbstruck expression.

Kusano, after throwing aside Minato's innocence saving ear and eye covering hands, marched up the stage stairs, paused to give her Onee-chan Kazehana a wet smooch on the cheek, and then put out her small arms for Cash to lift her up. Cash, caught flatfooted and blinking in surprise while wracking his brain to remember this one's name, finally realized that this was the little gal from Minato's Circle standing on the bank of the waterfalls during Karasuba's dream rescue, the one with the vines growing out of the flower pot she had held on her head. This was Natalie's youngest and maybe most potentially powerful child. He promptly sat back down on the stool and arranged her to sit across his lap as she stared up at him with wide eyed seriousness. The entire mess hall abruptly stilled as everyone was riveted in interest at this new coming byplay that would reveal much about their Prime Leader.

"Hi," Cash smiled warmly while still trying to settle his rattled nerves. She really was a cute little kid, but what in the hell did she want? "I don't know your name, pretty one, but I'm so glad you helped us save my wife Karasuba. Is there something we can do for you?"

"I'm Kusano!" She smiled while wrinkling her nose in pleasure at being called a pretty one, "and I need to ask you a VERY important question Onii-chan CJ! When can we make Mommy Natalie's island pretty with plants and trees and flowers? Miya-san is almost a goddess, and Natalie is her Mommy too, so that makes Mommy Natalie a real goddess! If lots and lots of people are coming here to see Mommy Natalie where she lives, they need to see how much we love her! She needs a really nice garden and house with a hot springs where they can relax and enjoy visiting here too! Then they'll want to come back and visit her often so she won't be lonely ever and ever again!"

_"A goddess? I SO love this child! Tell her for me Cash Darling!"_

"You want us to build a garden and a shrine with a hot springs inn attached for Natalie? Now? First?" Cash's eyebrows went up in silent surprise, but Kusano simply nodded vigorously in return. Apparently that was exactly what she wanted, and the whole Kamakura Island defense/war effort be damned. Cash thought rapidly. Maybe it wasn't a bad idea after all. If they were being observed by the approaching invaders anyway, why not disguise their defensive preparations as much as possible? Besides, what could inherently demonstrate possible peaceful intentions more than simply redecorating the island's landscape?

"Okay, that's a good idea, Kusano, and I suppose we can start anytime you want," Cash shrugged slightly and then smiled wider at her total seriousness, sincerity, and happiness at his approval of her desires, "and Natalie just said to tell you that she loves you very, very much."

"You!" Visibly impressed, Kusano frowned up at him in joy mixed with disbelief. "You can hear Mommy Natalie? All the time? Even away from her? And she can hear you and me now, Onii-chan CJ?"

"Well, yes I can," Cash nodded and then whispered conspiratorially, "Natalie just became my wife too, and we've agreed never to have any secrets between us ever. That's why we've made it so that we can always talk to each other in our minds. That's very important, right?"

"Onii-chan CJ!" Kusano whispered back as her eyes suddenly grew very wide in awe. With that she suddenly twisted off his lap, took one leap off the stage, and scampered a couple of steps to throw her self into Minato's arms. "Onii-chan! CJ married Mommy Natalie just like I'm going to marry you when I get bigger! We'll talk to each other in our minds even better than now! He wants me to make Mommy Natalie's island pretty right away too! C'mon! Let's go get my seeds and stuff now!"

"No! Ku-chan!" Minato whispered back loudly in semi embarrassment as he turned and arranged the excited and wiggling youngster to sit on his lap. "CJ has some other very important things to say now! We'll listen until he's done and then go get your seeds! Be good for now, okay?"

"Mu mu," Kusano began in narrow eyed disappointment until she looked back up at Cash who was still smiling at her as was everyone one else in the mess hall. She suddenly smiled back before announcing, "Okay, I'll be good and listen."

"I'm sorry for the interruption, CJ," Minato began but Cash waved him off while swiveling his head to give his Circle an semi irritated look with his right eyebrow arched. They all blinked up innocently at him in return, eliciting more grins from the crowd, but this time they remained silent, waiting for him to speak

"It's all right. I needed one," Cash stood up and tried to nervously put his hands in his jeans' pockets until he realized he wasn't wearing his regular pants. He simply folded his arms across his chest, thought better of that body language as appearing too closed and aloof, and wound up letting them dangle at his sides. For want of any prepared speech, and he wouldn't have been able to remember one anyway in his still partially flustered state, Cash simply spoke from his heart as if he was having a conversation with his catcher before throwing the game's first pitch.

"You all know we have big trouble headed our way, and we have to prepare to deal with it. I am personally very adverse to harming these various peoples in any fashion. They all have families and loved ones back home that need them and their love. On the other hand, I also realize that they must not get access to Natalie's advanced weaponry, and she doesn't feel Earth should have her anti-matter star drive technology yet either. The human race simply isn't ready for it, someday maybe, but not yet. What I want from you guys is help in coming up with a game plan that accomplishes some kind of a peaceful resolution to what's facing us. Natalie and you shouldn't have to slaughter thousands and thousands of mostly innocent people who are obeying some very reckless and desperate and I guess even crazy leaders.

"I can't see any reason why we can't give these guys some of what they want as a peace offering in return for leaving Natalie alone and not getting wiped out themselves. Her solar collection technology, advanced computer circuitry, stasis healing abilities, and maybe even her interplanetary ion drives would be a giant leap forward for mankind. I'd want those distributed on a worldwide basis though so that no one nation could profit from patent rights or monopolize any part of them. What do you think?"

"That sounds good CJ," Seo stood up, "except that Minaka wants us all dead as well as anyone with Sekirei blood except himself and his toadies. He also wants to use our ship's weapons to subjugate the world militarily under his command and exploit Natalie's technology for his own enrichment. He isn't going to settle for a few crumbs from the bottom of the rice bowl, and remember, we know he's coming, and that he has the means to accomplish his goals. I think we'll have to terminate him and all of his minions before they get close enough to use their Sekirei killing weaponry on us. There has to be a range limit on their tuned jinkis due to the fact that they don't have Natalie's unlimited anti-matter power, but we don't know the range capabilities of his weapon."

"Okay," Cash nodded as he mulled this over for a few seconds. Using the time honored delegating technique of making those intelligent and savvy enough to spot the problem first into being the ones in charge of rectifying the problem, he pointed with an open palm at Seo. "You're much more familiar with these jinkis than I am, Seo, and probably much more capable of utilizing our Circles' individual and meshing gifts too. Would you take the responsibility of finding out exactly what threats we're facing and what kind of limitations they have? Then we might be able to get back together here and make a better game plan, and damn soon too!"

"I will take responsibility," Seo nodded in agreement. "I'll need Matsu and my Koko working on it together using Natalie's internet and computer consoles. Will she give permission?"

_"Tell Big Daddy and his Little Mamas to get their hack on! I'm ready! He needs their Noritos too!"_

"Uhhh, Natalie says no problem, but you'll need them to use their Noritos," Cash translated and then paused as he took a deep breath before tackling his next concern. His slightly frowning gaze swept out and across the expectant faces while trying to open himself up to receive their emotional backlash as to what he was going to say.

"Another thing we need to talk about and decide is what to do about Mutsu and his Circle." Cash winced at the instant feelings of hot anger and deep hostility that waved back over him.

"Kill them!" Came one outraged voice from somewhere and that was greeted with many different sounds and exclamations of approval. "Cut his damn balls off! Kick him out! Kick those arrogant bitches of his back to America too!" That one generated even more, and then came a veritable flood of rather lewd and even cruder suggestions that made Minato hastily cover Kusano's ears again. Cash also noticed that Mikogami and his Circle as well as Shiina and his now suddenly alienated Petals had remained in tight lipped and worried silence. Here was the old prima donna poison doing its divisive work again.

Cash looked down at the stage floor in disappointment before marshaling his resolve, looking back up, and raising his hands for quiet. There was no other way. He would have to take them on and confront the divisiveness between them, just like a team captain in a players only locker room meeting trying to clear the air of past unhappiness and aiming for team unity of effort before the big game.

"Life is precious!" Cash began loudly while clenching his fists, but he unclenched them and held them out in supplication before continuing more softly when the crowd immediately went silent. "Life is precious. All life, even Mutsu and his Petals. And how many of us in here have never made some really bad and boneheaded mistakes? I know Mutsu tried to pull a very nasty stunt, and in some ways it seems very unforgivable! On the other hand, look at us up here! My Sekirei and I are not and never have been perfect, right? I'm the first to admit I'm just a hick, boneheaded, close minded, and stubborn jackass from Illinois! But I'm trying to do better!

"You also all know everything about Kazehana, Miya, Karasuba, Uzume, Akitsu, Himeko, and Toyotama's past histories too! We've also been guilty of murderous insanity, overweening arrogance and pride, drunken irresponsibility, emotionally damaged thinking, and selfishness in using others to further some very narcissist ambitions. It's taken some time and some bad missteps, but I finally think we're getting our act together as Natalie's and your prime Circle! If you can forgive us and accept us, and especially after almost half of us were just about killed in helping to save my Karasuba, my wife whom you all formerly hated and despised more than anyone, then can't we all just cut Mutsu and his Petals a little slack now? He's Natalie's strongest son after all, and I think we're really going to need him and his Circle to deal with what's coming at us! I want your permission to at least talk to him! Maybe he had some legitimate reasons for doing what he did! If not, maybe I can convince him to ask for a second chance from you and get with the team concept we need here, okay? Will you let me talk to him before passing judgment?"

"Do you really think you can get that asshole Muts to ASK us for a second chance?" Sanada stood up angrily. "He tried to kill Natalie! If he was human, I'd beat him with my fists until he begged to lick our feet!"

"Then you'd just cause more and deeper problems within our Circles, Sanada-san, and solve nothing," Cash shook his head wearily, "and remember, Mutsu has never really known Natalie or had any relationship with her. You all know how he thinks. To him she could have been just a failing operating system that needed a crashed rewrite and reboot. I want him to meet her with me and talk with us together. She's hard programmed to love him as her son. I have a younger sister that drives me nuts, but I would be simply devastated if something happened to her. I don't want to be a part of anything that will make Natalie grieve for as long as we live, so I'm begging you to let us try with Mutsu. Will you let us?"

Sanada turned and looked at his Circle. Oriha nodded slightly. He turned to see Ikki, Shiina, Mikogami, Kouji, Namiji, Minato, Homura, Seo, Benitsubasa, and Haihane also nodding silently too. Haihane was visibly upset about something, but apparently it wasn't Mutsu. Sanada turned back, shrugged, nodded silently, and sat back down. Cash heaved a small sigh of relief that was short lived when Haihane stood up with her hands on her hips. She had a VERY determined, no nonsense look, and her green eyes were flashing VERY angrily as she glared at Riko.

"Arch! Stop screwing around! We have more than enough Sekirei to make another Circle!" Haihane jerked a thumb at the kitchen staff watching from behind the counters of the serving windows, "We've got a MUCH bigger problem than Mutsu, and it's RIKO! From the time you guys came in here, she's been standing up there behind you like a store front dummy! We all know she's been a closed off oddball her whole life, but we NEED you guys in the Prime Circle cooking together, all eight of you connected like you NEED to be! I've already warned her too! Now why in the hell haven't you screwed her into place? And don't give me any bullshit about how unsexy she is! I KNOW you would have re-winged ME like I had planned for you to do, skin rashes and plain looks and all! The only thing was I found my Seo first! And don't the rest of you gals give me any grief over that either! Half of you we're also planning to go after Arch when we heard about him the night Riko mopped the MBI bathhouse floor with Toys and Itchy! Riko ain't even near a hard case as Karasuba either, and you've got Blackie AND Miya glowing like little twin sunbeams! Now what gives Arch? We NEED Riko's power and her super smart brains in your Circle, and we NEED your Circle's full power!"

Cash stood in numbed shock, a frozen expression on his face. It was as if someone had thrown a very sneaky fist into his gut and knocked the ability to breathe right out of him. Damn! He had hoped to skirt this until he had gotten time to deal with it privately! Man, this was one hell of a lot worse than spitballs and paper wads! A small part of his mind noted that one thing he REALLY like about Haihane was her totally upfront, no nonsense, and blunt way of saying EXACTLY what was on her mind at all times. But why in the hell had she done it now? Jeebus. Fortunately, Kazehana stood up to defend her man.

"The problem is this," Kazehana raised her chin as she stared out at the audience and then turned a very cool look at a now mutely stricken Riko who was totally frozen in place even more than Cash. Then the crowd's heavy spark of angry resentment at prima donna Riko now ignited by Haihane was fanned into a flaming disaster for her Prime Leader by Kazehana.

"Riko PROMISED me and her Sisters that she would DIE for us and our Ashikabi. She made VOWS! Then, after helping us save Karasuba, she CHOSE to give up and die when her flawed bonds were cut, cut to be reset and possibly made better, just like what happened to Karasuba and Miya's. Cash Lover had promised to give Riko a fair shot at getting everything corrected between them, and then she didn't trust him and just gave up. Trying suicide sickens me. I suffered for years, but not once did I give up! I have been in Riko's corner all her life, and you all know that, but she broke her promises to me as her best friend and me as her Prime Pillar. She also broke her Circle vows to her Sisters, her vows to Natalie, and once again proved exactly what Cash Lover has been saying about her all along. Riko IS powerful and way beyond smart, but she rarely uses her powers or her super smart brain for anyone but herself. She is too self centered, too self motivated, too closed, and too untrustworthy for being his Sekirei and being a member of his Prime Circle. It has nothing to do with her looks or sex appeal. She simply just can't be trusted to belong in the Prime Circle and to give to us the same as we give to her. Nor can we trust her to also protect our Prime Leader as we will."

The Sekirei and Ashikabi in the hall gave out an astonished collective gasp, and then a swift buzzing began between disbelieving individuals turning to their neighbors and Sisters.

"Wait!" Uzume burst out with an agonized expression on her face. Her crimson and black uniform instantly changing to her writhing and snapping Veiled Sekirei outfit. "No!"

"Zoomer, the six of us and Natalie have already talked it over," Kazehana shook her head slowly. "I still love Riko, I always will, but I'm not blind, and as Prime Pillar I have to be responsible to my Sisters, to Natalie, to Cash Lover, and to all the other Circles here. We want her bonds to Cash Lover cut, and then let him seek a replacement. He has the power now to cut both your bonding and still let you both live if you wish to remain her bond mate. You can either go with Riko, or stay with your Sisters and Ashikabi and get another Sister. Which will it be, Zoomer?"

An intense, very long, and pregnant silence swept through the hall's buzzing as all eyes were riveted back on stage. Once again there were a lot of approving expressions on the watching Sekirei's faces, a few openly contemplating the possibilities of their own chances to move up big time, but here and there several were frowning as the import of possibly losing both Uzume and Riko's tremendous powers out of the Prime Circle sank in. Uzume stood breathing in short pants while swiveling looks between a determined Kazehana and Riko shivering slightly in wide eyed shock.

Cash finally came out of his frozen, non breathing funk and hurriedly tried to assess his options in trying to advert a permanent schism in not only his Circle but also Natalie's entire brood. Why hadn't Natalie and Kazehana warned him that they had all talked this over without him? When had they? The few minutes when he had went back to the command quarters while escorted by Uzume and a very silent, eyes averted Riko? He had only been there long enough to use the bathroom, take a quick hot shower, and change clothes before coming here. He hadn't been gone from his Circle for more than 30 minutes or so, had he? Damn! They had all just taken three giant Karasuba, Natalie, and Miya steps forward together, and now they were all going after one giant Riko leap backwards! On the other hand, Kazehana had the right to run and discipline her Circle her way. There were limits to even an Ashikabi's authority when it came to Sister vs Sister business, but Cash could ask for a favor if need be. He could feel the old prima donna poison was doing its deadly underhanded work on his Sekirei team once again, but if Kazehana would let him, he HAD to try negating it.

"Rose," Cash reached out and put a hand on Kazehana's left shoulder. "I know you're in charge of your Circle, all the Circles, but I'm asking you to give me a little more time. Things haven't went critical yet. Uzume doesn't deserve to be publicly pressured like this either. I love her, Rose. Just like I love you. I don't want to possibly lose Uzi, ever. Let me try to think of something that can make everybody happy and not cause any deep pain. I know it's your call as Prime Pillar, and I'll do it if you insist, but let me try first. Please."

Kazehana stared back at him with sorrowful eyes, eyes that said she had personally hated saying what she had said but felt like it had been needed. She bit her lower lip before looking at Miya who nodded slightly, and then at Karasuba who gave Cash a calculating look and then shrugged her agreement. Akitsu surprisingly gave Riko a very wounded, frowning look before looking down and not meeting Kazehana's silent vote taking look. Toyotama gave a clear negative shake of her head. Himeko, who had suffered the most in trying to revive the resisting Riko, slowly shook her head no too. Kazehana squeezed her eyes shut and dropped her head. The count for Riko was 3 to 3 for and against. It was still up to her. Her head told her that Riko had to go, but her heart. Wait. There was one other vote in a Prime Circle.

"What does Natalie say?" Kazehana whispered.

_"Do you have a plan, Cash Darling? One that can resolve Riko's issues within a few hours?"_

"No, no plan, Natalie, other than what I know about baseball," Cash shook his head as he spoke out loud. "We've got a double dose of prima donna poison working against us here. I'm just going to talk to Mutsu and his Petals and then Riko and Uzi. Sometimes talking and careful listening can heal these kinds of things in a team meeting. Sometimes they don't, and the ones causing all the problems have to be traded for more team oriented players who maybe aren't as skilled but make the team play better together. I, uhhh, just feel we shouldn't be too hasty in throwing two heavy hitters off the team is all."

_"I love you Cash Darling. You're strength and suggestions saved me when I had absolutely no hope. Do what you think is best."_

"Natalie has given me permission to try for a few hours," Cash said softly. "If I think it's hopeless, then we can all meet back here and do whatever needs to be done to make us ready to meet Minaka and his stooges. If you'll agree Rose, I want you and your Sisters to stay here and talk about ways to mount our island defense with the rest of the Circles. Write them down for me. Lean hard on Miya and Karasuba's experience too. Keep an open mind and don't throw out any suggestions no matter how nutty they sound. There might be a combo effort among them that might make good sense. I'll take Uzume and Riko with me to meet with Mutsu. Once Seo gets Matsu and Koko up and running on Natalie's computer systems, then get him back here to help you. He seems to have a pretty good head for this kind of stuff.

"Remember that you're my team catcher, Rose, listening to suggestions for what you and I will agree to pitch together when the game starts, not taking a vote on anything, okay? Planning an overall game strategy beforehand is one thing, but it's up to us to make the right call and then put the ball where it needs to go while our teammates play good defense behind us. There's no pitching and catching by committee, honey. It's gonna be just you and me calling the shots when the time comes."

"Ohhh Lover," Kazehana sighed as she closed in for an embracing kiss. "You've had so much patience with me. I almost died when I felt you go dark in our dream state. Riko could have helped us stay in touch with you if she hadn't already given up on herself and broke our chain. That's why we're so unhappy with her now, but you still retrieved Karasuba and Miya and then kept the rest of us safe until the other Circles could come to our rescue. I will NEVER be parted from you like that again, and neither will the rest of us either. You can't allow it, Lover, and neither can I, or we'll simply all die. If we can't have full confidence in Riko and Zoomer, then we can never be truly happy either, nor really be the Circle you need. I think the same standards will need to apply to Mutsu and his gals too."

"I understand," Cash nodded his acceptance of her terms as he strongly received the feelings of determination flowing from her. Riko had gotten on the wrong side of Kazehana's love fence around him. There would be no easy climb back. "It's full confidence or out the door. I'll do my best, Rose. If it isn't good enough, then I'll step aside."

Cash encircled Kazehana's waist with one arm and bent his head down slightly to kiss her deeply. Immediately her deep crimson Norito wings blazed forth and then she stepped back for her Sisters to each get their affirming and encouragement kiss. Karasuba and Miya both waited until last so that they would be able to hang onto him longer while sharing either side. It was their mute statement to all the other Sekirei and Ashikabi watching the stage intently that the long, long war between Number 01 and Number 04 was finally over. However, they also stepped back when Uzume finally came to Cash once again clad in her Circle's battle uniform. After she kissed him, she then fussily rearranged his clothing back to normal while giving him back his more dignified, semi form covering cloak.

"Help me Joe!" Uzume hissed urgently in his left ear. "I can't live without you! But don't make me choose against Reeker! I'll hate myself if that happens!"

"I'll try, sweetheart, just be calm. You're coming with me to help her. She can barely stand up let alone think."

"OKAY! Okay," Uzume breathed hopefully while releasing him.

Cash turned to eye a now furiously blushing, downcast, and thoroughly shamed Riko, and then he stepped closer to her.

_"Treat her well, Cash Darling! I feel so bad for her!"_

"Okay, Natalie, I will," Cash closed his eyes while letting his mind try to deflect the self loathing and humiliation that was coming in big waves from Riko. He finally opened them and simply stared at a spot in the middle of her forehead. Damn! He sighed slightly. This felt like some never ending nightmare he couldn't keep from invading his real world.

"Well, this won't be easy for either one of us, Riko. Do you want to come with me and Uzume? We'll have a little chat with Mutsu, and then maybe take a little trip around Kamakura Island. We can talk as we go or afterward maybe. I always look over the field before I'm going to play a game. Fixing the dimensions, shapes, and sizes of the foul territories in my mind helps me concentrate when I pitch. You can also stay here if you want, and skip the trip. When I get back, I can just give you your freedom if you want to still quit on us."

"Wha, wha, what do you want Cash Joseph?" Riko stammered as she tried to meet his eyes without shedding more futile tears. There had been no acceptance or rejection of her in his voice, just a tone of something that had to be faced and resolved. She was nothing more than a piece of toxic trash that had to be disposed of anyway, so whatever he wanted, that's what she would do.

"I want you to be happy, Riko, or at least happier," Cash replied slowly while shaking his head at her inability to make a choice. He once again felt the heavy weight of being Natalie's Prime Leader. Riko's situation was now so badly bent and twisted it had went far beyond her ability to fix and possibly his too, but it was now his responsibility to straighten it out as much as he could, one way or another. Well, then she would just have to do as she was told for now. "Come with me and Uzume, and we'll talk about how we can get you that way."

Riko's head dropped as she nodded her acceptance. Cash let her and Uzume lead the way back down the stage steps and to the mess hall's entrance as the assembled Sekirei silently watched an even wearier looking Cash leave to find some massive antidotes for their double dose of prima donna poison.

***scene break***

Cash entered the base commander's quarters to get into his Karasu battle suit while still mulling his two immediate big problems over in his mind. Total confidence was not going to be easy to obtain, not the way Riko was acting and certainly not from the way most of the Sekirei were firmly against Mutsu. Silently, Uzume helped him get snapped in and get the suit's computer and camouflage activated while Riko very slowly donned her own. It took several minutes before the three of them launched skyward .

"Is there a camera in this doodad?" Cash asked after using his chin to activate communication mode. It was spooky as hell not see his two companions, kinda like one of those weird flying dreams he used to have as a kid but the landscape below certainly wasn't Illinois farmland."I want what we're seeing to be shipped to Natalie's data banks for review. Natalie, please put everything together so that we can get a complete rotational 3D view of this entire Island from ground level on up."

_"Understood, Cash Darling."_

"Visual, sonic, and infrared scans activated," Riko replied in almost a murmur. "Data records sending in real time now. I will put us three abreast at one hundred meters apart to record a wider area from the height of 1500 meters."

"Okay, then please take us completely around the Island perimeter first, Riko. Then lets make what passes we need to map the interior. While we're going, if either of you two spot anything that you feel might be important, tell me. Mark possible and most likely land invasion sites. I particularly want to try to find an area Kusano can use for her shrine project also. That means we're looking for areas with some soil depth and a possible water supply, streams, lakes, ponds, springs, whatever. Natalie, can you give me anything about this island's topography and overall data? Uhhh, use the English measurement system, not metric. I suck at conversions."

_"Kamakura Island is 10.352 miles long and averages 2.945 miles in width running slightly __parallel to the Japanese main islands. It's highest point is 1193 feet on the north end and the lowest is the MBI base and harbor at sea level in the south with smaller hills descending to a central plain separating them. I am positioned 1.113 miles northeast of the MBI base in the deepest depression of __that plain with the base of my hull 23.221 feet below sea level. The average yearly temperature is 69 __degrees F with an average of 80 degrees F in July and 59 degrees F in January. June to October is_ _typhoon season, but the typical rainy season lasts only from May to June. Annual rainfall averages 91 inches. _

_ "There is no official population count as MBI has forbidden all settlements since discovery and possession. The island also has a fifteen mile exclusion zone from its shores for all nautical and air travel. Prior to MBI's possession of the Island and due to the convenience of not having to do a floating structure, it was owned and used as a horizontal drilling site by an international energy conglomerate that discovered the island's rocky east coast has significant methane hydrate fields in deep sediments all along its base. Four successful sites were capped and hydrate pumping stopped after MBI acquired the Island and closed it off to all but MBI personnel."_

"Okay, Natalie, that's enough for now, sweetheart, thank you," Cash shook his head as he interrupted her. What had he been thinking? Who in the hell was going to remember all that encyclopedia stuff? Certainly not him. What he really wanted was to fix in his mind's eye where he might be pitching the most effectively when the time came and not necessarily from on top of Natalie. It was his intention to draw any and all invaders away from her if possible. Then he'd have to figure out just what kind of alignment his Sekirei defenders should use as well as where to put Kusano's shrine to her Mommy Goddess.

Less than an hour later Riko quietly informed him that the Island had been completely covered and set all three of them down underneath Natalie's hull. Within minutes they were up in the command cabin with their suits off and watching the results of their efforts. As Kamakura Island was presented in 3D on Natalie's big screens, one slowly scrolling scene gave Cash a strong sense of deja vu.

"Natalie, pause that and back up a couple of seconds. I think I've just found my "How to Keep Kusano Happy" site. Could you overlay a big, dark looking Shinto shrine up against those rocky hills in the background, put a lake in front, and then a stream feeding into the lake after flowing from a high waterfall? Yes, that's it, and now put two stone walkways around the lake to make a bigger one going to the shrine. Add in blossoming cherry trees, blooming flowers, and more grassy landscaping. That's uncanny! And a little spooky too. Can you see it, Uzi?"

"Yeah, it's just like the place where we joined up to save Karasuba, right Reeker?" Uzume nodded in agreement. She elbowed Riko lightly, but received no response.

Cash gave a sideways glance at Riko. She hadn't said one more word than necessary during the entire tour, showed absolutely no signs of wanting to initiate any kind of conversation with him, had kept her mind tightly closed, and averted her eyes whenever he looked at her. Up til now, Uzume had also been one giant unhappy zero as far as talking to him the entire time too. So what to do next? He would have to get Riko to open up somehow and find out exactly what was going inside Riko's mind. Should he just scan her tama by touching her crest as he had with Karasuba? He wouldn't be risking a bad backlash since there would be no sex and "connecting" attempted. Shrugging, he decided to give it a go.

"Riko, would you come here, please?" Cash indicated for her to come to his command chair. "I want you to sit on my knees facing away from me so I can put my forehead upon your crest."

"Are you sure about this Joe?" Uzume sat up in mild alarm as Riko woodenly moved to obey.

"She's my Sekirei right now, and as far as I know, I've got no other sure way to see what needs to be done for her."

Cash let his forehead touch Riko's pink crest and felt …. nothing, no emotions, no thoughts, no desire other than a small pressing need to empty her bladder. Cash sighed again and gave up. He'd just have to think of something else. He might as well talk to Mutsu. Perhaps during the course of that he could find a way to deal with Riko.

"All right, enough for now. Natalie, give us a few minutes to let Riko use the john, then we'll go see Mutsu. Is he awake?"

_"Yes, Cash Darling, but be very careful entering my stasis tank. He has been quite violent in trying to escape. I will monitor and stop him from harming you, but stay behind Uzume and Riko when the door opens in case he attacks. His powers of endurance and will are quite formidable."_

Approaching the closed iris door of Natalie's stasis tank a few minutes later, for some unknown reason a stray memory came forward into Riko's numbed mind. Apparently her subconscious had not given up its quest to find something, anything to break the heavy weight of despair and total alienation that had completely consumed her relationship with Cash Joseph. A very thin thread of hope came alive. She had never tried to appeal to his sense of humor!

Cash paused to steel his mind against anything that a possibly desperate Mutsu might throw at them when the door opened. Stepping into the tank, Uzume went first and Riko second. Cash took two paces, eyes focused on Mutsu sitting at the far end of the tank, and then stumbled as Riko stopped suddenly, turned to look up at him, and said something totally off the wall.

"Did you know that the Chicago Cubs played against a new pitching machine for spring training. Unfortunately, they won 4-0."

Cash's left foot tripped over Riko's right ankle, both arms flailed forward into empty air, and he pitched headlong towards the floor in almost slow motion while emitting a loud startled squawk. A wide swath of Uzume's white battle cloth whipped around his shoulders to save Cash from smashing his face. Mutsu took the opportunity to send a strong stunning mind blast at them which did … nothing. It then became a study of which facial expression registered puzzled surprise mixed with irritation in a greater degree, Mutsu or Cash's.

"Dammit Riko! What in the hell?" Cash rolled over to give her a baleful glare while getting back up. "What was that? And by the way, the Cubs LOST to their pitching machine!"

Something within Riko, probably that last very thin thread of hope, snapped.

"THAT'S IT! I'VE CHANGED MY MIND!" Riko almost yelled as she began shaking violently.

"Naturally!" Cash snapped at her as his over worked, over tired, and over stressed nerves once again took over his mouth. "As if I expected anything different from a ditz like you!"

Riko squeezed her eyes shut and clenched her fists by her sides in determination.

"That's Right! You're RIGHT! I'm a ditz! A stupid ditz! Everything I try to do is WRONG! Everything I've ever done has been wrong! I can't even tell a simple stupid joke right! From the very first! I ruined your Shinto Dawn painting! I made you scared of me! I made you fall off the roof and hurt your head! I've made you angry so many times! Especially when you re-winged Karasuba and Akitsu and Uzume! I cheated for you ONCE during your baseball tryout and became a CRIMINAL! I stole your money! I ate all your food! I blackmailed you on TV! I made you go to a fish market and barf on a clown! I RUINED your dance dinner date! I can't even dance! I got mad at Benitsubasa! I screwed up at MBI's bathhouse! I made you so mad at me at the Tokyo Dome! Twice! You got mad when I faked a faint! You hate me! You despise me more than your sister and Ex Agnes!"

"I DON'T despise my sister!" Cash tried to cut in, but Riko kept going.

"You are NEVER going to want me! Never NEED me! Never LOVE me! Not ONCE have you smiled at me! Not ONCE have you ever said a kind word! Not ONCE have you approved of anything about me! Even my boobs are smaller than your other Sekirei! Except Karasuba's, but she drips sexiness while I just drool like a village idiot! I am NOT going to live as some kind of ignored freak with no smiles, no laughter, no kindness, no tenderness, and NO LOVE! If it were an equation I could solve it! If it was something that needed to be made, I could build it! If it needed to be computed, I could program it! But all I can make with you is unhappiness, fear, anger, impatience, disappointment, hate, disgust, and, and, and, disapproval! I CAN'T build relationships or make you LOVE ME! I can't even die a virgin without making everyone angry! To you I'm always going to be just like what you called me at the Tokyo Dome when I was trying to protect you! A Brainless, Clueless, Perfect Piece of Shit! JUST CUT ME LOOSE, CASH JOSEPH! CUT ME LOOSE, AND LET ME DIE! NOW!"

_"Cash Darling! Do something! Save her! Save her! Save my child"_

"NOOOOOO!" Uzume screamed as her battle cloths wrapped around Riko and then more whipped around Cash. They were both lifted up and violently waved back and forth in midair above Uzume's very angry head as if she was some kind of white garbed and irate Medusa who had begun toying with her captured prey.

"You two are killing me here! Why can't you just stop it! I can't deal with this drama queen type of shit, and I never could! Reeker, he's your Ashikabi! He's perfect for you! Damn you! Joe, you heartless bastard! How could you call her a perfect piece of shit! I could just slap the crap out of both of you because you keep tearing me, keep tearing me apart! Just stop it!"

"UZUME!" Cash yelled angrily as he weaved helplessly about overhead like a supine carnival ride gone badly haywire. "PUT ME DOWN! DAMMIT!"

"Not until you promise ME! Promise me you'll do whatever it takes to fix this!"

"I can't promise that! Riko has a right to choose! Just like you had! And I'm worse at this drama stuff than you! Now put me down, Uzume! And don't ever jerk me around like this again, EVER!"

For his part, Mutsu, still wondering why his psychic stun blast had been such a giant fizzle, watched in disgust. It would be a sad day if he ever allowed any of his bonded females to wave him around over their heads like a used teabag caught on a tree branch during a typhoon. On the other hand, maybe this would shake a few shreds of common sense into Archer's empty gaijin head. Either way, even if he subdued the three and tried to escape once more, the iris door was closed again, and Mutsu had already ascertained he hadn't the strength to open it. These three were here for a reason. He might as well wait and see what it was. Taking a deep breath and then letting it out, Mutsu decided to ignore any further shenanigans from the three buffoons at the other end of the tank and concentrate on his mental attempts to contact Sayomi.

Cash thumped down on his back as Uzume went to her knees and began bawling her eyes out. Riko also landed a few feet away but lay still and unwilling to move let alone say anything more. Cash rolled over, unwrapped himself, and went over to Riko to offer an apology, but she closed her eyes and turned her head away. She was done talking or even trying to interact with him ever again. Frustrated, possibly more at himself than Riko, he shook his head and turned to kneel beside Uzume. She fell into his arms and buried her face in his chest to weep harder as he rubbed her back, made comforting sounds, and then simply held her.

_"Cash Darling!" _Natalie's voice was also weeping. _"Help us! Help us! Please help us!"_

All Cash could do was to send mental waves of comfort to her. He had no idea what to do next. The best he had was to have Uzume keep Riko wrapped up like a mummy and hang onto her until he thought of something. It didn't look like Riko was going to struggle any, so he could at least buy a little time to think. He needed a long throwing session for that.

After a few minutes and explaining to Uzume that she was now the mummy caretaker and mover until further notice, Cash decided to tackle his other problem. Cash took a deep breath before approaching Mutsu with Uzume beside him and a still wrapped Riko silently floating over Uzume's head. He wanted his mind and nerves calm before dealing with Mutsu now sitting in an almost comatose and classic lotus position of deep contemplation.

At one time during a seventh inning stretch of a spring training game, another pitcher had sworn that it was the best technique a fella could use to really focus on his pitching. Cash had tried to get both legs crossed and feet tucked up on each thigh as one should to do the Lotus pose properly, but he had pulled his quadriceps in the attempt and gave it up for good. The other pitcher hadn't made it past the second roster cut anyway and was sent home, so Cash figured maybe Zen and baseball wasn't really all that compatible to start with.

Looking at Mutsu and wanting to appear friendly, Cash thought about simply squatting down beside the big Sekirei, but Uzume saved him the trouble by fashioning a convenient canvas hassock for him to sit on instead. Heaving a small sigh of weary relief while Uzume knelt beside him, Cash tried to sense what Mutsu was feeling, but drew a complete blank.

"Wassup?" Cash tried to break the ice after he had softly cleared his throat.

"I'm trying to ascertain the status and well being of Sayomi and her Sisters," Mutsu answered without opening his eyes or moving. "For some reason I cannot sense them at all."

"Yeah, well, uhhh, that's probably because I asked Natalie to keep them sleeping in a stasis dream state," Cash squirmed in minor discomfort. Neither the entrance nor the next phase of this visit to the stasis tank had started well. Cash suddenly got a quick glimmer of Mutsu's mind as he spoke, and it was just as he had suspected. Mutsu was a typical chauvinistic male that pretty much thought in terms of absolute logic with little use for exploring his emotions. "I felt that it would be best to spare your Petals any more emotional shock for now because they might have to face a lot more later. However, for the moment they are completely unharmed and in good health, just sleeping."

"Indeed," Mutsu opened his eyes and turned to look at Cash with absolutely no emotion registering. He glanced up at the silently floating Riko mummy above Uzume, but ignored that strange sight as well. "Did my bonded females suffer when I was rendered unconscious from the inadvertent power surge I must have triggered in the ship's primary control circuitry? I had only been briefed on the correct procedures once by Takehito years ago, but neither of us had ever tried to stow and replace an AI core before. I have already mentally reviewed the process twice since awakening, but have failed to ascertain exactly what I did wrong. Since you were able to open this tank's iris and just admitted Mother Natalie is functioning again to some degree, what are the status of the ship's weaponry, computing capacity, and ion drives? Has Seo done a diagnostic on all of them? Has he obtained any further information of the approaching enemy's strength, capabilities, and exact whereabouts? Are defensive formations, measures, and an overall strategy in place to meet them?"

"Uhhh, no, but uhhh, we're beginning to work on them, kind of," Cash coughed slightly again. He had known deep down that this was going to be way beyond nominally awkward, fly past any kind of interactive strangeness, and go somewhere deep into the realm of the truly bizarre. On the other hand, it was good to hear that Mutsu had a firm mental grasp on the way to approach the military aspects of their situation. "Matter of fact, all those things are some of the reasons I am here."

"Good," Mutsu unwound his legs in preparation to stand. "Now that you have the door operable, I would like to receive a complete situational update while we eat. I greatly need sustenance."

"Yes, well, I think we need to talk a little first here Mutsu-sama," Cash winced apologetically. "You see, first we have to find a way to keep you and your wives alive."

Mutsu paused in his movements to give Cash a slightly irritated look with one eyebrow arched.

"You just said Sayomi and her Sisters are unharmed and in good health, and I assure you I am too except for my hunger. From whence does our danger come? Are Minaka and his foolish minions that close already?"

"YOUR danger, Mutsu-sama," Cash tried to explain as calmly as possible, "comes from the Sekirei and Ashikabi here on Kamakura. The stasis door wasn't inoperable. You are being kept a prisoner accused of heinous crimes against your people, and pretty much found guilty already. There are currently three schools of thought for your disposition. Most want to simply execute you and your women immediately. A few are in favor of gelding you and then sending you into exile to live in America with your Petals. A very small minority would like to try to salvage your unhappy situation somehow, a situation you have caused by gross ignorance, overweening arrogance, and simply atrocious miscalculations."

"Crimes? Execution? Gelding? Me? For what purpose?" Mutsu snorted in disbelief. "I rarely miscalculate anything let alone wallow in ignorance. Nor have I done anything criminal or arrogant, and for what possible reason would Sayomi and her Sisters be made to suffer if I had? It's true they're females, but they have done nothing to warrant anyone's animosity other than their usual inane frivolity. I will greatly withstand any attempts to do them harm, Archer, and I will hold you personally responsible if you use your unwarranted position with the ship's damaged primary gestalt to cause them even the slightest injury."

"Muts, you giant jerk!" Uzume hissed impatiently as she leaped up and started pacing back and forth behind Cash. Even with Riko still waving gently above her, Uzume snapped a battle veil inches away from Mutsu's nose before he could even blink. "Joe is trying to save your ASS, and your precious Petals too! You tried to kill our Mother who is and was NOT damaged! And then you were going to put yourself in overall command! Everyone also thinks you were going to kill MY Joe and our Prime Leader and all of Kazehana's Circle too! There's REASONS why we want to cut your stupid balls off, you mutton headed sonofabitch! And Sayomi's bitchy attitude hasn't won her and her Sisters any friends here either! Now get you swelled head out of your ass and listen up!"

"What utter nonsense!" Mutsu exploded to his feet. "The ship's weapons and computers were offline! Minaka's set to invade and our strongest Sekirei including you, Riko, and Archer were in a coma from unknown but obviously severe bloody head damage! I was only replacing and stowing Mother's badly damaged command gestalt and getting a functional one online to provide immediate defense! I had no intention of killing any of you irritating fleas including your gaijin Ashikabi! You tell those brainless morons! No! I'll tell them! All of them! Order that door open Archer!"

The now infuriated male Sekirei, instead of leaping to the stasis door, abruptly sank to his knees instead, gasping for breath in total agony while breaking out in an instant, white faced sweat. He was still gasping a few long seconds later when Natalie's voice reverberated out of the tank's speaker system.

_"For the record Number 05 Mutsu, your Prime Pillar Number 03 Kazehana has given me shared control of your tama and also authorized unlimited use of same up to and including your instant termination if I believe you intend any further harm to her, her Sisters, me, my Prime Leader, and any other Sekirei and Ashikabi emotionally attached to me. Consider this instance of pain a small demonstration of what tama control is capable of doing to you and also to get your complete attention. __It is also a sharp reminder that never again will you refer to my husband and Prime Leader nor my children as irritating fleas! Have I succeeded?"_

Unable to say anything, Mutsu simply nodded twice in ongoing agony while trying very hard not to topple over into a fetal curl.

"Natalie, cease that at once!" Cash commanded while frowning. It was time he quit dodging his duty and culpability in this whole mess and face up to everything. "That wasn't necessary at all. The door is locked, and he can't go anywhere. And he's right. I have been acting like a moron in more ways than one for some time now. Don't use tama pain on him again, or I will be VERY unhappy with you despite what Kazehana has allowed you to do. We will soon discuss its allowed use with her in the future also. We want to build long term team unity here, not more fricken resentments!"

_"Cash Darling, you heard him and saw his insufferable attitude! My son simply cannot be trusted! He had to be SHARPLY reprimanded for his reprehensible actions too!"_

"Listen to me, dammit!" Cash stood up angrily, and now he was the one with with his fists clenched at his sides. "This is the first time your son has ever really met you, Natalie! And you have just begun your future relationship with him very badly! Where is your LOVE, Natalie? My Mother has simply driven me insane for years and years, but I still LOVE her! And aren't Sekirei supposed to be all about love? Will you throw Kusano out of your heart this quickly too if and when she hurts you someday?

"Mutsu-sama is totally ignorant of you! From where he comes from he has no idea why you chose me for your Prime Leader! I can see where it would be a total mystery to him as well. I'm fairly sure he has no knowledge of your whole history either, let alone his Petals or mine. It simply didn't occur to him he was killing your unique personality when he tried to reboot your gestalt control systems, nor that he would supplant me if he succeeded! To him I'm just some mindless gaijin moron from America incapable of commanding a teacup, you are just another malfunctioning computer operating system worse than Windows 13, and his brother and sister Sekirei are mostly incapable of lucid and rational thinking of any kind. He's so closed off, so alienated, and has been pampered so long he's almost unable to understand why anyone could ever be offended at his logical attempts to save everyone! Your son Mutsu is an ignorant, spoiled, unloved, emotional cripple, Natalie, but his life is just as precious as mine! He blundered and hurt you badly with the ham handed way he does things because of ignorance, but he deserves a whole LOT better treatment than petty vengeful pain from his own Mother for the love of Pete! He isn't that much different from me!"

A hard panting Mutsu, feeling the intense chest pain quickly recede and wanting to stand but still unable, gave Cash a hard frowning stare while trying to comprehend all that had just been said. A very long silence ensued.

_"I'm, I'm sorry Cash Darling!"_ Natalie finally stammered out in a much more subdued tone. _"You are so right, and I was very wrong to vent my unhappiness at his trying to dispose of me. He WAS logical in his choices, just not informed. What, ummm, what should I do to correct my errors?"_

"Your son has been operating without badly needed knowledge. Educate him quickly in our Sekirei and Human interbreeding history. Explain exactly why I have been preferred by you to be your Prime Leader, and then teach him all about Sekirei Circle powers and their capabilities as well as what his functions and responsibilities will be if I can convince the others to keep him as our Prime Ashikabi. Also explain exactly what constraints will be placed upon his actions, ambitions, and thought processes from now on if he CHOOSES to remain second in command and also be made the world's Prime Center of the Dryas Octopetala Order. Those will both be his CHOICES, got it? Then you will get to know each other, let him know why you want and need him to be your beloved son, and let him SEE you as the loving Mother he's never had, got that too?"

_"Understood, Cash Darling, but he will still have to remain imprisoned in the stasis tank until I am satisfied he is no threat to you. Please stand by with Riko and Uzume to guard the door while my serving robot delivers his food. I will appear now."_

Natalie's 3D figure shimmered into view at the center of the tank, clad in her battle uniform and bird mask. She stood a few paces away from the still kneeling Mutsu. Both silently stared at each other for several long moments before Natalie slowly reached up with both hands and removed her tiara mask. Mutsu blinked in frowning wonder as she dropped her mask with a thud onto the stasis floor.

"Mother? You're, you're real? You are capable of solid physical interaction? How? How is this possible? How are you doing this?"

"I'm not," Natalie winced almost apologetically. "My Cash Darling is doing this for us, so, so, that we could touch each other, and that I could hug my son. It's one of the many reasons he's my Prime Leader. He is VERY, VERY powerful in ways that you and now I don't really understand. My other Prime Leader was not capable of this kind of deep love for me or compassion for you."

Mutsu turned his head slowly to stare at Cash as being some kind of weird alien from a planet that spawned sentient three headed unicorns. Now his earlier failed psychic stun having no effect made sense. There had to be some truly mind boggling power underneath Archer's glowing and brightly shining deep blue mind shield.

"A fella ought to be able to hug his Mom once in awhile, right?" Cash shrugged uncomfortably. If he was making Natalie appear in solid form, he didn't have a conscious clue of how it was being done. "Look, you two have to get caught up and get to know each other, okay? I'm, uhhh, going to talk to Kazehana and my Circle privately about Riko's situation for a little while. We'll, uhhh, we'll be back later, and then I've got to teach you something Mutsu-sama."

"Mutsu-sama?" Mutsu said vaguely while still doing amazed swivel headed double takes between Cash and Natalie. "I think maybe the timing is propitious for you to address me from now on as just Muts. What further education do I need from you, Archer-san, or should I call you Papa-san?"

"Uhhh, no, just call me CJ or Cash, or maybe Big Kahuna when you think I'm being a moron, but quite frankly, I think you need a crash course in giving totally profuse, totally open and honest, and totally abasing apologies. I'm sort of becoming an expert on them with the many ways I've already demonstrated what a complete jackass I can be at times. I have also been very ham handed and damaging in my emotional dealings with Natalie's children. It seems we have a LOT in common after all. You, my friend, are going to have to give the most humble apology of your life if you don't want Kazehana, Karasuba, Miya, and Toyotama cutting your balls off before Akitsu floats them out to sea as twin icebergs. The condition set upon us is that you must gain their full confidence in order to avoid a nut-less future, let alone live to see one."

"Then whether gelded or not I must comply to at least live long enough to see Sayomi and her Sisters safe," Mutsu frowned slightly, "and you must believe I had no desires to destroy anyone. I was only greatly determined to see my bonded females to safety as rapidly and thoroughly as I knew how."

"Yeah, right!" Uzume snapped in a sharp tone dripping with scorn. "And since when did your so called frivolous females become so important it made you stomp so hard on your dick with all the rest of us irritating fleas? Fleas that now want to cut you and gut you as soon as we can? Answer that you self inflated, misogynistic windbag!"

"I am a BONDED Sekirei! I am NOT a misogynist!" Mutsu returned rather pointedly, "nor do I view myself as a self inflated windbag! Neither are my bonded females to be made sport of by such as you Number 10! I am well aware that we have never really liked each other nor approved of each others personal attitudes."

"All right, all right," Cash sighed in irritation. "Uzi honey, please lay off will ya? On the other hand, Mutsu-sama, she does have a point. If you didn't want to destroy anyone nor become the new Prime Leader, just what were your motives for acting in such a unilateral and hasty manner and almost killing my wife Natalie in the process?"

"All my bonded females are with child." This time it was Mutsu who cleared his throat uncomfortably. "I sensed their hormonal changes on the boat trip over here. It made me greatly concerned, and I was determined that they be removed from any potential harm as quickly as possible."

"All your Petals are preggers?" Uzume almost shouted in amused disbelief. "WOW!"

"OH! OH MY!" Natalie almost squealed with glee while clasping her hands before her. "GRAND BABIES! AND SO SOON!"

Cash just shook his head slowly while murmuring the ultimate descriptive word of almost total male sympathy.

"Dude."

"CASH DARLING! THIS IS SO WONDERFUL!"

"Uhhh, yeah, peachy," Cash semi nodded, "and this makes it all the more imperative that we get your son back into everyone's good graces too."

"I, I don't really understand why you want to help me, Cash-sama," Mutsu shook his head slightly in puzzlement. "I've never given you any reason to be friendly towards me nor to intercede on my behalf with your, uhhh, rather intimidating Circle. THEY certainly have never liked me either, especially Karasuba, Toyotama, and Uzume."

"Well, being Prime Leader is kinda like being a team captain in baseball, Muts. Personal likes and dislikes take a back seat in the locker room when it comes to doing what's best for the team. I'm in a tough spot where I need an intelligent, highly educated, clear thinking guy as my co-captain that has Sekirei combat experience, overall military training in strategy and tactics, and is familiar with what might be coming at us. On the other hand I can't afford a dense dud of a commander that goes around like a block headed King Shit prima donna, does his own thing despite what anyone else thinks, and pisses everybody off in the process, especially my wives. I've got several Ashikabi that can mesh Sekirei talents. I need one that can take what Kazehana and I want done and tell the others exactly how to use their meshed talents to accomplish it and even improvise if need be. Can you become a team player for once and do what we want done to save Natalie even if you disagree with our methods?"

"I'm not exactly sure," Mutsu replied while mulling this new concept over.

"Okay, gotta like your honesty," Cash shrugged in acceptance as he turned to walk toward the tank's door. "If you can't, then I'll have to appoint Seo instead. Then you can decide what you want to do in the future with you and your Petals lives. Why don't you get acquainted with Natalie, get her story, and then give it all a big think while I talk to Kazehana and her Circle. When we come back, we can talk it all over some more between us. And remember, just call me CJ or Cash. I can never remember exactly when to use those sama, san, chan, and kun suffixes anyway. Big Kahuna if I'm a moron. Just don't call me Joey. Kids in sixth grade did that, and it always gave me a weird feeling I might need to hop around Australia someday."

Uzume, still grimly amused at Mutsu's confession, snorted at this while waving her hand and making Cash's hassock disappear. She followed after Cash with Riko still mummy wrapped and trailing overhead.

"Was that supposed to be humorous?" Mutsu asked Natalie thoughtfully as he watched Cash, Riko, and Uzume exit the tank past the serving robot carrying a tray with a large bowl of food toward him. Riko's mind felt broken in some way Mutsu had never seen before. He wondered if she was the ham handed damage that Archer had alluded to his causing since she had remained absolutely still and silent the whole time. No expression had registered on her face, nor had he felt any emotions behind the hard mental shield she always had. Why she had simply allowed herself to be encased in cloth swaths and waved around above Uzume was another big mystery to him.

"I'm not exactly sure, nor is it easily quantified for possible humorous content," Natalie confessed with a shy smile, "but that's one of the things I so love about my Human husband. He makes me feel good all through every circuit even when I don't completely understand and am not able to fully evaluate what he's saying."

"Indeed, humor has never been one of my strengths either, and you've married Archer-sama? I confess that's an interesting dynamic I had never considered possible. Does that mean he's my father now too? I'm at a loss in perceiving how to handle such a possibility."

"My Cash Darling is taking some time to adjust to the idea too," Natalie chuckled lightly, "but he's coming around. I have great confidence in him! I also have very high hopes you will both become great friends at the very least."

"I see. In that case I hope you both will be patient with me. I've never really had a friend before."

Mutsu, again trying to handle another new concept, simply and pragmatically reached for the big bowl of hot sticky rice with some kind gelatinous looking goo on top. He began using the bowl's chopsticks to lever chunks of food into his mouth.

Chewing reflectively he added while bowing his head, "I'm sorry I offended you so greatly, Mother. It was not my intention to terminate you completely. I seem to have wrongly assumed damaged gestalt storage and recall was possible. I erred badly in that assumption, but I am very pleasantly surprised and grateful that Archer-sama was able to succeed in reviving you where I failed. Please forgive me. I'm not exactly sure what a block headed King Shit prima donna is either, nor why I should abase myself for being one, but I've got a feeling I quickly need your help to find out why I am perceived that way by my sister Karasuba et al before my testicles are removed in a very painful fashion. Please educate me thoroughly."

***scene break***

This time the MBI mess hall was much more subdued when Cash headed for the stage with Mutsu beside him, Uzume following, and a still weirdly wrapped Riko silently wafting along behind. Cash weaved through the crowd who was mostly standing up and randomly moving around to talk to each other while waiting for his arrival. With a very determined looking Uzume still bringing up the rear, the four of them went up the stage steps and moved to meet Kazehana, Akitsu, Karasuba, Toyotama, Miya, and Himeko who were grouped stage left.

"Just a quick word here, uhhh, Muts," Cash eyed the milling crowd rather nervously as they all stood together.

"Have you finally formulated a plan of battle? What is going to be the defensive disposition of your Sekirei?"

"Uhhh, battle plan?" Cash scratched the back of his head uncertainly. "Well, we're going to build a shrine with a hot springs spa and a lake with a very nice garden too. That's about all I got for right now."

"That's a plan of battle?" Mutsu stopped walking to give Cash a gaping look with eyebrows raised in incredulity. "I don't understand."

"I just felt it was very important to make Kusano happy before we did anything else for some reason," Cash explained awkwardly. "Sort of a team morale building kind of thing."

"I see," Mutsu nodded slowly in acceptance. "That would at least save you a severe ankle bite wound. That reminds me. I think mine is getting infected. Do you suppose Himeko would heal that for me if you asked her?"

"Uhhh, sure, no problem. She gave me a healing shot earlier to relieve my tiredness and sore Little CJ." Cash shrugged nervously as he noticed that all eyes in the hall were watching them. Few looked friendly at Mutsu let alone receptive. Most were snickering at Riko.

"Let's deal with the immediate problem of saving your balls first, okay? Now, Kazehana and my gals have already talked to Natalie, and they're all willing to cut you a break on account of your Petals being knocked up. That's the first fact you need to lay on this crowd, and then promise profusely and with total humiliation that you'll treat all females better in the future. Just remember that little credo called a Man Prayer to keep all our females happy with you that Natalie picked up on the internet from some old time Canadian philosopher named Red Green. It's 'I'm a male, but I can change, if I have to. I guess', got it? Oh yeah, make a note to yourself to never, EVER challenge a female's cattiness or stomp on her competitive pride. Also, if these gals start yelling for you to strip, ummm, don't get upset! It turns out they are a very tough crowd."

"I have the Man's Prayer perfectly memorized, Cash-san, and I'm not about to repeat your related idiotic challenge to Miya. Have no fear that I'll err in a similar fashion with Sayomi and her Circle either. As for the rest of our Sekirei and Ashikabi, they have all seen my naked body at one time or another," Mutsu shrugged in indifference. "If they wish to see me totally abase myself while disrobed during my deepest apologies to them, I have no particular objections."

"Uhhh, yeah, uhhh, well, OKAY then, I guess. Look, Kitty, come here sweetheart." Cash, nonplussed at Mutsu's rather cavalier attitude and calmness in the face of another potential public speaking disaster, pulled Akitsu to him and leaned down to murmur in her left her. "I'm sorry I yelled at you earlier, sugar. Please forgive me! You're mine, and so beautiful, but this time, no matter what anybody yells at us, please keep your shirt on just for me, okay?"

"Yes, I will Husband," Akitsu began smiling in sweet contentment at his earnestness in keeping her for himself only. She brought her arms up to wrap around his neck, pressed herself into him, pulled his head down, and gave him a scalding hot kiss that made her sparkling white Norito wings blaze forth and shudder greatly behind her. "Ummm! Then Husband, you can take everything off me later!"

"Oh! Master! If I promise to keep my shirt on while you're speaking, can I be kissed like that now too? And then have you strip me later also?"

"Uhhh, that's not the point I was trying to make, Smitty!" Cash turned to look at his hopeful Amazon pleading for his attention with big soulful eyes. Shifting Akitsu to his left side, he did a quick, dismayed double take to see that the majority of the Sekirei standing down in front of the stage were already listening and smiling at them with gleeful anticipation. "After this is over, we'll..."

"Hey! Fair is fair! Throbbing Wolf! Either kiss ME now, or I'll take my shirt off and get this party started right!" Karasuba closed in and shared Akitsu's embrace from the right while giving him a rather evil grin of triumph.

"Oh, Lover! If those three get kissed for just a shirt, what can I get for not going full Monty?" Kazehana gave him a VERY sultry look as her hands suggestively went to her uniform belt fastener. Miya and Himeko, standing beside Kazehana, simply exchanged silent smiling glances and began unfastening their uniform shirt snaps too.

"Hah! You small time pikers!" Uzume turned a jaundiced eye towards Cash. "Joe, you forgive me for losing my temper, again, and kiss me now AND make me first later on, or you and I will BOTH go buck naked in about five seconds!"

"All right, all right! I'll do it! I'm gonna do it!" Cash immediately capitulated while giving the now grinning audience a deer caught in the headlights look. "Kisses for all of you, now! And, and, we'll work some kind of schedule out later, okay? Damn! Have a heart, will ya? I'm nervous enough already! And I don't want to star in another kabuki soap opera up here!"

Karasuba's lips claimed his before he could say anything else, and she got full value out of her threat. Her big, black iridescent wings shook and filled the stage as she shamelessly did her usual standing one leg hook around his waist to grind against him. When she finally broke contact to breathe, her face was deeply flushed and her chest was heaving.

"Ummm, my my, our bad boy is ready to get it on! I think I'm gonna have to have Uzume magically change my panties, again," she murmured in his ear. She leaned back a little to look at him, her eyes sparkling with highly amused deviltry.

"You really are the WORST!" Cash growled between clenched teeth in embarrassment as she shamelessly clung to him. Many appreciative whistles began sounding from the crowd.

"Oh, baby," Karasuba gurgled happily while shaking her head in mock sympathy. "You have NO IDEA how low I can really go! And we're just getting started together! By the way, I think I can help solve your Riko problem ... for a price."

"And that would be?" Cash eyed her with narrow suspicion as if he would ever refuse to give her anything. Damn! She felt good!

"The first long honeymoon of your Circle, just you and me in some forest Throbbing Wolf," Karasuba growled playfully while continuing to suggestively rub against him in full view of everyone. "And the first thing you have to do is kiss Riko right away so I can get that honeymoon. Ironic, huh?"

"Uhhh, yeah, I guess it is, isn't it?" Cash blinked at remembering Riko's initial reaction to his re-winging Karasuba on his apartment roof not so long ago. On the other hand kissing Riko in her current state wasn't all that appealing. The forest gig with Karasuba sounded much, much more interesting.

_"Cash Darling! Karasuba is PERFECT for helping us save Riko! Agree to her price! Quickly!"_

"All right, I agree," Cash lightly kissed the tip of Karasuba's nose as he looked over her shoulder to see his Pillar aggressively approaching them. How he was going to fly this deal past Kazehana was going to be an interesting challenge too.

"Watch and learn, girls!" Kazehana announced as she tossed her mane of thick black hair back and forth before shoving Karasuba none too gently aside. "THIS is the way to kiss my man!"

"Wait," Cash commanded firmly as he put up one hand to stop his Pillar. "Let me do this first, Rose, and then we'll put on your show. Uzi, bring Riko here."

Uzume dutifully floated her bond mate around Cash's left side where he turned Riko upright, lifted her chin, and kissed her very softly while letting his tongue slip between her unresponsive lips. She didn't even blink. Nevertheless, her large cobalt blue wings leaped forth and began shivering and shuddering as much as Akitsu's and Karasuba's.

"There," Cash announced in self congratulation. He had paid the price for whatever Karasuba had in mind. He hoped it would get him off a very poisonous hook with everyone, and at least Riko's hard wired Sekirei instincts worked. He then stiffened his backbone with a little false bravado while forgetting his own pledge to never challenge a female's competitive pride and cattiness. "Now Rose, let's see what you and the rest of your blackmailing shameless hussies have got!"

After each of his Circle publicly wrung their due from him with Akitsu insisting on and getting a second kiss or she would renege on her earlier promise, the highly entertained Sekirei out in the hall began drifting toward their seats at Kazehana's request to get the meeting started. Kazehana then stepped to the front of the stage to begin the proceedings and fill everyone in on what was going to happen and why.

"Cash-san," Mutsu said softly as he sidled next to Cash. "What was that earlier with you kissing Riko? Have you decided to keep her in your Circle? I can see quite clearly that you are not very fond of her. Why did you kiss her? Even in her damaged state that will imprint her even more strongly to you."

"Did you ever hear of taking one for the team, Muts?"

"I am familiar with the concept, but it seems rather drastic to me. And I don't believe I would be capable of bonding with any female as damaged as her mind feels. Nor would I want to."

"Well, to be perfectly frank, we have another small credo in America. If you break it, you pay for it and/or fix it. Riko's really not in any way at fault for what has happened since she got free of MBI. Her problem all along has been me, not her, and now it's up to me to make it right, for Riko, for Uzume, for my Circle, for the other Sekirei, and especially for Natalie. Riko's damaged tama is the direct result of me causing a giant needless case of prima donna poison by not taking Riko the first time we met.

"Sekirei bonding isn't quite as blind as it seems. Your species instantly measures an Ashikabi's psychic capacity for deep love before your bonding instincts kick in and then lets Mather Nature finish the deeper intimacies. I ignorantly circumvented that with Riko. I was too blind, stubborn, self centered, heartsick, and stupid not to see that she had come to me innocently giving all she had and ever hoped to be. I carelessly smashed and kept on smashing something very precious. She would have adjusted to me almost without effort if I had given her the chance because we were perfectly attuned to each other from the very beginning. She had no way and no skills to emotionally deal with everything that has happened since. I am now aware that she could never be happy with another Ashikabi and will quickly die if I don't keep her. I have to adjust to her somehow now, and restore her to all she can be."

"Interesting," Mutsu frowned slightly while thinking that he had just seen a true Prime Leader in action, and very definitely wanted no part of the job. "I'm glad it's your problem, not mine, Big Kahuna. So what are you going to do for her?"

"Don't know yet, but Kazehana has agreed to give me and Natalie a little more time to work on our Riko problem," Cash let out a heavy sigh, "Karasuba's going to help us now too, and for starters, my totally abased head is going to be down and my humiliated ass up in front of all our people. I'll be kneeling and groveling right along side you when it comes time for us two King Shit prima donnas to ask them for forgiveness. We've caused our team's poison. We have to flush it. That will at least get us a good start on solving our problems before Minaka's shit hits our fan here on Kamakura Island."


	28. Chapter 28

**The Game Changer**

**Chapter 28 – Pep Talks, Team Building - I**

With her back to the cold north wind on her cliff side seat, Riko watched in stony silence as a leaping feminine figure made swift yet graceful, long, high, zig zag bounds while progressing up the side of Kamakura Island's highest northern peak. The setting sun to Riko's right, as if dying and heading to its nightly watery grave, cast long shadows over the lower hills below and the central plain far off in the southern distance.

Far behind the oncoming leaper, occasional bright sparks of activity on the distant plain marked where Mutsu was attempting to find what different kinds of Circle meshed weapons were available from the varied powers of the Island's Sekirei defenders. The long, flowing black cloak with the distinctive crimson emblem, the lithe, athletically slim figure, the long curved sword belted to her left side while being held with her left hand, and the long, streaming, gray haired ponytail of the approaching female made her readily identifiable even at long distance. It was Karasuba, the ALMOST absolute last and worst visitor Riko had any desire to see, but at least it wasn't HIM.

Landing lightly while giving Riko an unconcerned grin, Karasuba lazily slouched down into a cross legged position to sit on her cloak and draw both sides around her just as Riko had done.

"Woo, kind of fresh up here, huh?" Karasuba exhaled and shivered slightly while gazing around at the panoramic vista of other nearby rocky peaks, ocean expanse, dying sun, and the shadow dappled landscape far below. She took another quick glance to her right to see Riko pointedly ignoring her arrival.

"Might even call it brisk, or a great way for a gal to freeze her tits off. Good thing I changed my damp panties earlier. A frosted crotch is no fun either. I well remember the last one you gave me the morning I met our Ashikabi. Those were fun times though, back when you were sure you were going to be Hubby's Number 1 gal, but I got there before you, and then I threw it away like an idiot. I mean, it takes a while to pound a lesson into this thick skull of mine, but there comes a time even I can see when I've been a total dumb ass."

Karasuba shook her head for a few silent moments, a wistful expression on her face while still gazing off into the distance. She could have been his Prime Pillar, his Number 1 Sekirei instead of … Karasuba then shrugged and smirked at Riko.

"You really should have jumped our guy and gotten winged back then like I advised, Reeker. Probably would have saved us all some grief if you had. It would have certainly changed the game Miya and I had been playing that's for sure. On the other hand, look at us now. Maybe you did us all a huge favor. We'd both make a terrible Pillar for Natalie since few Sekirei even tolerate nor real comfy around either of us. Some even hate Miya the Betrayer more than me. Funny, huh? Yet everyone has always loved drunk party girl Onee-chan for years and even respect her too. She's perfect for the job. I at least got Number 2, but you're still working hard on staying an unloved nothing. Ironic huh? Ya know what? The colors and clouds of this sunset almost reminds me of that 'Shinto Dawn' disaster he was trying to paint that morning I kissed him twice and you pissed him off so bad he's never given you a break since."

Riko rolled her eyes, sighed in irritation, and looked off towards the sun settling down into the Pacific Ocean through a long line of billowing pink and darker maroon cumulus clouds now highlighted from behind and glowing with bright golden edges. A shimmering golden triangle was also reflected over the empty ocean's gently swelling waves with the thin triangle's shiny base extending all along the island's western rocky shores. The vast emptiness of the almost calm ocean combined with the partially clouded yet endless sky made Riko feel very small, unimportant, alone, and quite sad despite unwelcome company. A long silence ensued. Riko sneaked a quick glance to her left to see a very relaxed Karasuba lazily smiling in comfortable satisfaction as she seemed to be focused on the far off southern plain.

"What are you doing here," Riko sighed in an annoyed tone that was more of a statement than a question.

"Doing?" Karasuba chuckled slightly while continuing to stare off to the south. "It should be obvious. I'm screwing off, of course. I have zero desire to help anybody dig a lake and feeder stream for Kusano, nor clear away earth down to bedrock for a shrine's solid base, especially since no one knows how to even design all of it let alone build it. And no matter how hard Mutsu tries to be a nicer guy, I can still only take my ass clown brother in short doses. I got real tired of him ordering me and Aki-chan to throw out larger and wider cones of hard frost and ice. He has other completed Circles that need more practice anyway, so I said screw it, and took a break as far away from him as I could get."

"You are wasting your time up here. You and I are NOT friends. We have absolutely nothing in common, nothing to talk about, and I don't want to be around you again, ever. There's nothing you can do or say to get me back down there either, and HE is NOT my Ashikabi. If all of you want a completed Prime Circle, then recruit another Sekirei, and forget me."

"Wow, heh heh, such bad vibes," Karasuba chuckled lightly again while giving Riko a highly amused look. "Seven assertions with one assumption and ALL of them wrong. If I even wanted to correct them, where to start?"

"Start by going away," Riko countered irritably, "like I'm going to do as soon as the sun sets. I'm only waiting for my Karasu suit's solar cells to finish recharging its batteries, then I'm history."

"Oh really? To go where and do what?" Now Karasuba was outright laughing. "You are going to abandon Mommy Dearest in her most crucial hour of need? AND Zoomer too? On an empty stomach? And half frozen up here too? What a crock!"

"I'm going back to Tokyo and restart my cleaning business," Riko declared huffily, "not that it's any of YOUR concern. Zoomer needs to stay here with HIM to live. I understand that, and it's fine. Go away! I don't need any more condescending laughter, mocking scorn, and public humiliation from any of you. You've all had your big dramatic scene and big laugh at my expense just like all the times I was growing up at MBI. You don't need me to save Natalie either. You have plenty of firepower to fend off anything the humans can throw at you. I'm sure you can find a solution to Minaka's tuned jinki threat as well. There's NOTHING you can do to change my mind, so just GO AWAY!"

"Oh wow! There's a really well thought out plan!" Karasuba continued to laugh. "Tokyo on an empty stomach? With a lot of great hot food in our mess hall just minutes away here? And where are you going to stay? Certainly not at Kazehana or Cash's old apartments. Maybe her ratty construction flop? And what clients will hire you? The whole freaking city is on alert to bag you on sight! With reward posters everywhere! The Robot Pink Terrorist of Tokyo with attached MBI identification photos! Burglar! Thief! Battery of Police! Wholesale property destruction! Subway and traffic jams! You'd get hounded out of the city before you rinsed your first toilet! Hounded while still hungry, cold, with no place to bathe and sleep! Hey! World! Look Out! Genius Riko has an incredible plan!"

"Then I'll go to Osaka or Hiroshima! Or even New York! There's a lot of dirty toilets there according to all the tourist guides. Don't even THINK you can change my mind about not staying here! Leave before I MAKE you leave!"

"Ummm, well, if I WERE trying to change your mind," Karasuba mused out loud, "which I'm not, or leaving either, even though I suppose you could throw me off this cliff any time you want, and TRY to ruin my mellow mood, but I'm not I'm not your problem here, nor am I going to let you ruin my good humor. Besides, after I had time to think it all over over, I've already said and done everything I decided to do to fix your situation for you anyway. I mean, I'm the military commander of our Prime Circle after all, and had to do my duty as Kazehana's number 2 responsible for esprit de corps, battle readiness, and all that rot, but it's done now, and I'm going to get my reward for it. No way you'll be able to ruin that for me either. Like I said before, I'm just up here screwing off. No need to get all upset and testy about it."

"Like I'd ever believe you're not here to get tricky somehow and make fun of me some more," Riko glared with narrow eyed suspicion.

"Hah, my tricky days are behind me," Karasuba chuckled once more. "What I've done this time was right out in the open in front of everybody, even you, and just like I told our Cash Joseph exactly what I wanted and was doing. No tricks, and despite what you think, I'm not making fun of you at all, and wasn't earlier, much. Your plan to run away just seemed incredibly short sighted and struck me as pretty funny. Especially after I just heard Sayomi say that her Order's Prime Center before Cash's father, Cash's grandfather, died when he was 902 years old. That's potentially a really long time to clean toilets in a giant pout if Cash lives up to his gene pool, don't you think?

"Besides, I was one of three that publicly voted FOR you, remember? Then I'm the one that bitched out Kazehana and Cash Joseph after you fled the last meeting while he was apologizing so profusely. Shame you didn't stick around to hear his very sincere efforts to make amends on your behalf. Half the crowd was crying when he admitted how badly he had treated you. I ripped Toys, Mekko, Aki-chan for being too short sighted, and Zoomer for pampering you too much when you royally screw up, but you weren't around to see or hear that either, but trust me. I did defend you then, although you are so wrong on so many things now, but hell, you'll learn sooner or later. I'm not worried about it. I think I'm gonna have to paint this sunset when I get the chance, ya know? I just love those colors."

Riko sat in silent anger for several minutes. As if she needed the Black Skank's help on anything, let alone be defended by her, or ANY apology from HIM!

"I am NOT a screw up!"

"Oh really? Must I count the ways you have fouled things up for yourself and our Cash Joseph from day one? Oh, with the best of intentions to be sure, but you've been a total screw up all right. With a very childish temper tantrum problem to boot. Why lie to yourself about it?"

"I admit I've made some mistakes, but nothing that warranted the treatment I got! Let alone be called a screw up by you! And HE is NOT our Cash Joseph, yours if you want him, but NOT MINE! He's, he's, he's an insufferable prick, and I'm NOT going to have ANYTHING to do with HIM ever again! EVER! I don't need MY situation fixed! Not by you or anyone else either! It's fixed! I'm leaving and never coming back, so don't try to stop me!"

"Okay," Karasuba shrugged agreeably, lapsing back into silence to once again gaze at the beautifully glowing sunset as if half mesmerized. If there was ever a picture of total unconcern, Karasuba's facial expression was the perfect model.

Riko clenched her fists while now really fuming inwardly. Something very bright flashed briefly on the southern horizon, so bright that it left an afterimage in the depths of her eyes. Something must have went very well from Mutsu's efforts to mesh several Circles' powers together. Despite her assertions to the contrary, Riko could sense that Cash Joseph was moving west to east very rapidly away from the distant flash location. I don't care! Riko yelled inwardly as she jerked her head away and looked up at the small puffs of dark clouds overhead whose western faces were now painted with the setting sun's maroon hues and different shades of deep pink. As soon as the solar power stopped charging her suit, she would be up among them headed for Tokyo never to see HIM again! AND She would NEVER be some ditzy perfect piece of shit that he HAD to swallow for HIS team! EVER!

"Ya know, I kinda envy you, Riko," Karasuba said abruptly while still staring at the slowly sinking sun now almost touching the ocean's horizon. She too looked up at the wide expanse of multicolored clouds above. "But I suppose I'm just lucky to even be here, so I really can't complain. Still, even though I got there first, you've really found something a little better with our guy since the morning you tossed me up into the clouds."

"He's NOT my guy! How many times do I have to say it!"

"Oh, quit lying to yourself again!" Karasuba gave Riko a look of mild irritation while shaking her head. "You and I both know that he's our guy, our Cash Joseph, our Ashikabi, our Prime Leader, and yes, sometimes our insufferable prick and jerk. We both knew he was pretty much of a typical blockhead male and a social nincompoop when we first found him. His mind was an open book back then, remember? He's grown so much since and will grow much more in the centuries to come. We also both knew he was greatly suffering emotionally from homesickness, culture shock, and a broken heart over his ex Agnes as well as worried as hell he was going to lose his baseball career. I just didn't know he had half starved himself to boot. We caught him at a very, very low point, and you know it, so quit acting so damn pure and put upon.

"Sure, it's been tough on us both since, and we've suffered from our own mistakes as well as his, but we are now in HIS Prime Circle and attached to him as thoroughly as we are attached to each other, forever. Even right now you can feel him moving back and forth on the other end of the Island as well as I can. You're BONDED to him, you fool! And he's NOT going to cut your bonding ever again, because he finally knows now for sure you can't live without it, and it would kill him to ever just let you die! Just like he couldn't let me die! You can go anywhere in the world you want, do whatever you want, but you aren't going to change that. Oh I suppose you could kill yourself, but if you really wanted to suicide, you'd have done it by now. And quit denying other obvious facts! You and I are too much alike not to at least see all the logical sides of our situations! That's probably why I like you almost as much as I like Aki-chan and went to bat for you, even as wrong headed as you're are now."

"So YOU say!" Riko spit out bitterly. "You weren't the one being cut to shreds in front of everybody! Nor being called an untrustworthy pariah! Haihane had NO RIGHT to call me out like that! Nor Kazehana! I did my part to save you, and then HE cut me loose! And HE didn't try to save me either! I had nothing to hang onto to live! Natalie caught me! HE gave me NOTHING! I didn't try to die! I didn't quit! I didn't break my Circle vows either! He's NEVER wanted me except a little bit when we first met! NEVER since! Now I DON'T want HIM! Now he wants to think I'm some repugnant something HE has to take for the team? What an ASS! He's worse than MUTS! And I'm NOTHING like you!"

"Bullshit, Riko, you opened your mind to your Sisters, remember? I KNOW you!"

"That doesn't make me anything like you!"

"Oh sure, I forgot," Karasuba nodded calmly. "YOU were never universally hated and distrusted for years and years, having to keep a tight mind shield up at all times, even while sleeping. YOU were not totally alienated with NO friends at all, in constant danger, lonely, unhappy, frustrated, and having to bear Ashikabi rejection pain and then even more pain for years and YEARS when he was killed by your worst enemy. Nor did YOU go totally insane for those years and years, murdering thousands of humans and our own kind to get revenge on everybody while hating yourself and everything around you.

"YOU were just disliked and bullied for being a closed off, super geek, little oddball that could never control her temper, nor her obvious total disdain for her weaker and dumber peers. It's just unfair you weren't universally liked for the sweetheart YOU really aren't. YOU'VE only been mistakenly seen as an arrogant, jealous, close minded, domineering, trouble making, drunken, temperamental, impulsive, and careless little twit since. It was SO unfair of him to never SEE and understand that YOU are his most special and loving Sekirei, and not really like what all the traits you were actually showing everybody.

"I, on the other hand, totally earned my rejection from OUR Cash Joseph and completely deserve YOUR contempt now. So why did he damn near kill himself and half of all Natalie's children to save ME and appear to cut YOU loose? It just doesn't make sense, does it? You're so much better than me! I mean, what in the hell was our INSUFFERABLE prick thinking? I'll tell you. He actually thought he was doing you a favor and was trying to reset and correct your flawed bonding with him, even giving you the choice to try restarting with another Ashikabi if you wanted. When it happened, was it his fault he couldn't SEE or FEEL your totally closed off mind to hold onto you like he could mine and Miya's? Why didn't you cry out to him or even just open up a little? If he had SEEN and FELT you, don't you think that he'd have brought you into the same dream state the rest of us were in? Maybe? Since you're so much better than me, and I guess Miya too?

"You're so right, Reeker. I'm nothing like YOU at all. I have finally understood what it takes to make my Ashikabi love me, love me beyond my wildest dreams, and even more than your happy ever after fairy tale bullshit YOU were trying to lay on me the day he re-winged me. So what do you call what's going on up here now, princess? If you weren't before, you ARE a quitter now, AND breaking your Circle vows by running away like the wrong headed little fool that you are being, but it doesn't matter. Even if he isn't the white knight in shining armor to your damsel in distress that you dreamed he would be, you'll be back."

"I'm NEVER coming back here!" Riko half shouted. "No matter what you think you've done to fix anything! And I'm not going to let you provoke me! And YOU went to bat for ME? Like I would ever believe that? Oh please!"

"Yep. I did!" Karasuba grinned triumphantly. "And I'll get my forest honeymoon reward I wanted because I did! All I had to do was get my Throbbing Wolf turned on a little to be more receptive and then kiss you afterward for it too. All out in plain sight! Cheap, huh?"

"How is THAT going to get you a honeymoon?" Riko demanded suspiciously while trying with everything within her not to use her powers to throw Karasuba as high into the colored clouds above as possible. Riko was determined to NOT give her grinning tormentor the satisfaction of knowing she had the power to provoke such an attack.

"You and you're stupid childish temper, Riko, so freaking predictable," Karasuba chuckled and shook her head to make her long ponytail waft about in the cold north breeze. The motion and cynical expression on her face said she knew quite well that she was within a hairs breath of getting launched high into the atmosphere and seemingly just didn't care.

"Listen up and learn something you little fool. Sekirei psychic bonding is a two way street with their Ashikabi. The stronger and already closely tuned the bonding pair before they kiss, the stronger it hits them. Today was the first time that OUR Cash Joseph actually EXCHANGED his DNA with yours. You got his DNA off his spork once, but this time he finally physically tasted yours, and you got a big healthy dose of his for once too! If you had been half as smart as you always think you are, you would have taken the opportunity to look into his eyes and mentally open up to him, really seal your connection to him, and put ALL of your and his heartaches and problems behind you, but it won't matter really. Sooner or later you two will be driven to get together and do it.

"We are Sekirei. You can go anywhere you want, Riko, and as far as you want, and be as totally unhappy with your Ashikabi as you can be, but you WILL come back. Your desires for him up to now have been child's play compared to what's going to happen to you next. Now that you have really tongue kissed and reacted to each other, within a day or so you'll start getting twitchy, have a huge case of sleepless nerves, needing him, craving him, constantly thinking about him, his smell, his taste, his touch, your mind always feeling he's alive and protectively tracking exactly where he is, and wanting to be there so that he can relieve that very bad ache inside your heart only HE can soothe. Then it will get worse, and then worse still, and then unbearable until you will simply move mountains to get to him or simply go insane if you can't.

"I know because I've been through it. So has Miya. The same is going to pretty much happen to him even though he's a human hybrid. He is going to go nuts trying not to think about you now, wanting you near to touch and caress, needing you, and nothing and no one else will be able to satisfy his desires for you. I know all about what that craving does to bonded Sekirei and Ashikabi, more than any of you, and that's what has earned me my long forest honeymoon with our Throbbing Wolf. Slick huh?"

"I'm still not connected to Cash Joseph as much as you and the others," Riko observed peevishly after taking several very long, glowering moments to calm down a little. "Nor is he tuned to me. I'll deal with it. Besides, thanks to Minaka, we might not have days."

"Well, yeah, there's that small possibility," Karasuba admitted with a small shrug, "but I'm not going to worry about it. The old Discipline Squad is together again here after all, and now we've got Natalie's weapons online and at full range, thanks mostly to you restoring Natalie's power and self repair capabilities by the way. As far as you being connected to our guy, you're lying to yourself again and way too over confident you can deal with being separated. You two are SO much alike and in sync already it's actually a little scary. You both have been defensive and closed off all your lives as well as social outcasts growing up. You both are so straight forward and logical in your thinking, usually, and way more powerful than you are consciously aware. You are both very quick tempered, snap angrily at anyone when suddenly pissed off and/or surprised, almost as emotionally insensitive as me, and yet still very romantic with an incredibly deep capacity to love.

"To top it all off, you both were and still are on the exact same, far upper level psychic wave length, have been from the very beginning. Didn't you ever think it strange you could only find a very few Sekirei you could mentally sense, let alone find an Ashikabi? So how did you find our Cash? The only man in the entire world capable of bonding with you? Now you really are bonded, thanks to me by the way, and don't even try to tell me you weren't worried about finding him in the beginning either."

"Well, yes, I searched for years, and finally found him while I was dreaming," Riko admitted as her head drooped. All that time, sitting in her cubicle, listening to all the other Sekirei chattering about all the possible human Ashikabi males they could sense outside MBI's tower walls when she couldn't feel even one. Then the night she had found Cash Joseph, such excitement! Such desire when she had finally seen him face to face that first morning of her freedom, and now? There was no other Ashikabi for her, no one to love in the world but him, ever, even though he had thoroughly pissed her off for good this time. But what if Karasuba was right, and she was being a total screw up, a quitter, and a childish fool, again? Her burning anger began to fade a little more as Karasuba's logic did make some sense the more Riko thought it over. Finally curiosity crept in.

"I still don't understand why you are up here now. Just what did you say to everybody when you supposedly went to bat for me, especially after those two mess hall meeting fiascoes, and why do you envy me if I'm such a pathetic, wrong headed, and foolish little twit as you think I'm being?"

"THINK you're being?" Karasuba said incredulously while shaking her head sadly. "Earth to Riko, do you really believe you're the only shrewish Sekirei to have her bonding screwed up as badly as yours? Want to hear the story of a foolish, young introverted gal who KNEW she had found her Ashikabi only to have him wing another first? Our heroine had been quite arrogant in her pride and power compared to other Sekirei, so his initial coolness towards her made her feel very scared and worried that HE thought there was something very wrong and lacking and unlovable in her. Nonetheless, she tricked him into bonding with her because she KNEW that he was hers, but their bonding was incomplete, badly flawed, and damaged. She became ashamed of herself and then turned bitter, angry, resentful, and oh so jealous of her other more powerful rival. The two bonded Sekirei now hated each others guts, and the more powerful was doing everything in her power to get their Ashikabi to reject the shrewish bitch his second Sekirei had become.

"The pain was unbearable when he did cut his second Sekirei's bonds, and then he died with no way to become reconciled. Both Sekirei he had bonded then suffered for years and years. It was only the fact that he had been such a weak Ashikabi that had only very lightly bonded with both in a very flawed way that enabled them both to survive and live on, but the pain, the pain was excruciating, and it never let up. It could only be barely accommodated while driving them both insane. Then years later they met the one human male they had both been bred to meet and bond. The same one you have found. The same one you were bred to bond and have as your Ashikabi. He was essentially a very nice, generous loving, and protective guy that didn't give a crap about anything in the past. He just accepted us both the way we were, demanding nothing but openness and honesty with him, which we stupidly didn't give.

"Can you believe Miya and I being that dumb? And then we suffered greatly again until HE was finally able to make us both right. Now all the pain is gone. All the love we ever wanted has been found and our mutual hate totally gone too. We could both snap him in two in a heartbeat, and yet now we both feel safe and secure and totally loved in his arms so that everything we have endured has been worth it. Now we have the best damn Ashikabi in the whole damn world. And he's your Ashikabi too. He WILL fix your relationship to him because he MUST, but only if you LET him. You'll go insane if you don't, trust me."

"I don't trust you any more than I trust Minaka," Riko's upper lip curled in disgust. "You've never liked me, Karasuba, ever. And you have always mocked me in the past. Why should I trust a single thing you say now?"

"First, I am your Sister," Karasuba smiled as she held up a forefinger as a counter. "More than a friend, more than just your Circle battle commander, and much more than just another Sekirei from Natalie's womb. I am committed for life to being totally helpful to you no matter what. I'm also one gal you KNOW is going to give you the most candid and honest assessment of anything that concerns us, maybe even more than Zoomer, especially your faults. Two, I very much need to see you and OUR Ashikabi get right with each other. We'll all be incomplete, hurt, weak, and aching without you until you do. When and if we fight, Kazehana, Miya, and I need to KNOW that you have our backs. We four are the strongest diametric points of our Circle. We simply can't have one missing. Otherwise we will spend all our time defending OUR Cash and not being effective on offense. Zoomer has the defensive instincts, but you have the POWER to keep us all covered, back, front, and both flanks. The other Circles need us to be their leaders and use our combined powers to boost theirs too. Without you everyone is crippled. I very strongly advised our Sisters how much we and our Ashikabi need you."

"Oh I'm sure they all feel that way!" Riko ground out. "I was worse than dirt to hear Kazehana talk! And she WAS my friend! Or so I thought!"

"True, but she also has big responsibilities now, deeper than her friendship with you. Even so I also very, ummm, heatedly pointed out that you might not have quit on us as much as you might have simply, foolishly, and emotionally misunderstood Cash's motives when he cut your weak bonds. You also never learned the psychic skills to stay near him enough to be re-winged right. I also bitched about the way you were treated in front of everyone. We should have put more private time and effort into trying to get you talking to us and Cash before the meeting. I also said what I thought about us screwing up and stupidly making decisions about you without his input too.

"He got blindsided in the first meeting, the same as you, and neither he nor Kazehana have the public leadership skills to handle that kind of open pressure yet, but they'll learn, and so will we all. We've only been a Circle of Sisters for less than a week or so, right? Let alone have everybody connected like we should be, which we're not thanks to you running out on us now. When we are complete, then those communication mistakes will cease. I'm absolutely sure of it. The question now is this, Reeker. If Kazehana and the others give you another chance, can you be Sister enough to accept it without losing your damnable temper again, AND can YOU also apologize for running off in a big snit and quitting on them now?"

"Maybe, but I'm NOT going to beg!" Riko muttered darkly, "And I'm not holding my breath for any apologies from my supposed Sisters either! YOU didn't get crucified in front of everybody! You didn't get that LOOK from Onee-chan! Those meetings were pure hell, and as far as I'm concerned, they broke their vows to me AND Zoomer!"

Karasuba thought this over calmly before finally nodding in agreement.

"You're probably right about who needs to make the first move, and our Circle really screwed the pooch badly there today. It certainly wasn't our finest hour to date, but hey, like we're perfect? On the other hand, those meetings were actually pretty productive because the other Circles and Sekirei needed to get to know their Prime Leader, especially if they're going to fight for him. It was good for him to see what kind of under socialized alien low lifes he's leading too. I mean, it's not like any of us were taught too many human social graces by MBI, right? All we've ever heard is fight, fight, fight until only one is left. Not too much there for high society refinement, huh? So we're a little lewd and crude. Big deal. Cash is no devotee of any Emily Post etiquette guides either.

"Anyway, I could have kissed Kusano for letting everyone see his deeply caring, approachable, and protective side. Maybe we got a little carried away teasing him too, but it was good to see the way he took it, handled it, and doesn't usually hold grudges, except a bad one towards you. I think that's his ball playing experience showing there. He automatically tries to create a team concept, and I can see how much more comfortable everyone all feels around him now. They also saw how he listens to, loves, and even submits to his Sekirei when needed, and these are the same Sekirei that have caused more trouble, anger, and heartache for everybody else over the years.

"Those meetings were also very important to the other Sekirei because they know he'll be fair and understanding when they screw up. And he wasn't afraid to apologize when he thought he screwed up. They could feel his power and willingness to tackle our problems with their help too, and that he wants to rely on them to help him as well. There were some very, very good suggestions that came out of their brainstorming on how we're going to deal with what's probably going to show up here late tomorrow or the next morning."

"I WON'T be here to see it," Riko said tightly. There was no way. She just couldn't face any more humiliation, any more anger, and any more disappointment from anyone, especially HIM. Scrub brushes and bathroom cleansers could never break her heart again either. "I'll be in Japan being a real WHIZ at cleaning toilets again. Alone."

"Well, suit yourself," Karasuba nodded agreeably. "That's an option I guess if you want to just quit and bug out on Natalie and Zoomer as well as the rest of us. Cleaning toilets until you go insane will probably be a LOT more fun than staying here. Here's an idea. I could stay up here with you and help you keep feeling sorry for yourself without you having to make that tit freezing trip to Tokyo. We could both just sit and freeze our asses off here all night instead, let alone our small boobs, another thing we have in common by the way. Or, even better, we could zip down south to our new base, get a nice hot dinner, and maybe take a nice hot bath before sleeping on a nice warm futon. Not that we could use your help or anything, but maybe early in the morning you and Zoomer could sneak out and make a waterfall, stream, lake, large shrine, and walking paths for Kusano in about ten minutes that would take the rest of us weeks to accomplish. On the other hand, a shrine for a Sekirei goddess like Mommy Natalie doesn't have to be all that impressive or show any kind of technical expertise that only you are capable of doing, does it? You might even help us try to get Natalie's hull free.

"And it's not like you'd have to talk to anyone while doing any of that, or that INSUFFERABLE prick Ashikabi of ours either. He is such a rotten bastard the way he treats everyone, especially Natalie and Zoomer. He just doesn't give a damn about such total losers like Windy, Mekko, and Toys, nor all the other Sekirei here on the Island either. He should never have saved Natalie, Aki-chan, and Zoomer's lives, let alone mine and Miya's. He should have just pitched his way back to the States and not even bothered, ya know? He's got no freaking skills other than baseball! Certainly not enough brains to be the Ashikabi for a sweet tempered, super genius gal like you! But NO! He had to SEEK us out and ruin all our lives like the thick headed jerk he really is! I mean, the nerve of the guy! Really! Why didn't he just mind his own damn business and leave us all the hell alone! Especially you! What an ASS!"

"You can really be a snarky bitch," Riko shot a sideways irritated look at Karasuba.

"You have no idea, Reek," Karasuba snickered in total self amusement, "but you will before we eventually die together. By then you'll have dropped all pretense that we have NOTHING in common, stopped lying to yourself, AND stopped pointlessly pouting in your silly, tit freezing ivory tower up here as well, hopefully. I mean, if we HAVE to be up here, there should be some point to it, like a giant ski run or something. Now there's an idea! We could get Aki-chan to make one helluva neat ice slide, steep drop and a long up and down run over those hills way over there! Heh! Zoomer could make us a big toboggan! What do you think?"

A giant fireball exploded on the southern horizon that seemed to encompass the whole end of the Island before Riko could answer. It curiously began to spread northward as a very warm glow that stayed in place just below the cloud layers without abating. It quickly became a glowing dome over the entire width and length of Kamakura Island. Riko immediately realized it would be prefect for screwing up visual and infrared scanners from satellites in orbit above them. Several thin green beams of energy then lanced skyward from Natalie's position. Something or things more massive must have been targeted also, because whatever was up there was then fired upon by pulsing balls of ravening, eye searing bright, blue edged plasma whose roars going up into the heavens reverberated loudly over the hills and echoed over Riko's cliff side seat.

"Looks like Homura and Natalie got a little action started already," Karasuba frowned slightly as her facial expression suddenly turned all serious. "It's earlier than expected. I suppose I should get back before the war starts without me. And I was having such a fine relaxing time just screwing off up here with you too. Oh well, I AM getting pretty cold and hungry."

"Why do you envy me?" Riko frowned after several long moments of silence when Karasuba still didn't move to go but sat silently watching the continued fireworks from Natalie's multiple weapon barrage going up into the skies above Kamakura Island.

"You, Reeker, with that pudenda nerve trick you told Zoomer about," Karasuba broke into her Cheshire cat grin, "have the unique ability to play the other eight positions on your Ashikabi's baseball team and the opposing hitter all at the same time. Anytime he wants to play a bed game, you can have him for a whole nine innings, more if you are tied and go into extra play. With the rest of us except for Himeko maybe, it's one or two strikes, and back to the bench. In short, you two can make him bang your brains out all night long, and the rest of us will always have to settle for a helluva lot less, unless of course you can teach your trick to me too."

"Correction, you are a crude snarky bitch."

"Yeah, so, you want to go see why Natalie is shooting her main weaponry? Maybe get some hot grub and an even hotter shower or bath? You can be with me when I give a little pep talk to Zoomer too. We'll have a little dinner party, just the three of us?"

"Ummm, I want to sit here a little longer before I go to back to Japan," Riko slowly shook her head, "I, I just can't face going back down there and seeing anyone, especially HIM."

"Okay, can't say I didn't freeze my ass off trying to help you. Feed your wounded pride some more if you have to. It's a very cold and unsatisfying meal. I know, because I've been there and done that, but I'll leave since I'm apparently done screwing off, and we have nothing else to talk about, nor apparently as much in common as I assumed. It's too bad you can't learn from your older Sister's mistakes after all. I really thought you were smarter than me, Riko.

"Another thing to think about. Not every Sekirei winging goes right at first meeting and kiss. Himeko got her immediate fairy tale love story with her Ashikabi at the same time as Toys, but Toys was really screwed up psychologically by Higa and didn't get the same happy ending exactly. She's still fighting Higa's left over dirt in her soul. Now why is that? Did you ever stop to think that maybe you were pretty screwed up before you met Cash, and maybe he was too a little? Otherwise why would he react so well to me? We both know I'm a nutcase, right? Maybe you need to take a look at your own baggage before you met him. Here's something that just came to me too. Maybe he's struggling to adjust to relationships where the male is physically weaker than the female, and he's still pretty scared of you as well as the rest of us, but more of you and maybe Kazehana because you two have actually attacked and hurt him. Like I said, all that's just something to think about, Little Sis."

"HE has no cause to HATE me like HE does! It's unforgivable!"

Karasuba shrugged as she stood up and then gave Riko an arched eyebrow look over her right shoulder. It didn't take a genius to see the disappointment and half amused disgust in Karasuba's expression at what she thought was Riko's immature and unforgiving stubbornness.

"Well, anyway, you'll be back, sooner or later, Reeker, or simply go more nuts. Just a small tip, Little Sis. If you and that insufferable prick Ashikabi of ours do meet up in the near future, don't be a damn fool and start making any stupid demands. Don't say a damn word. Just look him in the eyes and completely drop your mind shield. Trust his innate power and instincts. It took a while for THAT lesson to be pounded into my skull too, but I've finally learned it. You should too. Until you do return, just remember it was YOU that went after HIM in the first place, and YOU didn't really give HIM a choice whether to get involved with all of us or not. I'm really grateful that you lead me to him because none of us would have found him on our own. After I kissed him, YOU'RE the one that totally pissed him off so bad when you shook him that he's never forgiven you for it, like any typical weaker male with a lot of pride I suspect. And you still can't see it? Oh, well, thanks for my forest honeymoon anyway! Even without your pudenda nerve trick, I'll take very good care of our Throbbing Wolf when the time comes! Ta ta, kid."

With that last, Karasuba smiled triumphantly, gripped her sword's pommel with her left hand, and launched outward in a prodigious leap that saw her land lightly long moments later before taking another from much farther down on the now darkened peak's rocky face. The blazing and roaring blue/white and green blasts of Natalie's energy weapons still lancing skyward and Homura's glowing orange/red heat dome over the Island all served to illuminate Karasuba's rapidly bounding progress over the dark hills towards the south.

Riko silently watched her Sister go while suddenly feeling very alone, cold, hungry, and smaller still, inside and out. Had her enraged shaking of Cash Joseph when Karasuba had re-winged herself that morning been the real key to all of Riko's failures with him ever since? But why? He had never really said, had he? But then again maybe he had said it repeatedly every time he mentioned how much he hated being jerked around, as well as being forced to do things against his will, especially by her. And he'd had almost no patience with her damnable short temper since either. Was she now doomed to suffer 900 unloved years because of one childish, rooftop temper tantrum? Besides, hadn't she already apologized for it? Why had he still held a grudge about it? Had there always been something wrong with her before she had met him?

The chilling north wind strengthened to ruffle Riko's bobbed hair across her reddened cheeks. It made her shiver violently under her black Circle cloak as all of Karasuba's visit kept replaying inside Riko's heart and mind. She didn't notice Natalie's weapons continuing to rapid fire into the heavens. Neither was she aware that, all along the high peak's cliff and over Riko's hunched body, the cold wind moaned in lonely sorrow as the sun's last little red sliver finally slipped into it's nightly ocean grave.

***scene break***

Cash, feeling slightly chilled in the base heliport tower's top control room, sat alone in the controller's padded and swivel roller console chair. He stared morosely out of the large reinforced glass windows at the northern peaks' darkened silhouettes that separated them from the strange, dull red glowing dome that now encompassed Kamakura Island. The warmth from that dome, generated by Homura and now somehow held in place by a meshing Kusano, Tsukuimi, and Taki of the Mists, had made the building's air conditioning kick in to make Cash feel a slight cool breeze waft over the back of his neck. He could also feel that Riko was still sitting stationary on the highest point of the northern horizon, emotionally alternating from high waves of hot anger, bitter resentment, and firm resolve to deep lows of depression, uncertainty, and chilled fear.

Cash shook his head in worry. Damned if I know what to do with or for her, he thought miserably. I gave it my best shot, and all it did was piss her off again. If I cut her loose, she dies, but if I keep her, then we'll all be miserable as hell unless somehow we all get straightened out, but how? They were all farther apart from Riko now than they had ever been.

Earlier in the mess hall after Karasuba had so bluntly pointed out what a bunch of dumb shits they had all been in handling Riko's ongoing disorder, an equally upset, partially blaming herself, distraught but determined Kazehana had strictly forbid Cash from going after Riko. Cash the Prime Leader was everything. An angry, unhinged, dangerous, and unpredictable Riko that wanted separation and powerful enough to keep them all away from her was not worth his life. If Cash died, Natalie and her Prime Circle died, Riko died, and the other Circles would most certainly go insane if they didn't die also.

Kazehana's point was simple. The fleeing Riko had made herself expendable. Cash was not. He would stay where he was the safest, and that was that. Riko would return on her own or be an outcast to live or die alone. It was her choice. Karasuba had volunteered to go talk to Riko if she could, but that was all anyone would be allowed to do. Cash had tried to protest, but Kazehana had simply crossed her flat palms before her chest and silently glared at him. Cash, as well as every Sekirei in the building had gotten the message. The Prime Pillar had spoken and nobody had better test her will when it came to protecting her man, not even her man. Riko was own her own.

What was worse, Cash groused to himself, was the little idiot had exposed herself and later the visiting Karasuba to the enemies' satellite and over flight surveillance that was constantly monitoring Kamakura Island from orbit and high altitudes. Every human nation capable of putting something up there must have identified Riko from the 24/7 Tokyo newscasts and MBI posters as the destructive and panic inducing Robot Pink Terrorist of Tokyo and predictably targeted her for immediate elimination. A later exposed, well remembered, and readily identified Karasuba must have just been a bonus. Orbital and sub-orbital weapons ranging from rail guns, lasers, guided missiles, and scram jet smart bombs had been locked on and fired at the pair of Sekirei before a harried and weary Matsu and Koko had been able to counter spike those computer commands.

Mutsu had then had no choice but to open up with Natalie's weapon systems on what had already been launched. The Sekirei ship's plasma cannons had simply vaporized the incoming attacks high in the atmosphere while Natalie's particle beam and laser weaponry had turned the enemies' launching platforms into worthless floating space and near space junk. Mutsu had then ordered everything above and within scanning distance of Kamakura Island to simply be yanked down out of orbit by Natalie's tractor beams to harmlessly burn up over the Pacific Ocean. The enemies' eyes, ears, and high attack capabilities were now gone, but Cash had been very unhappy with the whole operation. All illusions of a possible first peaceful encounter late tomorrow were in the toilet, and the whole mess had started all because his screwball Riko had thrown another damn tantrum.

Damn! What do we do now? Cash brooded in rising silent anger. Not only had the now approaching human fleets seen exactly what Natalie's highly advanced weaponry was capable of doing, the demonstration would surely increase their desire to acquire it for themselves and had exponentially upped the chances for a very bloody confrontation in the near future. Loss of all their armed and surveillance satellites as well as high altitude planes must have been damn expensive. So too would mounting an invasion with at least three and possibly four converging aircraft carrier task forces. The invading human military commanders would have to do something to protect the decision making politicians' butts from an unhappy public back home after spending so much money.

Now, for at least those reasons as well as the usual military competition to dominate one another, the enemy fleets would go all out with their damned tuned jinkis, ships, planes, and manpower to invade Kamakura Island and would be met with everything Natalie and her Sekirei Circles could muster against them. That would become the exact type of meaningless and solving nothing slaughter that Cash was determined for everyone to avoid, but now it seemed more likely than ever before, especially if Mutsu had his way. If only Natalie could be freed from the rocks holding her, but there was no time! It was enough to make a preacher cuss, Cash sighed to himself as he palmed his forehead and began rubbing it, brooding over his unhappiness with Riko and trying to think of something, anything, to avoid a no win war tomorrow, one that couldn't be left up to the much more aggressive Mutsu to fight.

Mutsu had been very enthusiastic about the ability of his and Shiina's Petals to link up and project Shiina's Death Garden power to a conical distance of over thirty kilometers out and ten kilometers in diameter. One blast with their two circles linked together and dead fish had floated to the ocean's surface in astonishing numbers to join the flocks of dead sea birds falling from the sky. Who knew what total devastation Shiina's enhanced power would wreak upon attacking ships and planes? Muts had also been suitably impressed with Miko, Sanada, and Kouji's Circles to mesh with Seo's and blast out a massive ball lightning attack that had went even farther and wider.

Then all six Circles had been able to mesh with Minato's to produce Homura's outward moving giant fireball that had projected such searing intensity and heat the already dead and floating fish and birds had simply charred and cooked in the boiling water off Kamakura's Island's southern coast. Mutsu's pleasure at their combined lethal capabilities was also reflected in the faces of all the Sekirei and their Ashikabi, so much so that it seemed they had no qualms at all in the unleashing and obliterating any opponent trying to get close enough to use their tuned jinki weapons. Only Cash had silently shook his head in disappointment at Mutsu's meshing practice.

Sickened at the amount of needless wildlife death he had witnessed, the destructive powers meshed Sekirei could unleash, and also at the absolutely mind boggling power of Natalie's weapons, Cash had fled to seek a place to think in whatever solitude Kazehana would allow, which was namely him sitting at the console of the heliport's tower while his seven Sekirei watched him silently from the lounge area on other side of the entirely glass walled top floor. He had also asked Natalie to stay silent and let him think, but concentration was hard to come by, especially with Riko's emotional roller coaster hitting him in waves from the north.

Damn! He hated feeling so freaking helpless and out of sync with everyone around him! There had to be a better answer than murdering thousands upon thousands of troops! There just had to be! He didn't really know what plasma cannon or particle beam weapons were either, but they had certainly looked lethal enough blasting up into the sky earlier. No way were conventional human weapons going to stand a chance against them, but then again, they only had to get close enough to fire their jinkis. If only he hadn't messed up with Riko from the beginning, maybe he would have had a better grip on things now. Or better yet, never met her at all. Then this would all be Minato or Seo's problem! All he had ever wanted to do was play baseball, not totally screw up as an alien space ship's Prime Leader! Damn, damn, DAMN!

Cash had never been one to sit in the corner of a dugout and brood over errors made during the course of a baseball game, especially those made when he was pitching. Although some badly misplayed balls skipped off a glove and allowed unearned runs because of a player not being focused, out of position, or simply lacking in skills, baseball was a pretty good mirror of life in general after all. Shit happens. Maybe the field was wet and slippery due to a recent rain and caused a fielder to miss a catch. Perhaps the infield dirt had lumps from a poorly paid ground crew and a routine ground ball skids sideways after hitting a bad spot. The grass wasn't cut right, and the ball's speed misjudged. An easily caught fly ball gets lost in the sun or night lights. Gusting winds, hot dog wrappers, overly aggressive fans leaning out into play for a souvenir, two non communicating players colliding, dust in the air, a flock of low flying birds or a squirrel on the diamond distracting a fielder, and any other number of minor irritants that affect the game had never really bothered Cash either.

They all went into making baseball the wacky, ever changing, unpredictable, interesting, and totally lovable, fun, and addictive pastime that it is. Besides, sooner or later, most of the reasons behind players making errors tended to even out over a long season and weren't anything to really brood about. Cash had learned long ago to let past mistakes not bother him much, learn from them sure, but not dwell on them. That's why it was highly unusual for Cash to be sitting off to one side in the heliport's tower and be second guessing and brooding about the day's previous events, and of course, Riko.

On the other hand, Cash had never been in any badly handled situations on a baseball diamond or off like he had experienced today, nor what he was facing now with Riko that was distracting his thoughts on the invasion. Oh sure, he had played on several teams with teammates he didn't particularly like and some he really disliked, but he had still been able to play with them and in several cases play well. He had also played poorly himself upon occasion to cause problems for himself and piss some teammates off, but the anger had never lasted like it had with Riko.

Everybody has their off days, but the way Cash had dealt with them in the past was putting his errors in perspective, learn from them, let them go, and begin looking forward to playing better the next game. He also gave his error prone teammates the same treatment and never wallowed in rancor or disapproval towards them, just looked to the future for improved play. Only this time, and for once his life, experiences from baseball was letting him down because nothing he had learned in the game his whole life was applying to his unhappy situation with Riko.

His major problem with Riko was that not only was there little about her personally that Cash actually liked, he couldn't really see himself coming to love her in the near or even far future. Therefore he wasn't looking forward to seeing her again, let alone having her around him the rest of his life. After all, he had made the most abasing, totally sincere, and publicly humiliating apology of his life, and a lividly angry Riko had literally flown away in the middle of it. What was that? He had no idea what had pissed her off this time, and now even less for what to do about it. Somehow, someway, he had to turn his lousy relationship with Riko around, but first he had to find the will to do so and at the same time try to stop a stupid war. It didn't help in not knowing who was the bigger foul ball in this mess either, him or Riko.

Okay, if baseball's lessons in life weren't aiding him, then what else did he have? Old Man Warner's old timey adages like, "There ain't no such thing as a free lunch" and "When idiots self destruct, let 'em" or "Different people do different things differently, not necessarily better or worse, just different." What was that anyhow? An all inclusive shot for accepting world wide diversity? How about Clark's 2nd Law of "The only way of discovering the limits of the possible is to venture a little way past them into the impossible" or even Dilbert's Principle of "The most ineffective workers are systematically moved to the place where they can do the least damage: management!" Old Man Warner also used to say, "Son, you're a pretty good pitcher, but there's always gonna be damned good hitters that are better. So if you can't dazzle 'em with your speed, then baffle 'em with your bullshit." Then the old standby, "Giving up is easy. Winning is hard."

Cash gave up. No help there either. Old time adages had never been one of his strong points anyway. He leaned back in his chair and took a deep breath. He was spinning his mental and emotional wheels here for Pete's sake! Maybe he could think better while throwing a ball against the wall over at the base recreational hall. At least he wouldn't feel so freaking worthless and helpless!

He felt a cool feather touch on the back of his neck that made him flinch badly sideways and turned to look over his right shoulder. It was Natalie standing behind him. Wait. Natalie?

"Cash Darling," Natalie bit her lower lip with the same worry reflected in her large, dark, and almond shaped eyes. "I, I had to touch you! You simply can't keep beating yourself up all alone like this. I'm here for you! Kazehana and the rest of your Circle are here for you! We're a team, right? Don't you always say that? You need to eat and get some sleep, Darling. We'll work on our troubles tomorrow. I'll keep trying to reach Riko even though she's closed me off. She hasn't left the Island yet like she told Karasuba she was going to do. You both just need to calm down and give it some more time. Mutsu has sent Matsu and Koko to eat and rest too. The approaching Chinese carrier task force has slowed. So has the Hindi and Russians. The American submersible is still in Tokyo harbor. Their probably examining my defensive measures quite extensively. All spacial attacks have ceased, and their systems above the island have been destroyed. It will take hours before they can maneuver more orbital assets to pass over us. No human being can parachute or glide through Kusano's heat dome and live either. We're safe for the time being. Please Darling. Take care of yourself for us."

"Okay, I will, but Natalie, how are you able to materialize outside your hull?" Cash blinked in total bafflement. "I mean 3D holograms and then going solid somehow for Mutsu in your stasis chamber were spooky enough, but now? Here? This far away? How?"

"I analyzed how you used my hologram before and utilized the results to improve my 3D programming to upgrade my new simulacrum capabilities. To make my solid form, I use your massive psychic powers ..."

"My massive psychic powers?" Cash squinted in pained confusion as he interrupted.

"Yes, from your subconscious that meshes you and Akitsu into my holographic systems. I also draw on Karasuba's psychic projection and Uzume's ability to create organic material from atoms and compounds around her, copy Toyotama's enhanced skeletal structure and muscle synapses, and use Miya's limited kinetic powers for movement. I'm also using Miya and Kazehana's broader range of psychic powers for overall stabilization. I'm still learning how to adjust Himeko's intricate sensory inputs, but I'm not sure how much better I can make my simulacrum. I have to extrapolate what all eight of you are seeing and hearing for sight and sound inputs. Coordinating an organic speech synthesizer with my face and lips proved a little tricky. I hope it looks and sounds pleasing. I can't walk very well either, and I'm limited to very basic movements, at least for now without Riko connected to me. My projection range is going to be constricted to just within a few meters of you and Akitsu, but as long as Miya and Kazehana boost my own natural psychic ability, I can materialize and be with you anytime, anywhere!"

"Yeah? That's great!" Cash blinked anew as that statement with all its implications sank in and then muttered, "I think. Uhhh, why here and now? Is something wrong other than me being worried? Muts got a problem with our defenses?"

"Cash Darling," Natalie began hesitantly, "No, nothing wrong or any problems with defenses. I, I, know you asked me to stay silent and let you think, but I just got so worried hearing your thoughts and wanted to cheer you up and comfort you. I, I was also hoping you, you know, now that we can, could you maybe give me a hug too? I've never had one, ever."

Cash swiveled his head to look at his other seven Sekirei who were now standing and silently staring in open mouthed astonishment at a solid Natalie wearing her battle uniform. He turned back and stood up himself while moving his padded and swivel rolling chair aside. He gave her a hug that lasted several seconds, but her simulacrum body temperature felt too cool and made him step back again at the weirdness of that feeling. Still trying to deal with Natalie now being able to materialize around him 24/7 in a simulated body, he gave Natalie a quick up and down appraisal as she smiled warmly up at him. Her exquisite facial features and measurements were very similar to Kazehana's except on a smaller scale. She was almost closer to Riko's height and petite size actually, maybe with a little more up top and out back.

"You look great, Natalie. I've always thought of you as kind of a composite of Kazehana and Riko in my mind, but you KNOW that," Cash said somewhat lamely as he saw the hopeful expression on her face. She was obviously seeking his approval of what she could do and what he was physically seeing.

"Every one of my children have half of me in them, sweetheart," Natalie chuckled lightly at his still half stunned expression. "I'm sorry I feel cold to you, but I'll work on that, but for now, do you REALLY like what you see, Cash Darling? Or, oh I know! Maybe you would like to see me in different clothes! I made a very extensive web search for them to show you! Watch!"

Cash took another involuntary step back to bump up against the control console with the back of his thighs as her impromptu fashion show began. Natalie's Sekirei battle uniform changed to a crimson business suit that had black high heel shoes, a very short, tight skirt, and bulging black silk blouse with a plunging neckline. That changed into blue jeans, white sneakers, and a red elastic halter top. Then a plaid, pleated, short skirt school girl uniform, a very daring yellow thong bikini, a peach colored yet gauzy harem outfit, demur black slacks with a frilly, white short sleeved blouse, a dark red cheongsam decorated with pink buttons and white cherry blossoms, a sheer black teddy similar to what Himeko liked to wear at night, a shimmering, long, lavender colored evening gown that could have been worn at any Miss World contest, and finally a traditional, dark blue, Japanese yukata with white dragon designs.

"You are simply amazing, Natalie," Cash shook his head in wonder while something still puzzled him. "What do you mean your children have half of you? They have half of your DNA somehow? Then at one time you must have ... Hey, were you physically alive in your own real body in the past and made eggs? Please explain."

"Yes, I was actually alive as a normal Sekirei once, The One Who Kills in a military Nest," Natalie looked up at Cash with almost an apologetic expression. "I learned most of who I used to be when Riko helped recover a lot of my personal data files after my anti-matter power was restored. My original family name has been totally erased, but it says in my files I fought in an interstellar Sekirei war in another galaxy eons ago. Well, I had begun to, I guess, according to the one battle record in my files.

"The after action report states that One Who Kills in a Circle from an elite young Nest of Sisters was killed during their first raiding mission. It was supposed to be a stealthy orbital drop to attack an underground enemy control bunker to assassinate its personnel and broadcast false data up to the planet's orbital defenses. That would facilitate a full scale invasion. The base's robotic air defense was unfortunately activated before the raiding Nest even hit the ground and the One Who Kills from one Circle was hit hard during her free fall descent, recovered in mid air, and evacuated without actually ever fighting. This was the only casualty out of the Nest's sixty four Sekirei that attacked and completed their mission for their Prime Leader.

"The One Who Heals in that unlucky Circle kept her mortally wounded Sister alive long enough for the hospital ship's medical team to harvest all her organs as well as the comatose brain that would be given a choice to become a womb ship's primary gestalt. This was because the dying One Who Kills still had healthy ovary tissue, and it could be cyro-preserved so that viable eggs could be produced, fertilized, and later stabilized for transport in a stasis chamber.

"Upon awakening, I was given a briefing of what had happened to me and given a choice to die honorably and burned with the rest of my ashes that were being returned to my home nest, or have my memory partially erased so as not to remember my family Nest nor my former military Circle. That was the only way I would be allowed to live on as a womb ship's primary gestalt and bond to a new Circle of Sisters. Our Galactic Council advised they badly needed a One Who Kills gestalt to complete a Circle getting ready for transport in a new Nest. It was something to do with there was only a small window of opportunity to launch for Earth and synchronize our arrival in the time frames needed to maximize results from an earlier expedition. I chose to live on as a womb ship because, well, I wanted to bear children someday when I was alive, so I consented.

"A new graduate from one of Kouten's many Fleet Academies named Miya was assigned and imprinted to me as Prime Pillar, and then I had my eggs fertilized by the Sekirei/Human Merging Program just before transit. Our trip to Earth was our first womb ship mission, and you pretty much know the rest, except Miya was never meant to take part of the Merging program. She was also never physically bonded to our Prime Leader due to the urgency of departure. It was supposed to have been consummated when we arrived and had more time, but it never happened. You know her full story now too."

"Oh wow," Cash muttered inanely for want of anything intelligent to say. He was so completely glad Natalie was here now and his, but what she must have suffered was also totally disconcerting. Also, multi-powered Miya was just a normal, average, every day, garden variety, full fledged Sekirei on planet Kouten? Never really meant to participate in the merging plan? What in the name of Super Girl must the really gifted gals on that planet be like? Wait. Wasn't Natalie one of the truly gifted, full blown, full powered Sekirei if she had been in an ELITE Circle? That meant that neither she nor Miya should have been able to completely bond with a human male but only a full blood Sekirei male and possibly a very powerful one at that. Therefore, what kind of total freak was Cash Joseph Archer?

"Cash Darling, I, ummm, I still have the capacity to ..." Natalie hesitated as she winced slightly and then abruptly changed the subject.

"Being able to express and feel my true self like this in the real world again, even though it's not a living body, it's still, so, so, wonderful! Far beyond anything ever mentioned as being possible in my data files! I can't begin to thank you, Cash Darling! Even though both first missions I went on became disasters, they were worth it now that I have you! I never knew such happiness could be possible! And now we're married! With a new and oh so wonderful Circle! Never alone again! Ever! We are going to have such a beautiful life together!"

Something lurched in Cash's heart and mind as he turned his head and looked out at the distant scenery. His Natalie had basically been killed in some long forgotten war? Uselessly? Like his Dad? She had suffered near death and so much despair, pain, and hopeless loneliness, twice, and yet now HE had been WORTH all of that? For the most part he had done very little to deserve her and her faith in him, let alone the seven lovely Sekirei still staring at them both from across the complex. Actually he had been doing as much as he could not take on any responsibility for anyone but himself, like the dugout oddball loner that he had always been on every baseball team he had ever been on. Now he was a Prime Leader facing another useless war that was certain to make masses of widows, widowers, and orphans? He turned to look down into Natalie's eyes now gazing up at him with such loving warmth, desire, and happiness.

"Oh! Wow! Darling! You have such beautiful deep blue eyes! Wouldn't it be so pretty if we had," Natalie paused, bit her lower lip anxiously, and then set a determined expression on her face. "Cash Darling, there's something I've always been thinking about, and, and was kind of scared to, well, you see, I, I wanted to ask if you'd, ummm, maybe like to fertilize more of my eggs someday, ummm, when things are more settled. I ran a diagnostic on my preserved ovary tissues in my womb capsule, and they are still 100% healthy just as the virgin I was before I was first wounded eons ago. There would only be room for 108 of our babies at a time though."

Holy Incubators, Batman! was the first immediate thought of a truly stunned Cash.

"Hey, wait a second!" Kazehana exclaimed as she rushed towards Cash, elbowed Natalie aside, and threw herself into his arms. "I'm the Prime Pillar here! And don't any of you forget it! You too Natalie! If there's any baby making going to happen with our man, it's going to be with me first!"

"Hey! No fair! Cash Darling was going to hug me some more! These are my first hugs ever too!"

"Windy, you putz!" Karasuba growled irritably as the rest of his Sekirei closed in. "You're letting this Prime Pillar crap go too far to your head! The rest of us have the same right to Cash's spunk as you do! And a hug! He's already promised me the first honeymoon and a daughter too!"

"Oh me too! A honeymoon!" Toyotama cried out while bouncing on her toes in excitement. "I want to make babies! Girls with Master's blue eyes!"

"Joe! I want to name my first one Chiho!"

"Oh, Husband! Honeymoons and babies! Yessssss!" Akitsu and Himeko chorused together, their eyes sparkling.

Miya, standing sedately behind the others, simply looked over Kazehana's shoulder at the now totally chagrined Cash with a small smile and arched eyebrow, pursed her lips in a kiss, and then gave him a slow sensual wink. It didn't take much of a genius nor anything he'd ever learned about life from baseball to figure out what kind of baby making marathon his most mature and full blood Sekirei was planning for them.

Suddenly, Cash felt very young and foolish as well as unworthy. Forget baseball and Old Man Warner's life lessons. What would his Dad have done? The last thing he had said to Cash before leaving for that stupid sandbox war was that he was counting on Cash to "Man Up" and be the man of the family until he returned, but now, an overly emotional Sekirei family capable of producing at least 116 kids every year? Where in the hell would they put them, let alone how to feed them all? Besides, Cash had failed miserably at being the "man" of the family, especially when the females at home had all basically went insane when his Dad had been killed.

"I've got a little errand to run, Cash Dear," Miya announced over her Sisters' semi quarreling but good natured chatter. "I'll, ummm, TALK to you later about this topic, okay? By the way, you should know that our males incubate all Sekirei eggs in the nest to maturity once laid."

"Jeebus," Cash muttered in further total shock. He needed a very long throwing session and maybe a 5K run to think THIS all out! Sekirei laid EGGS? Eggs incubating in a nest? Man, would that ever mess up spring training! As he sank back down into his padded, swivel roller chair, he turned the enthusiastic and now heartily laughing Kazehana around, pulled her down, and let her sit and wiggle on his lap. She reached one arm around his head to draw his left cheek to her kissing lips. His other Sekirei and Natalie's simulacrum began to fondly touch and hug what they could reach while laughing and chatting excitedly about their Circle's future brood and what to name each one.

What in the Hell had he gotten into? Cash wondered incredulously to himself. How in the name of any decent member in good standing of the Determined to Remain a Bachelor Club had he failed his membership so badly? Hadn't he told Riko on their first meeting that he was absolutely going to stay a single ballplayer for a long, long time to come? Kiss that a hearty goodbye. On the other hand, it could never be said that he'd ever want for fond attention or suffer loneliness in his life again, because his Sekirei were naturally intimately touching females and unabashedly demonstrative of their loving feelings as well. Egg hatching? He might as well get used to it, or at least learn his own version of the Man Prayer about changing his lifestyle, if he had too, he guessed.

Cash glanced once more towards the northern horizon and its dark jagged line of rocky peaks. Loneliness and despair had seemed to have won out over Riko's hot anger and bitter resentment from what he was sensing now. Cash shook his head at all the unusual emotional pressure and indecisiveness he was experiencing now. Out there was another Sekirei making him feel young and foolish too, as well as inept, and now, as if a coming senseless war and an terminally unhappy Riko weren't enough to deal with, he had pitied Mutsu? Also feeling like he had very little mature fatherhood potential, especially in mind boggling numbers, he could almost empathize with Riko's lonely despair despite the warm, excited, and clinging female bodies now clustered and still laughing all around him. Cash shivered slightly at the daunting new meaning of "Man Up" in his near future.

***scene break***

A puff of cool air came in the base mess hall when the front entrance doors were opened. The place was half empty as Miya made her entrance, so it only took a moment to spot Sayomi and her sister Petals sitting in one small isolated and rather gloomy looking group in the back far corner. The facial expressions on the eight human women ranged from wounded apprehension to uncertain resentment to outright glowering anger at the way they were clearly being ostracized by the other Circles and unattached Sekirei still eating their evening meals. Miya took a deep breath, set her face into a warm, friendly, and diplomatic smile, and seemed to casually stroll over to Mutsu's bonded females before throwing her long battle cloak to one side and seating herself across from Sayomi.

"Well, it's been an interesting day," Miya began with a rueful smile while blandly ignoring the eight unhappy and resentful facial expressions she got in return. She placed a small plastic sack on the table in front of her while the Petals all paused in eating to exchange dark looks amongst themselves. "I asked our service staff to fix an American meal for you and Shiina's Circle. What did they come up with? Is it good?"

"It's chop suey and rice, or close to it, and edible enough once doused with enough soy sauce," Sayomi replied neutrally while trying to figure out what Miya was doing here. It wasn't like the Petals had been enthusiastically greeted by the Sekirei Welcome Wagon committee since their arrival in Japan. Sayomi's tone got a little more sarcastic as she continued.

"And yes, chop suey is American food originally concocted in San Francisco by Chinese immigrants during the California Gold Rush, ummm, in 1849 I believe. Isn't history wonderful? The weather outside is great, but the room temperature in here is rather cool in more ways than one. We've been assigned bunks in a separate barracks with Shiina and his girls away from your Sekirei. We have hot water and soap for our baths, and Uzume has made us clean uniforms and underwear. Did you come here to wipe our noses and tuck us in for the night, or do you actually want to talk about something, Miya? Maybe about how our Lord Mutsu got a raw and humiliating deal for doing what he thought was right to protect everyone, and how we are now somehow guilty too? And how you and your Circle are now welshing on our deal and trying to screw him out of being our Order's Prime Center? We still have to be voted in by our people too, remember? What chance have we got with the way we're being treated now? As soon as Natalie's fireworks stop, we are asking our Lord to let us return to America and lodge a formal complaint with our Elders."

"Oh my, so many assumptions, and so many wrong," Miya put her right fingers up to her mouth to hide a small but friendly smile. "Where to start? And since you appear to want candid treatment, then fine, let's just be blunt. Forget your Elders. You are going nowhere. Ummm, but first you'd better recognize that all the Sekirei on this Island are now yours too. There's no retreat from the bonding you've chosen. While Mutsu lives, you live. When he dies, you die, so for all intents and purposes you are now Sekirei too. That means you are also under our Prime Circle's leadership, and you WILL do as Kazehana commands. She and Natalie have the power to slay Mutsu AND therefore all of you in less than a heartbeat, understood? There will always be limits to your authority and your abilities to wield it. You need to learn those limits quickly, and NOT overstep them, or you all will suffer. You wanted power, Sayomi, and you've got it, but it comes with a great price and even greater responsibility.

"Second, Mutsu made a couple of correctable and maybe misunderstood errors that he HAD to apologize for making. It didn't hurt him to learn exactly where he stands in the world's pecking order either, even if you think that's a little raw and humiliating, however, Mutsu is still the second Ashikabi in command. Now you need to learn your places. Third, the problems you have here with all the other Sekirei wasn't generated by Mutsu's actions. They have been generated by your own arrogant, and I must say rather immature, condescending, and bitchy attitudes. You may have a nice measure of psychic power when linked together, but individually and for all practical purposes, it's a wonder you haven't been caught separately and beaten to a pulp by even the weakest of your new sisters. Quite frankly, you gals need to quit pushing your luck, quit depending on Mutsu's powers and position for protection, and adopt a much more congenial, friendly, and humble disposition before you get a lot more knots pounded on your skulls and a lot more welts and bruises on your rather soft bodies.

"Finally, no one is welshing on our Circle's deal with you, and we're not trying to screw you and your Sisters out of anything. Matter of fact, I'm here to see that you are not. That means I am also here to help you correct your rather indelicate diplomacy problems as well as establish a much better rapport with your new family. It is time for you to mature quickly and understand that your pampered childhood and party days are over. If you are half as smart as you think you are, then you will heed my advice. You are soon going to need all the help and good will you can get, and I may have a way that will encourage all the other Sekirei to join together and give it to you."

"What do you mean you have a way?" Sayomi pushed her tray of half eaten dinner to one side with narrow eyed suspicion before folding her arms warily and protectively across her torso. "You're up to something, again. I can feel it. We've seen Sister inner politics all our lives. What do you really want, and why are you so chummy all of a sudden? Trying to make yourselves look better at our expense? We saw the way you all hung your dirty panties out in public for everyone to see during that last meeting, and they weren't pretty. Your Prime Circle looked like Prime Idiots with the way you guys treated Cash, even if he is still pretty much of a jerk, and you looked about as cohesive and united as swamp water with dirty oil scum on top when it came to dealing with the little Riko gal you tried to pass off as Izanagi."

"Yes, we looked a little foolish and a tad disorganized," Miya nodded graciously while still smiling, although she was internally holding herself back from reaching across the table and slapping Sayomi silly, "but MY husband is NOT a jerk, only somewhat inexperienced as a Prime Leader, and he has a few amendable personal shortcomings, but do not underestimate him. He is more powerful than anyone knows and I suspect can measure, even Natalie. Every Circle and their Ashikabi have their internal workings, shortcomings, and failures as does yours. That's very true, and to be fair, our Circle is still new to each other as Sisters as well as new to our Ashikabi as his Sekirei, but we're learning and also have our great strengths as does he. However, those don't change what we want for you Petals."

"We want your relationship with the other Sekirei and especially Kazehana greatly improved. We want you and your Circle functioning effectively with all of Natalie's children when following Mutsu's battle commands as well as his operating as the Earth's Prime Center in the future. We want all of our Sekirei giving you the sympathetic help, friendship, and understanding that you are going to need. Along with that, Karasuba has asked me to help solve a small problem within our Circle. She left the how up to me. I am here because you and your Petals are uniquely qualified to aid me in my problem solving, and it occurred to me that in doing so, it would also go a very long ways to help solve yours. It's a let's scratch each others backs type of situation."

"Now we're down to it," Sayomi leaned back and arched a cynical eyebrow as she cocked her head sideways. "What's the secret deal this time? This has something to do with that temperamental little Riko bitch, doesn't it? And why she's so alienated from Cash Joseph? Fat chance she's coming back with the way she stormed out of here. What do you want us to do, and what are we going to get in return?"

"You really must work on sweetening your nature, Sayomi," Miya frowned slightly while shaking her head in patient dismay. "There is no secret deal, and Riko isn't really a bitch, immature and socially challenged maybe, but not a bitch. Quite frankly, and since we are both being totally candid here, I think in most ways she's inherently a lot nicer than you. She's just been emotionally isolated all of her life and has zero interaction skills, especially with getting winged. True, she left here very angry, but she'll be back, and soon too, even if some of us have to drag her back. Now, everyone knows that Riko and Cash have developed some very deep and serious issues with each other, issues that several of us in the Prime Circle feel they will never work out without a great deal of help. We need our very powerful little Sister happily installed in her rightful place, for all of our benefits, even yours. The deal is this. You help us get Riko connected to Cash as soon as possible, and you will get my vote, along with Karasuba, Uzume, Kazehana, AND Natalie's when your people hold their meeting to elect you as the Prime Petal for your world Order and Mutsu as your Prime Center."

"We're SUPPOSED to have those already!" Sayomi shot back heatedly.

"This time we guarantee it, AND," Miya held up a calm right palm, "we will actively work to have our other Sisters and Circles vote for you too along with Cash's Mother and her clans. You'll also have our total committed help in getting you human women comfortably and happily integrated with all our Sekirei, along with free babysitting whenever you need a break. Which you're going to need soon, oddly enough. Here, I got these pregnancy tests from the base pharmacy shelves for you."

"WHAT?" Sayomi jerked forward in alarm as Miya opened the small plastic sack on the table in front of her.

"You didn't know that you're all pregnant? How cute," Miya observed sweetly while starting to pass out maternity tests. "Initially bonded Sekirei males are QUITE fertile their first hundred years or so, and his females' menstrual cycles are immediately adjusted to egg ready status upon winging. Didn't your ancient scrolls mention this? No? Then go pee on your test sticks, girls. When they turn blue, you'll know what I'm saying is true. And it is also the reason you are going nowhere, especially San Francisco. If you think for one second that Natalie would let her first eight grand babies go more than ten kilometers away from her, then you have a lot to learn about Sekirei womb ships."

"Oh SHIT!" Sayomi's eyes went wide in horror as she swallowed hard and gripped the edge of the table for support. Gasps, yips, and outright squeals of dismay from her seven sisters occurred as the news sank in. "You're really serious! We're ALL knocked up? Already? And we're going to stay that way for at least a hundred years?"

"You all may have a few years in between babies, here and there, if you can fight the overwhelming desires you'll experience to mate bareback with Mutsu," Miya leaned over to pat Sayomi's right forearm in sympathy, "but yes, that's about the size of it. Power and position comes with a great price and great responsibility, remember? And you are going to need all the help we Sekirei can give you, right? Since you gals already have some proven techniques for winging a recalcitrant but hopefully able to be made willing male, and some experience, would it be too much to ask for you all to link up and make those talents available to us when the time and opportunity presents itself? I guarantee that the other Sekirei AND our Prime Circle AND Natalie will be extremely grateful. Especially if we can get the job done before all the invasion forces headed our way arrive. Myself, Uzume, and Karasuba will be helping too from the other end, because we also have to deal with a recalcitrant and unwilling female in Riko. You help us with Cash, and the three of us will get Riko, ummm, more amendable. All of us together will get those two finally connected. Is it a deal?"

"I think I'm going to be sick," Sayomi muttered weakly as she pushed her uneaten and suddenly unappetizing chop suey even farther away. "And then call my Mother. I'll have to borrow Yukari's phone though. We're going to NEED more help than your Prime Circle can give us."

"Can I take that as a yes?" Miya asked with innocent interest while trying not to smirk at Sayomi's suddenly shoulder slumped consternation. "Cheer up, Sayomi, and don't be downhearted. You're not, and never will be, alone. We're here for you. I'm finding that's essentially what Sekirei sisterhood is really all about. And call your Mother by all means. She deserves the happy news too. Then we can go to work."

"Cash Archer is NOT going to do something he REALLY doesn't want to do," Sayomi warned, "even if he says he is. We have a complete dossier and personality work up on him including several psychological profiles taken in different years while he was growing up. His total stubbornness in the face of everything when it comes to something he has completely invested himself, especially baseball, has never changed. If he doesn't want Riko for whatever reasons, he'll never take her no matter how much help we can give her. We hit him with our best sexy shot in the parking garage, and he didn't even blink, remember? And he feels much stronger now."

"That's true, but this time I think you'll have more of an impact."

"How?" Sayomi gave Miya a sideways look of pure skepticism. "Look, you gals better be careful here. Our Order sent our strongest psychics to Springfield every two years so they could evaluate him and his progress. They always came back with a case of shakes and shivers, but they were convinced that he was either going to become the biggest nutcase on the planet or the most powerful Prime Center we've ever had. One year when I was twelve I went with my Mother to see him and his family along with the regular testers. They were going to negotiate our marital engagement even back then. Cash took one look at us all and ran out the back door of his house to throw a baseball against his neighbor's old, cruddy, run down barn. We couldn't move because there was this overpowering feeling of primal fear that came over everyone that HE projected at us. No one even thought of following him. His own Mother was on the floor curled up like she was going to die. She's half insane anyway you know.

"Later when he got older and started living on his own, Cash started showing much better control over what he projected, and we investigated him indirectly through interviews with everyone he had interaction on a regular basis. The consensus report showed he lacked social skills and had serious emotional flaws but was most likely stable and actually a pretty decent guy for the most part. However, all the young females that were interviewed also described him as an insensitive clod and a social moron that could only talk about baseball on a date. It also said that he had a willpower quotient off the charts, so I repeat. Just how in the HELL do you think we're going to get him to do something he really doesn't want to do, especially as it relates to that little shrew Riko?"

Miya took a few calming moments before answering.

"A soon as Karasuba and I convince them, Natalie, Akitsu, Himeko, Toyotama, and Kazehana will be linking with you to heat Cash up, and you can use Yukari and her Sisters as well. I've already talked to Yukari and got her and her Petals in on the deal. Also, in return for your interesting dossier on Cash, Karasuba and I will tell you EVERYTHING we know about Mutsu. Maybe together we can find some ways to offset your increasing mating instincts with him in the future. So, let's be clear. Are you with us?"

"Uhhh, maybe, as long as our Lord Mutsu approves, but Cash isn't going to like any kind of sneakiness," Sayomi said uncertainly. "And you do remember what happened with Karasuba right? If this thing with Riko goes as haywire as that, then we could all get our brains fried."

"Leave that to us. We'll have our guards up, and Muts will approve. Trust me. We'll get Cash willing and started for doing his part. Then the rest of you will join in when the time is right while we also help Riko. If it goes sour, we'll cut our connections before anyone gets hurt. Deal?"

"Deal, I guess," Sayomi nodded slowly. "And, we'll work on being nicer, especially me, and Miya, ummm, thanks for the free babysitting offer and aid in fighting a hundred years of constant pregnancies. I think we'll being using both, a LOT."

"Well, you aren't the only ones going to be making new families, but you can count on us for help, Sayomi, always," Miya said gently but firmly as she stood up. "All politics aside, we're Sisters now. We always will be, and we'll always need each other. Don't ever forget it."

Sayomi watched a smiling and seemingly happy Miya walk away before turning to see that her own Petals were looking at her with something less than sparkling enthusiasm, but at least their anger was gone, and the Sekirei at the other tables appeared to looking at them in a more friendlier fashion now that Miya had openly put herself into a smiling public relationship with Sayomi and her Petals. When Miya opened the mess hall doors, the cool air that came in seemed to caress Sayomi's face, and yes, somehow it made her feel better too.

***scene break***

Gusting winds mildly shook the window panes and front door of the base commander's living quarters. Inside, Cash was pretty much ignoring the buzz of conversation around him as he sat on the living room sofa in between Kusano and Himeko. Both Sekirei were watching in rapt attention as Cash quickly sketched out what his vision of Natalie's temple shrine and its surrounds looked like in his mind. Simply letting his pencil flow and using minimal strokes for illustrating shapes as he had always done since his early days in his high school art club, Cash's picture quickly took recognizable form.

On the plains in front of Natalie's hull he had drawn what looked like a larger version of MBI's secluded bath house but had added an adjoining complex of outside heated baths and gardens. In the background was a far off waterfall descending from the northern peaks and feeding a stream that wound through the foothills to empty in a lake that fronted the shrine and fed the indoor and outdoor baths. These drained into a series of small pools that watered the shrine's surrounding gardens and cherry trees that bordered the lake and patterned stone walkway leading to the shrine complex. Cash went back and added a few detailing strokes here and there before adding a small pathway leading away from the shrine.

"This path would lead to the base here and the harbor," Cash explained as he put a few more finishing touches on his penciled sketch. "After all, visitors would have to have a nice place to arrive by boat and a place to stay and eat. Everything is really already here to make a ready to use resort, right? A small store for souvenirs, places for year round staff to live like these quarters, large dorms and a cafeteria, and even an infirmary. We could have it all surrounded by flower gardens and cherry trees too if the soil is deep enough. It's pretty thin on the plains too, but maybe we can find a way to thicken it up some. What do you think Ku-chan? Do you like it?"

When there was no answer for several long moments, Cash turned from giving his quick sketch a critical review to see that Kusano was staring up at him with huge blinking blue eyes while both of her small fists were held against her mouth. Cash was going to repeat his question as he couldn't read her facial expression, but he felt that she was highly agitated in some fashion. However, Himeko asked him a few of her own first.

"How are you going to heat the shrine's baths, Sweet Love? And where is the water going to come from to feed the waterfalls, stream, and lake? How do you thicken up the soil so it will grow the plants that Ku-chan wants? And what material are we going to use to build this shrine and baths?"

"Well, for heating fuels I was thinking we could open those old capped off pipes that tap the frozen methane deposits and fire their emissions off," Cash explained. From memory of the island survey he pin pointed a couple on his sketch with small filled circles. "It should be simple to reactivate them, install safety valves to eliminate blow back, and run lines to heating coils under the baths and maybe even an eternal flame type gig inside the shrine itself. You know, like a quiet decorated place where folks could come and leave messages and stuff like they do at other shrines I've seen. As for water, we could maybe get Tsukuimi and Taki to mesh and flood the valleys between the northern peaks and have Akitsu freeze their efforts. That along with the island's natural rainfall should get a nice melting and year round water supply for everything as well as the vegetation. Soil could come from how deep we make the lake, ponds, and streams, as well as what we would need to remove for making level pathways and foundations. Uzume and Riko could make the shrine, baths, and walkways out of the same material as Natalie's hull. It should weather for centuries or more, right?"

"It would last longer than the island, Cash Darling," Natalie remarked thoughtfully as she elbowed Himeko aside and peered at his sketch. "But for everything you've envisioned that requires building, you will definitely need the One Who Builds cooperating fully with everyone."

"And there's your problem, Big Fella," Seo chuckled over Cash's shoulder. "And how are you gonna solve that?"

Cash turned to see that he now had a small crowd of interested onlookers behind him that consisted of Seo, Sanada, and Kouji as well as his own Circle. The room was literally full of visiting Sekirei with some spilling over into the kitchen and down the hall while chatting amongst themselves. None of them seemed too concerned about Riko's plight nor worried about his answer to Seo. For Cash, his chop suey and rice dinner was sitting like a huge lump in his stomach as he still fretted over Riko's angry flight from the base and continued absence. Karasuba had reported her conversation with Riko, but nothing in it had sounded very encouraging to Cash. Now his hands were tied, and he was forced to wait until Riko decided what she wanted to do.

"I don't know," Cash replied quietly while shaking his head. He let his mind wander again to the north. Riko was still there, unmoving. "I'm not allowed to go to her because Kazehana thinks Riko has become too dangerous. Riko must choose to come for us for help and live with us. After that, we'll all just have to be open and play it by ear, I guess."

"What is the name of this place, Onii-chan CJ?" Kusano gently took his sketch and held it for closer inspection. Her small hands were making the paper tremble slightly in barely contained excitement as she spoke in a hushed tone of awe. "It's Mommy Natalie's special place, right? Where the world can come to visit her?"

"I'd like to think of it as a place where folks could just celebrate being alive, Ku-chan, a shrine dedicated to life being precious. Natalie, what is the name of the Japanese goddess you would most like to be associated with?"

"I think Kishi-Bojin, goddess of children and childbirth, Cash Darling, one who loves and protects life on Earth."

"There you go, Ku-chan, we will build a Shrine of Life and put a place inside for Natalie to welcome visitors. Is that good? At least better than what we saw this afternoon by all those birds and fishes dying?"

"Yes," Kusano frowned up at him, "I didn't like that either."

"Ehhh, CJ," Sanada interjected gruffly from behind Seo, "You can't expect to defend this whole island without the invaders taking some losses. If they are that determined and there's hundreds of thousands in these navies coming at us, then they'll have to suffer the consequences of their actions if our Sekirei are to remain alive and free and Natalie unharmed also. Besides, life goes on after all battles. The waters off the south coast are now teeming with sharks in a feeding frenzy. It won't take long before everything there goes back to normal. It will be the same after we defeat these fools coming against us at their own peril. We've certainly warned them enough of what they can expect now that Natalie has fired her main weapons."

"Yeah, I know Sanada-san, and you're right," Cash nodded miserably, "but I'm still hoping to find a way not to feed the human sharks of the world or the ones in the seas any more than they already eat."

"Say, Lover!" Kazehana moved in to hug him from behind. His head naturally went into the valley of her soft cleavage as she breathed into his ear and tried to lighten his suddenly gloomy mood by changing the subject. "You are one talented guy! I was never too impressed by your paintings, but this drawing is very, very good! Can you make a sketch for me? Oh, better yet, can you sketch me? I would love to be your model tonight! Ummm, maybe even an ecchi one!"

"Oh no you don't!" Toyotama responded instantly in righteous irritation as she brandished Cash's battered guitar case. "We just made out YOUR list for being with Master each night, and I'm first, remember? Quit jumping the line! Besides, Master can also play the guitar, and he promised me a little while ago he would play a special oldies rock song that makes him think of only me, so just BACK OFF!"

"Yo! CJ! You like old timey rock music?" Seo's face lit up with pleased surprise as he too tried to lift the room's spirits. "And you play it too maybe? Man, I'm a big fan of old rock and roll! What song reminds you of Toys? Play it for us!"

"Okay," Cash agreed while gently freeing himself from Kazehana's embrace and reaching for the guitar case. It had been several weeks since he had played last so the calluses on his left fingers were probably going to be a little soft for much long term playing, but he could knock out a couple of tunes.

"Because you are so beautiful, tall, sexy, and full of energy, Smitty, this is 'A Long Cool Woman in a Black Dress' done by The Hollies in 1972." Cash smiled at Toyotama as he unsnapped the case's clips and took out his jumbo Yamaha acoustic guitar. A light strum had him slightly tweaking a couple of tuning keys. He looked up to see that Uzume had already instantly changed Toyotama's clothing into a low cut, long, shimmering black sheath dress with black high heeled shoes for this occasion. "Yeah! That's the idea! You look really great, Smitty!"

"Wait! Wait! You even know the year and the artists?" Seo frowned in open mouthed unbelief, "as well as the music and lyrics? Memorized? Get out of Tokyo! You that knowledgeable?"

"Well, yes, you peasant, I am, because there is life in Springfield, Illinois beyond baseball, work, and lousy oil painting, but not much," Cash grinned back in mock superiority. He started the beginning base riff with the unmistakable catchy upbeat rhythm of the song as Toyotama began clapping along in timed delight. "Besides, since I had a lot of extra time on my hands growing up, I'm now more than just a common old time rock and roll fan. I am a high class aficionado!"

Cash started into the lyrics, singing in a surprisingly pleasing baritone.

"Saturday night I was downtown, working for the FBI."

His Sekirei looked at each other with pleased and mildly astonished expressions as he played and sang to an openly delighted Toyotama now strutting her stuff back and forth in front of him as if she was on some mini model catwalk trying to entice his interest for the night, which she was. Even the silent Kouji, up to now still writing in his equations notebook, paused to join Seo and Sanada in their wide eyed and silent whistled approval of the show the now sleek, tall, and really toned Toyotama was putting on for her Ashikabi. Her massive mane of long, full, and thick dark green hair swayed in time to the music and the exaggerated swinging of her rounded yet muscular hips. When the song ended, Cash was deluged with more excited requests and yips of pleasure mixed with appreciation. Recognizing a great opportunity for building closer social ties between them all, Cash agreed.

For almost an hour and pushing gloomy thoughts of Riko to the back of his mind, Cash started with Kazehana's sleeping list and assigned a special song to each of his Sekirei. He played a short verse and chorus for each as a tune would pop into his mind for how he saw them musically. He whimsically assigned tunes from different eras and genres ending with "My Girl, My Woman, My Friend" by Regine Velasquez and Christian Bautista for Himeko. He missed the suddenly jealous frowns being tossed in her direction as his worrying over Riko was blunting his normal sensitivities towards his flock's emotions.

When the list was done he was pestered for more. For Natalie he sang "I Can Dream About You" by Dan Hartman. For all of them he did a quick shot of "Hot Girls In Love" by Loverboy, and assigned "Superman" by Five For Fighting and "Mr. Roboto" by Styx to himself. Kusano was delighted with "Little Red Riding Hood" by Sam the Sham and the Pharaohs sung for her while Namiji blushed at Stan Getz's "The Girl From Ipanema" performed for her. Sanada got Twisted Sister's version of "The Leader of the Pack", and Seo was assigned "Money For Nothing" by Dire Straits. Kouji and Minato exchanged glances of relief that Cash had quit before anything embarrassing could be sent their way.

After the last song Cash finally begged off because his fingers had become too sore to play any more despite Himeko's willingness to heal them up and keep him playing. In reality his worries about Riko, the coming invasion, and their inability to avoid a potential slaughter had finally made it impossible to concentrate on music. He felt time was drifting away from him and squeezing him out of options. Finally Cash had to just tell the happy and chattering group that he wanted to go to the recreational building and workout because he had some things he wanted to think about. As they all agreed to go with him and started trooping out the front door, Kusano finally asked what Cash had been mulling in the back of his mind during this warm and happy gathering.

"Onii-chan CJ, what special song will you give to Riko-san?"

"That's a good question, Ku-chan," Cash stalled self consciously but eventually smiled down at her. "Probably 'Unhappy Girl' by the Doors is the first that comes to mind, but I think she'd probably get mad at that one. Maybe 'Layla' by Eric Clapton would be a little safer and happier tune to sing for her."

"Yes, we need to make Riko-san happy so she can help us build Mommy Natalie's Shrine of Life! We can have a lot of music there too and make it a very happy place for people!"

With that, Kusano skipped out the front door in front of him, merrily waving Cash's sketch at other Sekirei also heading towards the base recreation hall. He marveled at everyone's ability to remain so calm and apparently unconcerned while disaster approached them all. Cash, once again morosely silent as he felt Riko's roiled and swinging emotions washing over him once again, paused to stare northward even though he couldn't see anything. Funny, he thought to himself. That earlier feeling of irritable anger at her inside him had subsided into simple worry for her safety. It made him want to shout at her but he could only mutter ineffectively. Himeko, having latched firmly onto his right arm while claiming to heal his sore fingers, had paused with him. She leaned close to hear what he was saying.

"You need a much better song, don't you?" Cash murmured into the cold gusting wind from the north. "Choose life, Little One, and I'll try my best to get it right this time."

***scene break***

The heated atmospheric layer above Kamakura Island was sucking cold air inland as the warmer air dissipated upwards. Riko braced against the now freezing night wind howling over the northern peaks as she stood up, but she staggered to stay upright. Her limbs were numb with cold, too numb. She had to seek warm shelter immediately or die. She had sat here in indecision much too long, and now Tokyo was too far. If she wanted to live, then she would have to return to MBI's base on Kamakura Island or seek warmer shelter inside Natalie's hull. Either place meant that another eventual meeting with Cash Joseph would happen. Would she survive it and possibly, however remote the chances seemed now, get her relationship with her jerk Ashikabi fixed? The alternative was either a frozen death here or painful insanity and death later someplace else as Karasuba had warned.

On the other hand, and since she was still burning with intense anger at that idiot Cash Joseph and her Circle's unjust attitudes towards her, it was highly possible her own Sisters would kill her if confronting them and Cash turned into another total disaster. Kazehana alone had the power to strike her down through intense tama pain let alone the combined powers of the Prime Circle. Still, a quick death like that was far preferable to any more long term agony. At any rate, she would at least die with undefeated dignity and on her own terms facing her insensitive idiot of an Ashikabi, not as some low rated and unappreciated piece of unwanted trash that had frozen death high on a miserable and lonely rock cliff.

Karasuba had made an effort and talked some sense whether Riko would be able to open up to Cash Joseph or not. Since she no longer sounded nor acted insane, it was also quite possible Karasuba might have been right about his ability to correct his relationship with his last Sekirei, but there was nothing to lose if wrong. Besides, it faintly felt like he was calling to her, and it felt warm somehow. That was it then. She would go see him one last time or at least die trying, which was probably only slightly better than cleaning toilets in Tokyo.

After Riko made this decision, she bent to pick up her Karasu battle suit, but her fingers were too cold to grasp it, so she simply kicked it aside in instant vexation. She paused to take a few deep cold breaths while trying to shakily quell the still roiling emotions inside of her. Highly irritated at her stupidity in staying up here too long and knowing time was becoming precious if she wanted to live, Riko simply launched herself off the night shrouded cliff and aimed her stiff and half frozen body at MBI's base in the south. Her flight aided by the cold north wind still trying to kill her.


	29. Chapter 29

**The Game Changer**

**Chapter 29 – Pep Talks, Team Building – II  
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The large crashing waves driven by a very blustery north wind repeatedly washed over and totally deluged the hapless Chinese crew that had finally been forced to abandon their hopelessly crippled and slowly sinking submarine. Bereft of any ability to notify his commanders in China, let alone send one lousy S.O.S. "To Whomever It Could Reach In Time For Rescue", the captain had very reluctantly ordered his 54 man crew into the lifeboats. Trying to get their floating flag marker with a balky emergency transponder working until the last possible minute, he had barely enough time to stand on the slanted, wallowing, and awash deck of the doomed boat to shake his fist in the general direction of Japan. He did manage to scream a few ancient curses at the enemy alien robot responsible for killing his old yet beloved submarine before a big wave of cresting water slammed him overboard. Luckily, some of his crew actually liked their old captain and snagged him into their inflated lifeboat as he went body surfing past them, now sputtering in fear instead of cursing.

To make things worse, the emergency transponder with its blinking light and beamed emergency signal marking their location had only blinked twice when released and then went inactive. Whether its old internal batteries had failed or its casing had a flaw which had allowed sea water to short circuit its electronics didn't really matter for the results were the same. The silent transponder had bobbed mockingly silent alongside the doomed sub and then got its flag entangled with the conning tower rail when the final wave swept against the boat just as it began its final funereal descent beneath the surface. With the sinking and dead transponder, all hope of a fast rescue had died also.

Now, after surviving a night, a long, scorching hot day, and a sudden, brutal wind storm that had tossed their lashed together lifeboats badly about, the hapless sub crew was in sight of land even though the sun had set. The storm's cold night wind was driving them towards an island with a jagged line of dark peaks that were outlined against a weird looking, reddish orange haze that hung dome-like in the night time sky above them.

Why the Flying Black Robot Terrorist of Tokyo had carried out such a dastardly, unwarranted, criminal, and ultimately destructive attack on his poor, decrepit, outdated, SS 18 Ming Type 035 diesel submarine, the elderly Chinese sub captain didn't know. He didn't even know why his mission had simply been to cruise these waters other than to act as a signal relay and boost back to mainland China of all electronic transmission traffic on all frequency channels within range, most of which seemed totally routine and in incomprehensible Japanese anyway. His main worry so far from home base had been keeping the old boat afloat and running in figure eights until relieved for fuel and food, not monitoring communications he wasn't even required to translate in the first place. So why had the alien terrorist attacked? What few of these types of old Chinese submarines that hadn't already been mothballed were only used for coastal defense and very minor surveillance anyway, nothing warranting a full scale sneak attack carried out with inhuman precision.

There had been no warning, no communication, no nothing other than just a severe ripping off of the sub's twin propellers. This action had bent their drive shafts so badly that they had then vibrated a huge tear in the aft outer and inner hulls before the engines could be disengaged. When the lurching boat had almost instantly stopped and began wallowing badly in the heavy seas, no one below decks had felt or even noticed the results from the previous topside attack on the conning tower antennae and satellite dishes to render the sub totally incommunicado to the outside world.

Since his three supposedly on duty companions were sneaking a smoke break and sharing a well thumbed, Hong Kong porn magazine in the conning tower's cooler shadow below him, only one lone and bored lookout had turned at the sound of screeching metal up behind him and spotted the circling culprit higher above responsible for attacking their communication aerials. He had shouted his report, but his energetically wanking off while puffing away comrades in the throes of self induced passion hadn't seen the sneaky, bug eyed, flying black monster robot making its airborne getaway back towards Japan, let alone heard the damage being done. No one especially believed the only alert lookout's rather weird insistence that the robot seemed to have had boobs and a short skirt either.

Still, in spite of their rotten luck at being an unlikely and probable random target by some flying kook alien, the young crew had responded well to the emergency to avoid sinking immediately, but not before the engine and battery compartments had been completely flooded and rendered useless. Without power and then discovering that every communication device had been ripped away by that dirty fink terrorist robot, there had been no way to get immediate help for their plight. Then the ancient boat had started to slowly come apart at the seams from the stress of its flooded ass end drooping so steeply in the water while the nose of the boat was being slowly lifted above the waves. Hour after passing hour, rivet after overstressed rivet had popped and hull welds broken. The stricken sub's outer plates had simply started to slowly separate and allow more water to flood more compartments. No matter how hard they worked and fought, the old captain and his young crew simply did not have the means to save their dying boat, nor call for rescue.

On the other hand, the sinking process had taken a long time and given the crew hours to deploy their lifeboats and make an orderly escape with what gear, water, and food they could carry. With any luck they would have been able to row westward into Chinese shipping lanes and be rescued within a few days. This plan began to fertilize rice paddies almost immediately since most of their gear, water, and food rations were lost when sudden high winds blowing southwest towards an orange/reddish colored sky began lashing the ocean and making huge waves that threatened to swamp their life boats and drown them all. Then it had become a totally desperate battle for simple survival and the hell with making China, just find any kind of dry land and head for it.

The plucky, thirsty, and now badly chilled submarine crew had prevailed to come within shouting distance of refuge, their boats tied together and each man with a secure lifeline to each other. The major problem was that the refuge they had reached was the northernmost, dark, and very jagged coast of Kamakura Island where high waves were simply pounding in spectacular power against some very forbidding and sharp looking large rocks. The red/orange dome in the atmosphere high above them and covering the island was vividly illuminating their approaching danger of being dashed to a bloody pulp on the looming rocky coast. That daunting sight was making even the bravest of the crew very apprehensive about the odds of their landfall's survival.

Added to this, some kind of nasty looking aerial barrage, large blue/white balls of eye searing energy from the island's interior, began loudly blasting up into the heavens accompanied by what looked like thick and deadly green laser beams of unbelievable intensity and power. The sounds of a pulsing sky bombardment that they had never seen before were even louder than the waves that were going to dash them to death on the jagged rocks.

The crew cried out from these multiplied fears while pointing out the dangers ahead, even larger cresting waves bearing down on them from behind, and the daunting mysteries above. The old captain, still fuming over how to gain revenge on that damned robot terrorist responsible for that criminal attack and probably the unusual high winds and water pummeling them now, shouted to forget all that, hang on, and help each other for that was their only hope. The pounding waves made by the enemy's wind from the north would be forcing them onto the island's sharp rocks within a matter of minutes, and the hapless Chinese submariners were helpless to prevent it.

***scene break***

A sudden gust of Tokyo Harbor's night breeze caused Hiroto Minaka's world domination cape to snag on the entrance hatch of the American atomic submarine. Stepping down the ladder, the balky cape then tugged at Minaka's neck to make him pause and clear the impediment to his downward progress. MBI's head research scientist above him, not noticing Minaka's small problem, continued down and stepped squarely on the top of Minaka's skull. The ensuing half scramble/half fall down the ladder did nothing to endear either newcomer to the highest ranked enlisted man waiting patiently for them below in the sub's control room.

Minaka stumbled sideways once he felt solid footing and reached out to catch himself. His right hand caught a hold of the American submariner's shirt and ripped the front of it half open. This resulted in a very forceful return shove that sent Minaka flying face first with a resounding thud into the steel bulkhead beside the ladder. Dazed and instantly angry, Minaka whirled to give this offending flea of a human his most haughty and threatening glare.

"How dare you lay hands on me, you ignorant Yankee cretin! Don't you know who I am?"

"Nope," the enlisted man drawled lazily while crossing his arms across his massive barrel chest now covered only in a white t-shirt. "And I don't really give a flying fuck who you are, bub, nor what you've named your sorry ass. I do know a clumsy shithead civilian when I see one though, and a menace to my boat's good nature, morale, and overall well being. The latest poop says that you must be one of the MBI eggheads we're supposed to be taking on board. I'll show you to your quarters, but before we go, take off that stupid damn cape and watch where in the hell you're walking, bub, and I won't tell you again. You bump into anything or anybody on the way, and this Yankee cretin will rip you a new sorry ass that will behave itself on my boat. If you get lucky, I may even rename that skinny ass and even let you keep your shriveled balls. Got the picture, douche bag? Now move it."

"I am Hiroto Minaka! Director of Mid Biometric Informatics and the reason you're even here! I am going to usher in the new age of the gods!" Minaka gave his unimpressed adversary an even haughtier sneer of disdain. "When this mission is over, you will rue your unwise … urk!"

This last unintelligible sound of Minaka's beginning harangue was the result of a large, beefy left hand shooting out to clamp around Minaka's neck and slam him back again into the steel bulkhead beside the ladder. Minaka found himself dangling a head higher than normal and unable to breathe.

"You want new gods, Mack? Well, you've come to the right place, bub, because on this boat, Captain Roland G. Nelson IS God. I am Chief of the Boat Gregor Jankowitz. You can just think of me as God's hammer. Now, you will follow me to your quarters where you will sleep and eat during this entire mission. At no time will you or your geek pals be anywhere other than there or in the head down the hall. You will not touch a damn thing on this boat other your skinny asses, miniscule balls, and tiny dicks. You will talk to no one other than me or the Captain without permission, and you will not mess up my boat in any fashion. If you want to breathe again before you pass out and I have your sorry ass carried to your bunk, blink twice real slow if you understand and will not need any further reminders from me about your stay on my boat. By the way, your new God is now here. Good evening, Captain."

"Evening, Chief. Ah, giving our new guests The Word, eh? Good! Dispense with the warm and friendly greetings and get these two to their quarters. I want to chat with them briefly once we clear harbor and submerge. Put the rest of their people and equipment forward, and give them The Word too. Then meet me in the officer's mess with the XO. Tell him to bring all the navigation charts off southern Japan and Okinawa along with the old geological surveys from that defunct hydrate mining company of Kamakura Island. I need some coffee and more intel before dealing with these MBI people."

"Aye aye, Cap'n," the COB replied in a neutral tone, but his eyes locked onto Minaka's and silently dared any hint of disobedience. Minaka, now turning slightly blue, wisely closed his eyes twice slowly and began unhooking the clasp on his world domination cape.

Almost two hours later, a smiling Captain Nelson entered the tiny cabin where a sour Minaka and his head scientist were cooling their heels while sitting together on the narrow bed. The sub's captain was a tall, slender, but obviously fit and rather ruggedly handsome American, dressed in an impeccably clean and pressed uniform with very shiny black shoes. His short dark hair was going gray at the temples. He had a bland, lazy smile on his face, but that smile didn't reach his pale blue eyes. His expression was almost predatory instead of good humored, and then the bland smile faded.

Minaka fumed inwardly at the now equally sour expression on the Captain's face as he dared to look down on Hiroto Minaka, future God of Earth! This silly fool would be the first to die in the new world order! No! First would be that mindless ass Chief Janka Somebody for daring to lay hands on and threaten, wait. No! Mother had to die first, THEN the Chief, and then this gaijin Yankee sub Captain! One must keep the proper priorities if one was going to rule the world! All he had to do was get these idiots and their truly impressive submarine within thirteen kilometers of Kamakura Island and activate the tuned jinkies powered by a link to their atomic reactors! Hah! If calculations were correct, then 40 percent of the sub's personnel would die then too, and maybe the Chief and Captain would die together while unprotected! Mother would then just have to wait her turn, and he absolutely would be wearing his wonderful cape for THAT great occasion.

"So YOU'RE my alien experts," Nelson stated mildly while standing casually in the doorway. "And we've got super alien people on that island with their grounded yet still heavily armed spaceship, mostly females, and they look entirely human but with various super powers, is that right? And now headquarters informs me that you're the MBI clowns who originally found them and have tried to keep them under wraps, study, and exploit them for almost twenty years while stealing and making a fortune off their technology. Now you self styled EXPERTS have totally lost control of them all. Do I have that right too?"

"I do NOT like your tone, minion," Minaka began tightly, "nor do I..."

"Stow it, asshole," Chief Jankowitz growled from behind the Captain. "Answer the questions, and keep your fucking minion opinions, biases, and useless chatter to yourself."

"Thank you, Chief." The Captain's half bland smile was back again. "Listen up you two. As you can tell, I'm not overly impressed with you MBI shitheads, but I do want everything you know about the weapon systems on that alien spaceship and its occupants. I want it now. I haven't got time for any bullshit or patty cake games on your part. There was nothing in MBI's old data files about the weapons, and almost all that we had on the ship's occupants and your past experiments on them have somehow mysteriously disappeared from computers all over the world.

"This, along with what the aliens have already shown they can do even up into the highest orbital limits and all around that island's horizon, has really spooked every world government. My President has just sent two American carrier task forces and nine more boomer subs like mine our way from Pearl and Subic Bay. We are ordered to act in conjunction with the Chinese, Russian, and Hindi forces now standing clear and awaiting the arrival of our American ships. The Ruskies are also sending five of their nuclear missile subs down from Vilyuchinsk too. My orders are to put a special ops team on that island in order to find a way for some one, anyone in these combined fleets, to get at least one, preferably more, hydrogen bombs dropped or somehow activated on that alien infested rock and wipe that island clean.

"Since our ambassador to Japan was screwing the same Chinese embassy spy/secretary as you, I have been informed that you made a deal with him and have your own agenda for being here, but that deal has hereby been canceled by my President. There will be no more individual nor one country's attempts to exploit and gain exclusive control of the alien's technology. I have also been given carte blanche authority to obtain from you people whatever information I need to accomplish my current mission. I have already confiscated your goofy looking helmets, and my tech experts are looking them over. That also means we will ask you people questions about their purpose, the space ship's weapons, and the so called Sekirei aliens on that island, and you all will answer. If I have to, I will order the Chief here to beat, throttle, and even water board the lot of you until all those answers match up."

"Are you all NUTS?" Minaka exclaimed in total shock. How could these fools do this to him? This was madness! And it had to be stopped! The ship was everything! It couldn't be destroyed! "I KNOW most of Sekirei on that island. They will not hesitate to totally destroy all of you if you attack! Especially Karasuba! Not to mention Miya and Mutsu! At the very least you should at first try to contact and negotiate with them! You silly fools simply can't destroy them out of hand! The original team of five that wiped out your previous invasions are back on that island! They've got almost a hundred more of their now adult siblings with them, and most have had their powers enhanced by their bonding with a few humans who are undoubtedly on the Island too and telling them everything they need to know about what is coming at them! And their Sekirei ship is active now! There isn't one chance in a billion you'll succeed this way! You'll be slaughtered out of hand unless we can get within range of my tuned psychic weapon! All you need to do is buy me and my people some time, then there will be no need to attack nor negotiate! And then we can all examine that ship!"

"Yeah? WE all can, eh? How cozy," The Captain pursed his lips and nodded once with one very skeptical eyebrow raised and head cocked to one side. "Now see, all that right there is some handy little pieces of information that I didn't have. And to be fair, maybe contact and negotiation with the aliens is going happen and be handled by others, but most probably as a misdirection ploy if I know my politicians on this planet. I don't know anything about that, and don't need to know. MY mission of total extermination is still as described.

"My superiors are of the opinion that although powerful, these Sekirei on Kamakura Island are not infallible and subject to Murphy's First Law just like the rest of us. They can also screw up and leave some of our guys alive like they did after those failed invasions of almost twenty years ago. If and when they do, they might give us an opportunity to hit them when they aren't looking. Maybe we can use your tuned gizmo too. Who knows? But we WILL find out. Think of our current mission as the ultimate fail safe solution, whether used first or last, but you can bet the big lifts in your shoes, pointy little head, and your silly looking cape that we WILL succeed, little man. Got it? Chief, you may begin your interrogations, and while getting matched answers to that list of questions I've given you, try to keep the air in the boat smelling fresh when these egghead MBI clowns piss and shit themselves."

"Aye aye, Captain," the Chief acknowledged cheerfully as he stepped to an intercom on the wall and thumbed the switch. "This is the Chief of the Boat. Turn up the ventilation systems fan speed in all sections and add a little air freshener."

***scene break***

The huge ventilation fans in the ceiling of the base recreational hall on Kamakura Island were turning slowly but still helping to cool the sweat soaked t-shirt and workout shorts Cash was wearing as he pitched to Uzume. Due to fighting the heavy and erratic emotional pressure he was receiving from Riko, the irrational irritability that her instability was causing within him, and his efforts in concentrating on solving his myriad of problems during his workout session, Cash hadn't noticed that he now had the entire gym floor to himself. He had finally found some partial solutions to most of what was bugging him, but, he growled to himself as he threw, if something wasn't done about Riko's situation soon, he was definitely going to go nuts. His crazy Sekirei chick named Riko was killing him here.

When Cash and his Circle had arrived after the little singing session, the rec hall had already been alive with Sekirei, some sparring with partners, more playing basketball, volleyball, and dodge ball; albeit with some outlandish variations of the rules due to their alien physiques and abilities. The rest had simply been exercising, cavorting about in humanly impossible gymnastics, and speed running on the overhead perimeter track to joyfully stretch their muscles and also mentally relax. Cash had stood inside the door watching in head shaking admiration of the alien athletic show for a few minutes, marveling at their innate Sekirei coordination, strength, timing, speed, and skills that made him totally jealous as a representative of the physically inferior human race.

Man, Cash had marveled while watching in envy, even the weakest and least talented among the alien bird people made the greatest baseball players in the Hall of Fame look like untalented and puny schmucks. So what did they make him look like? A fumbling, feeble, little school boy who had always gotten bullied on the playground and grown into not much more than that now, that's what. Matter of fact, he had to be the inherent weak point of their entire military and social organization, Cash decided with rare internal insight, no matter how much he built himself up. What human male wouldn't be intimidated alongside even the weakest Sekirei female, and why in the name of Makunouchi Ippo hadn't Natalie chosen Mutsu to be her Prime Leader? The big alien male was obviously and immensely more capable, mentally and physically.

On the other hand, if the Sekirei/Human interbreeding program continued in the centuries ahead, then the physical gap between the two species would close, right? Oh sure, a baseball diamond and outfield would have to expand exponentially, Cash thought ruefully, but the truth was that even highly athletic guys like him would be laughably inferior to most normal humans by the year 2525. Welcome to the world of dinosaurs and dodo birds old son, Cash grimaced to himself.

His envious reverie of the cavorting Sekirei was then interrupted by a few of them and their Ashikabi seeking guidance on various subjects from their puny, already outdated, and "highly unqualified to advise anyone about anything" Prime Leader. Painfully aware of his social and leadership incompetence as well as his physical limitations, Cash handled each incident just like one of his "off" days pitching. He threw out his best and hoped it wouldn't get creamed back into his face. Mostly he sent them to his Prime Circle for help. After all, wasn't delegating to some one who actually knew what they were doing a time honored way to palm off responsibility from time past and probably even good for the future centuries to come? The biggest problem was most of their troubles could either be solved or more easily handled if Riko was here and functioning rationally. Riko, Riko, RIKO! Cash gritted his teeth in silent exasperation. Why did it seem like everything wrong in his current life revolved around a highly temperamental Sekirei that seemed to be a social bonehead more dense than her weak Ashikabi?

Luckily for the time being, most of the immediate requests and problems from Natalie's nest could be filled and/or solved easily through Kazehana, Karasuba, and Miya's guidance. Others couldn't be quite as neatly handled, and they usually required Riko's talents and/or geek genius brain. For example, Kouji, a little nonplussed that he had actually finished his anti-gravity equations and wanting to know if designing and building a functional prototype on Kamakura Island could actually be feasible, needed Riko to double check his work, gather materials needed, and help him program Natalie's engineering robots for the task. Seo and his Circle, already tired of tinned rations, wanted a giant fish net made so that they could drag it offshore for a steady supply of fresh seafood in the Sekirei mess hall. Mikogami and his Circle wanted to make a quick night raid on Tokyo for a few tons of more fresh vegetables and fruits. Here again, Riko together with Uzume was needed to make the fishing net, and a fast, invisible veggie/fruit run would be a snap for Riko too.

Natalie, wanting her once freed hull to be universally smooth and polished to look nice for her Prime Leader, was told to wait and give that problem to Uzume and Riko if and whenever they could do it. Also, more troublesome and greatly worrying Cash, Natalie's antimatter containment shield had developed tiny cracks when her main weapons had been fired for the second time at more orbital snoops before the heat dome had been renewed. This also meant that the sonic vibration process to free her hull had to be shut down until those repairs could be made anew. That could potentially take even more precious time which was running out on them all.

In addition, Mutsu wanted Natalie's hull covered in the same materials and devices that rendered the Karasu battle suits invisible to human technology. Then he needed Riko to help Matsu and Koko develop an even better computer worm that would more completely destroy MBI's stored data on everything Sekirei related all around the world; a worm pernicious enough to also infect and totally destroy everything not only hacked and backed up by the various competing nations, but also all the files of one particularly super hacking genius teenage boy living in Quezon City, Philippines. Mutsu also wanted one of Natalie's plasma cannons set up on the island's highest peak on a 360 degree swivel to guard the island's ocean horizon and closer at sea level and eliminate current low level blind spots in Natalie's defenses. That required Riko building a device found in Natalie's computer files of Sekirei technology that Cash thought sounded vaguely like some kind of Tesla tower that could receive broadcast power from Natalie's anti-matter generators.

Cash didn't have a clue about how she could do that, but extra heavy duty power cables traversing the island would simply not be feasible anyway. Then Minato advised that Kusano was getting highly impatient to begin her Island beautification project to honor her Mommy, and if Ku-chan lost her temper, well, he and his other Sekirei would be running for cover and NOT responsible for whatever happened. Once again, all this and that required Riko, Riko, RIKO!

Gads! Cash had sighed internally. Why had Riko gotten so pissed off and run away during that last meeting? What had he done? He simply couldn't give a more sincere and publicly abasing apology than what he had already given. Damn! The crazy Sekirei chick was really killing him here!

In the end, the only current problem that Cash had been able to solve on his own was Sanada's somewhat sheepish request for a special love song demanded by his Lead Sekirei, Ice Queen Oriha; one that would be chosen and only sung to her so that she could be seen to be just as cool as Cash's Sekirei. Sanada had quickly advised that he would sing it to her, but he needed a tune, and hopefully it would help thaw out Oriha's frozen panties a little tonight too. Did Cash have any suggestions? Especially since Oriha seemed to be a lot like Riko in the problem department? "Spooky" by the Classic IV, Cash had finally decided after a mental shrug. It was really the only song he knew that fit both temperamental Sekirei. At that point, Cash had given up on everyone's problems, pointed them all to Kazehana, and tried to concentrate on his own while exercising.

After jogging and thinking for almost an hour on the huge rec hall's overhead track, Cash had quietly found an empty space off by the bleachers, stepped off the required distance, and had Uzume conjure up a regulation pitcher's mound out some kind of hardened yet slightly giving compound. She had also made his athletic shoes, shorts, t-shirt, and heavy socks earlier. Letting his mind focus naturally, Cash had begun throwing to Uzume's instantly formed catcher's mitt even though focusing was a little difficult with her as a battery mate. Uzume's conjuring talents, when not being used for deadly purpose, were becoming incredibly handy in the practical sense, but playing catch with her shameless exhibitionism always came with a distracting side benefit as it had this time.

Still, Cash's long pitching session had went very well despite Uzume constantly and deliberately flashing her white lace panties at him, wiggling her bountiful chest unnecessarily, and giving him sly, inviting, and lewd looks on almost every return throw. There was more than one way to get nicely heated up during exercise, Cash smiled ruefully to himself, and it was a whole lot better than trying to dodge her attempts to bean him as she had angrily done in that memorable Tokyo Dome side session. On the other hand, he already owed Himeko a side session of her own. Damn! It was going to be tough balancing out a seven Sekirei sex life! Eight if he could ever get the weird and unappealing Riko integrated into their Circle properly. Or, Cash sighed in semi defeatism, replaced if he failed.

Cash suddenly noticed the empty gym floor and glanced around in surprise. A few feet away on the bleacher seats, all of Cash's Sekirei were now lightly schmoozing amongst themselves while watching him intently. Surprisingly too, all the other Circles and quite a few of the other Sekirei had joined them, most intent on taking their first opportunity to quietly interact with Natalie on a personal basis, but many were silently watching him also as if he had become something strange and fascinating normally found in a Japanese idol performance. Kusano had promptly taken control of Natalie's lap earlier, chatting happily and filling the hall with her laughing girlish pleasure in talking to her Mommy, but now they both were silently watching Cash too. Cash also noticed that Kusano seemed to be impatiently glaring at him.

He threw one more slow curve, letting his mind finally relax after the intense and focused thinking session he had just went through despite Uzume's shameless antics. During his long run on the overhead indoor track that made an oval perimeter around the hall and then during his even longer throwing session, he had mentally picked his troubles apart one by one. He had settled on exactly what he was going to do after carefully going through and examining all options on each of his problems until this last one, Riko. Riko, Riko, RIKO! She had him stumped. Every way he looked at her, he saw a square peg that couldn't emotionally fit his round Circle, but why? The longer he had pitched, the more baffled he had been at that last question.

Uzume easily tracked and caught his last slow curve, and then took one single bound to get to his side when she saw him relax. He was prepared for an invitation from her to go have sex together in the showers, but Cash flinched badly at an awed voice behind him.

"DAMN, ARCH!" Haihane exclaimed loudly while smacking her right fist into her left palm near his left ear with the force of a large firecracker. The action was emphatic enough to make her big metal claws clank together while hanging in their cross harness on her back. "You are one freaking good pitcher! That last curve was incredible! Man, I can't wait to see you pitch in a live game again! Hey! Hey! Can I be your catcher the next time you practice? SonofaBITCH that was great stuff! Geez! I love baseball!"

"You gonna be my number one fan, Haihane?" Cash grinned at her unabashed enthusiasm while trying to clear his ringing left eardrum with one wriggling forefinger. He took a few seconds to note with one squinted eye that Seo's once spooky looking and mummy wrapped Sekirei was now almost blooming in happiness with a much better looking skin condition even though she still smelled slightly of sheep tallow. Added to that, she was quite frankly the best Lead Sekirei of a fully functional and meshed Circle that he and Natalie had right now. He almost envied Seo in that regard.

"You got that right!" Haihane nodded vigorously to make her new hairdo bounce about her pale face. "I already am! And I ain't the only one! A lot of us can tell you got the right stuff Arch, but count me as your best fan!"

"And a fan is all she's ever gonna be to you too," Uzume threw a suspicious and jealous glare over Cash's shoulder at having her carefully orchestrated sexual advances to her Ashikabi temporarily thwarted. "I'M his practice catcher, Claws! Beat it! Go sit down and let me talk privately here! And keep your slutty eyeballs on Seo!"

"Nah, nah, it's not like that, Zoomer! I just want to play catch!"

"Really? Oh, well, in that case, now that I think about it, I am open to bribery."

"Yeah?" Haihane chortled while rubbing her hands together in anticipation but then frowned as she turned obediently away to sit down with her Circle while muttering to herself. "But what in the hell have I got that Uzume would want as a bribe?"

"That will keep her occupied for a year or two," Uzume gave Haihane's back a brief, smug, and somewhat catty stare before turning her head to look seriously into Cash's eyes. He could sense that Uzume's obvious physical desire for him had cooled slightly during the interruption as she too had been doing some thinking during their pitch and catch session. Cash braced himself for whatever blunt and potentially awkward announcement or question that was sure to come when Uzume gave him her "let's be serious" look.

"Joe, tell me something." A large, fluffy white towel materialized out of nowhere in Uzume's free right hand. She used it to gently start wiping the sweat from his face and neck; once again fussing over him fondly like a newlywed bride wanting her jock hubby to look good in public, but not TOO good.

"How did Reeker get so far down on your shit list so fast, Joe? And then stay there? I mean, I know she got a little bitchy when Karasuba kissed you first, then Akitsu, Miya, and me. Reek went nearly berserk and weird on other occasions a few times afterward, but I've lost my temper with you even more, and you still love me. You do still love me, right?"

"Yes, yes, yes! Uzi, I've loved you ever since our first night together in that cheesy love motel," Cash smiled down at her semi worried expression while trying to ignore her delicious and thinly covered twin girls she was deliberately poking and rubbing into his chest as she worked the towel. "I don't mind you yelling at me when you think I'm being a social clod, because you're probably right when you do. Remember the White Castle sliders with all those onions and why you punched my shoulder? It was okay. I deserved it, and besides I've already told you. You're the first, real true love of my life.

"I was fond of the others after kissing them, winging them, and even making love with them before you and I met, but you and me, Uzi, we hit something beautiful together in my mind immediately, the same way it happened with me and Himeko, and then Kazehana. You getting steamed at me hasn't hurt that at all, and it never will. You have a right to your feelings. We all do."

"So you ain't holding a grudge for me being a little bitchy?" Uzume eyed him narrowly with her head cocked sideways to make sure she was on solid ground with him. "I mean, I did warn you right from the first, right?"

"Yeah, sure, hey, no problem! I know we're all gonna have our relationship speed bumps, especially here in these early days, but they won't bother me long, and they'll lead to closer emotional bonding. Besides, every love affair has chances to grow and go deeper, right? The morning you got mad at me and wrecked Kazehana's apartment, that was when it clicked into place to make me know for sure that I was really and truly in love with Akitsu when we were in the bath together before you went nuts. I had another 'love realized' moment later with Toyotama after she bowled the Petals over with that chair and then needed calming. I guess I can't exactly point to a specific moment when I fell in love with Natalie, probably during one of our arguments, but I have no doubts now. Karasuba and Miya, well, we had a lot of baggage between the three of us that had to be dumped, but since their bonds have been made right, we're much closer now. Every time I look at either one I'm starting to get the same feelings of love inside as I have with you and the others. Listen, you've got nothing to worry about because you were really my first true love. Our bonding was very special to me."

"But why didn't you feel the same for Riko?" Uzume persisted with a pained expression.

"As for Riko, ummm, no, she's never been like that for me," Cash paused as he used a corner of Uzume's towel to wipe his forehead again, his eyes taking a puzzled and distant expression. He could feel that his wayward Sekirei up north was now moving once again and coming closer towards him. It had been a stop and go thing with Riko as if she had made a decision but was having a lot of second and third thoughts. Now why was that? Riko had been nothing but bulldog stubborn once she had made up her mind to do something. This wasn't like her at all.

"Riko has always just felt really wrong to me somehow, right from the first day we met, kinda bitter and sour tasting in my mind now that we're lightly bonded if that makes any sense, not sweet and smelling good like the rest of you. I've been thinking about it quite a bit, especially here lately, and for the life of me, I don't know why it has been like that. Sometimes just looking at her kinda pisses me off, even if she's done nothing. It's like I took an almost instant dislike to her for some reason, but I've never done that to anyone in my life before. All I know is now, the harder we try to come together, the more we fail. It seems like we're two magnets with our N-S poles aligned the same to repel each other. So, basically I can't answer your first question, Uzi, and if I could, then maybe I could turn the whole thing with Riko around somehow. I keep trying to think of a way to fix us, but I got nothing. For right now, she just feels like a giant, sour puzzle piece that can't fit the sweet place she's supposed to fill. As Prime Leader, I realize she's sorely needed here, but as a man, I just don't LIKE her at all and never really have."

"I just don't understand," Uzume began tearfully while shaking her head in frustration. "Reeker's always been so damn beautiful and way beyond smarter than all of us. We all could have killed her for her perfect shape and envied how petite and sexy she always looked in the baths. She just HAS to be sexually attractive to you! And she always had a good heart on her too, at least before she left MBI. Something happened to change her and make her lose her temper so easily, even before you really met and rejected her. She was never like that before either, in fact, just the exact opposite. Nobody could ever guess what she was thinking or how she felt about anything, let alone if she was angry or not. Now she just pisses everybody off, even Akitsu. And worse, Kazehana, her best friend and loving older sister to all of us, even she is totally pissed off at Reeker now. Reek should be so right for you, Joe, and happy with you and the rest of us too! It just doesn't make sense!"

"Well, the best I got, honey," Cash shrugged apologetically, "and the more I think about it, maybe it's not her, but me. The more I try to reason out the why of it though, I draw a blank. My very first impression of her was I knew she LOOKED way out of my league as girlfriend material, but she just FELT really wrong to me, and then everything between us went right into the toilet immediately after that. I mean, sure she's got a 50 million yen face, body, and brains, but she's also got a 50 million yen childish temper along with 5 yen of common sense and 2 yen of concern for anyone other than herself."

"That's not true!" Uzume objected. "Reek has always cared for me. When I was at my lowest just before Chiho died, Reeker even took me out for pizza to cheer me up!"

"On Miss Chiho's last day?" Cash raised one skeptical eyebrow. "How generous, eh? With Riko's power, especially combined with yours, why didn't she just help you take Miss Chiho out of that hospital and over to Himeko to get healed? Wouldn't a true friend who cared for you do that instead of just buy a lousy pizza?"

"Well, well," Uzume sputtered in consternation. "Uhhh, Himeko was an enemy then!"

"Nonsense! Are you trying to tell me that my Himeko, the one Sekirei in Natalie's entire brood with more true selfless compassion for others than all the rest combined, would refuse to help heal anyone brought to her, even an enemy Ashikabi?"

"Joe, you don't understand how it really was between all of us at that time." Uzume's face was now a study of shame, remorse, and uncertainty. Why hadn't they even thought of making one last ditch attempt to save Chiho? "I, I don't know why we didn't think of doing that though."

"It's because Riko's more self involved than a co-joined clone of my sister and ex Agnes Mortenson! That's why. It makes folks around her act the same way too, and probably the feel of that turned me off on her when we first met. Even so, I guess I should have been more open and winged Riko knowing what we all know now, but it just didn't happen. Probably because I'm pretty much the same way myself, or at least, used to be. I want to be better now that I'm responsible to care for all of us. I'm trying to get it all figured out and fix my relationship with Riko, but I'm feeling pretty much like a giant failure for not knowing how to do it, especially since this last total meltdown."

"Nonsense," Karasuba lightly cuffed Cash's head from behind. Kazehana also silently gripped his right bicep while giving him a slightly disapproving frown and then simply began nuzzling her face into his neck as only she could affectionately nuzzle. Surprised again, Cash turned his head to see that his Circle had decided to join in his chat with Uzume. His other frowning Sekirei had formed a semi circle around him and Uzume with Miya on one end, Natalie on the other, and Akitsu in the center flanked by Toyotama and Himeko. It seemed from their expressions that none of them accepted the premise that he was the causative failure when it came to Riko either.

"Because of you, and even if you didn't want any part of it," Karasuba continued firmly, "the Sekirei Plan didn't even go to the Third Stage. Sekirei have stopped needlessly slaughtering each other. Minaka and his world wide domination plans using MBI, Natalie, and her children have been totally stalled. This one last desperate push by him and the other human nations is their only final option, actually feeble and doomed to fail. Multiplied millions of humans will be alive and free in the future because of you, one way or another. Even if we all get killed here in some freak fashion, Natalie will self destruct and die before giving up her technology to a human race not ready for it, but the ancient Sekirei merging program to advance both of our races will continue anyway.

"You have also brought us into our true Sisterhood Circles. You have given hope, happiness, and love where there was very little. You have taken seven badly damaged and even deranged Sekirei females and their even more badly damaged womb mother and made us yours, whole, complete, and alive in ways no other man on this planet could do. Riko is NOT your fault, nor are you a giant failure in any way. Cash, you are our husband, dammit! We will NOT tolerate any further negative talk like this from you! It will really PISS us off! Got it?"

Cash closed his eyes and dropped his head, nodding slightly to himself. As threatening as that had sounded, it was really a giant self confidence boost. To have gained such total faith and support from a formerly and totally insane Karasuba, more than any other of his Sekirei including Kazehana, wasn't something a simple, dumb ass gaijin ballplayer could do. His Sekirei had caused a lot of maturing and social growth in a lot of ways as well as relating to them emotionally. It had taken something within him mentally he had never experienced before, something that needed to be consciously used to save Riko. Now if he could only find it. He turned to look at Karasuba and calmly stared down into her glaring obsidian eyes. His silent warm gaze made a slow flush of desire start at her neck and rise up over her face.

"Thanks, Kara. As soon as I can," Cash said softly, "I'll go camping with you. I owe Himeko a date real soon too, but I'm really looking forward to being alone with you on our honeymoon."

"Damn, Wolfie," Karasuba blew out a small breath as she shook herself to keep from tearing up. "I don't think I'll ever get enough of the way you look at me."

"Hey! What about the rest of us? You don't even have to look at me to get me started, Lover-kun," Kazehana blew softly into his ear, "not the way you constantly caress me with your mind. Want to shower with me now?"

"Hey, that was my line, Onee-chan!" Uzume growled as she stepped to put her chest more firmly against Cash and worm her arms between him and her two shameless Sisters trying to usurp his attention.

A series of loud, rhythmic, and thunderous thumps shook the rec hall, and Cash turned to give Natalie an inquiring look.

"Mutsu has begun eliminating a third wave of orbiting satellites that were being maneuvered above the Island," Natalie explained with a far away expression. "I am monitoring my containment shield flaws and will advise if the cracks expand. If they do, then we'll cease using my plasma cannons."

"Okay," Cash frowned in concern. Damn! They needed Riko to fix those cracks right away!

"Husband," Akitsu called out softly with a warning tone in her voice. "I also feel a group of unhappy and slightly hostile men approaching the north side of this island. They are wet, cold, and greatly in fear of landing. I do not sense any intent to attack, only to survive impending danger. One feels like he has lost something very valuable and is very angry about it."

Cash nodded silently in puzzlement as he willingly let Uzume, Kazehana, and Karasuba continue to half jostle each other for position against him. Now who were these new guys, and what did they lose? Advance special forces or scouts from the approaching invaders whose spy/sabotage mission had gone very wrong maybe? But how had they gotten so close without Natalie detecting any energy output? Fishermen with boat trouble? Hell, they could even be news hounds trying to scoop each other and botched their trip here from Tokyo somehow. In any case, they had to be helped to escape whatever danger they were in, but maybe it would be a good idea to keep them completely isolated from all possible harm if the invasion arrived late tomorrow. More to the point, if they were military types, how many other covert operations were headed towards Kamakura Island from some super cloaked vessels or even submarines? No sane commander would continue any kind of invasion without real time up close intelligence of some kind, not after witnessing Natalie's weapon display. So what was this? Navy Seals? Chinese commandos? Ninjas? Who?

"Natalie, would you warn Mutsu and ask him to please save and also investigate these guys? I think it would be best not to let them see anything if he can manage it. If he can't send them on their way, then we'll have to keep them locked up somewhere safe for their own protection. And ask him to make some kind of plan to forestall any future intelligence raids too as well as try to set up a plasma cannon on that high peak without Riko's help, okay?"

"Understood and complying," Natalie said with another far away look.

"Cash Joseph," Sayomi called from behind Cash's Circle, "I used Yukari's phone to call my Mother on an encrypted link and talk to her about me being knocked up, but she must have been connected to your Mother and went three way because your Mom is now demanding to talk to you. What should I say?"

"Uhhh, damn, well, let me talk to her, I guess," Cash squeezed his eyes shut as if in pain while resentfully shaking his head. What lousy timing! This was the last thing he needed now!

"Hello Ma," Cash glared at his suddenly grinning Sekirei and the entire amused crowd quickly forming in gleeful anticipation around them. "I'm fine, Ma, for Pete's sakes! My phone got busted, and I haven't been anywhere I could get a new one! I TOLD you that robot kidnapping story was just a public relations stunt by my Tokyo baseball team. So? I don't care if they do deny it! Nobody's trying to harm me, Ma!

"Yes, I married Uzume and not Sayomi! Because I love her, that's why! Hey! Quit that bitching right now! I've told you a thousand times I'll take care of my own love life! That's right! I just don't give a damn what you or your organization wants. It was never up to you guys to begin with!

"What's that? Your responsibilities? Well, if that's the way you want to look at it, then it has actually turned out better than what you wanted. How? That's because you don't have the full story yet, Ma.

"Geez, there may be big ears listening that's why! I'll give you the full scoop when I get home in a few days. I just got a little contract thing I have to clear with my Tokyo team, and then I'll be pitching for the Muckdogs again. NO! There's no need for you to come over here Ma!"

Cash held the phone away from his ear and winced at the outright screaming coming from the other end.

"Dammit Sayomi!" Cash held Yukari's phone against his chest to muffle his whispered hiss. "Is there any way your Order can keep Ma off every plane to Tokyo and leave her stranded in Springfield?"

"Well, technically YOU are still our Prime Center, Cash," Sayomi shrugged using both hands palm up. "All you gotta do is order her to stay home. My Mom is the treasurer and has all the connections for the entire World Order of Dryas Octopetala. If you give the word, make it a direct order, you're Mom will be blacklisted from all international flights."

"Okay! Now we're getting somewhere! What's your Mom's name?"

"Leila. Your on three way with her, remember?" Sayomi's expression turned wickedly thoughtful before she added, "You know, your Mom and mine are both long time widows, right? Wouldn't a good and caring Prime Center be concerned about their happiness and maybe think about getting them new husbands? Maybe give us both a little more breathing room for a few days?"

"Good thinking!" Cash clenched his free hand triumphantly before raising the phone to speak very loudly into it. "Leila? Leila, this is Cash Joseph Archer, your current Prime Center. How ya doing? Listen, my Mother, her sisters, and my little sister under any circumstances cannot be allowed to fly anywhere until I personally say they can, understand? It's a direct order! That's right! A direct order!

"You heard me Ma! You are NOT coming over here! I don't care how much you bitch, yell, squawk, squall, and bawl! I'm not only your Prime Center, but I'm now Prime Leader! That's right! I'm in charge! I'm married to the entire Prime Circle, and Kazehana, MY Prime Pillar, is now your boss too! No! No more details! I told you I'd fill you in when I get home! And another thing now that I think about it, and since I better start looking after ALL my people, it's high time Leila, that you, my Mother and both sets of your sisters found another husband! Yes! You heard me! New husbands! Both of you! Leila? I want your Order to immediately start a search for..."

Cash started in surprise and held the phone away to stare at the 3D screen. It was blinking in used minutes, sounding a dial tone, and asking if he wished to reconnect.

"Well I'll be damned! They both cut our connection!" Cash looked up and swiveled his head to look rather stupidly around the rec hall without really seeing anyone before talking to himself a little more. "SHE hung up first! That's the first time I've ever shut Ma up, ever. Hell, I should have thought of that argument years ago. Thanks Sayomi!"

"Ehhh," Sayomi shrugged philosophically. "I love her, but I had to let my Mom understand where SHE stands in the new pecking order now too."

"Ohhh, you were so manly!" Kazehana, having used her large assets and longer reach to gain an advantage over her two rivals, hugged Cash's right side in delight while laying her head on his shoulder and nuzzling his neck again. "Ummm, I love you so much Lover-kun!"

"THAT'S the way to take care of that over controlling BITCH!" Natalie purred in gleeful satisfaction but soft enough that Cash couldn't hear her while she also closed off that thought from his mind. Cash would have missed it anyway because he was getting some increasingly uncomfortable vibes from Akitsu. Was Riko's approaching emotional storm upsetting her too?

"YAY! Way to go Master!" Toyotama cheered loud enough to make the rec hall echo. It also made Cash wince hard from Riko enhanced annoyance. He gave his Amazon Sekirei a thoughtful and slightly frowning glance over Uzume's shoulder that instantly subdued Toyotama's enthusiasm, but the rest of the crowd continued to laugh and chatter gleefully at the his sudden gift of entertainment.

Cash, also irritated that he was letting Riko screw with his emotions, swiveled his head to the north. Riko was finally moving more steadily and coming towards him while broadcasting excess agitation. Every Sekirei in the room sensed her oncoming movement from the strength of her mind's turmoil. Cash glanced again at Kazehana who was now upright and also looking northward and then turning to stare at him with a mixture of uneasy uncertainty and outright worry in her large dark eyes. Clearly she was dreading another unhappy confrontation as well as any decision that she would be forced to make between helping or condemning one who had been a trusted Sister, former great friend, and close drinking buddy. Kazehana was also emotionally projecting that if she ever needed a big slug of saki, now was the time.

Cash frowned and shook his head at his Prime Pillar's recurring alcoholic weakness as the surrounding Sekirei and Ashikabi began talking excitedly; some hopeful, some guarded, but most outright hostile to a volatile Riko disrupting the good vibes everyone had been enjoying up to now. Cash immediately felt like he had to say something to improve the group mood and diffuse the negativity.

"All right, all right, let's all just calm down," Cash untangled himself from his three still clinging Sekirei and waved for silence before handing the borrowed phone back to Sayomi. "Listen folks, okay, Riko is still on her way here, and she's now moving again. I need to say this to all of you before she arrives. Let me and my Circle deal with her, please. Stay out of it. Also, I have decided on some things. First, as to the invading fleets coming our way, we will NOT kill anyone if we can in any way avoid it. Period. Second, I want us all to think of and find options to keep the three approaching fleets a harmless distance away from Kamakura Island. I want to really stress that harmless part. I want to at least stall them until we can get Natalie repaired and free. I also want that stall plan to give us all more time to think of a win-win situation for everyone in the near and far future. The rest of what I got to say is to my Circle."

Cash felt a tug on his t-shirt from behind and looked down and back to see Kusano giving him a very earnest and searching look with her small fists on her hips.

"I really, really like you Onii-chan CJ," she began while nodding emphatically, "and I'm really, really glad Onee-chan, Mommy Natalie, and Miya-san chose to marry you, but Riko-san feels very naughty to me. I don't think I like her very much, and she smells bad in my mind. Are you sure she's gonna help me make Mommy's island pretty?"

"Well, Riko is very upset at the moment," Cash returned cautiously. The mental and psychic power of this little kid felt like water gushing from a pressure hose used by firefighters on high rise apartment fires. No wonder all the other Sekirei stepped lightly around her. Was she perhaps another elite female from Natalie's nest? One that might be tagged as the Pillar of a second future nest from the next generation?

"I can help you spank Riko-san and make her behave when she gets here," Kusano replied gravely. "Then you can comfort her with cookies and milk like Onii-chan Minato comforts me after I get punished for being naughty. That will help her feel all better again and smell better too. Then we can make everything pretty here, right?"

"That sounds like a good plan, Ku-chan," Cash gently patted the youngster's head while smiling. What was that old saying? You can always fool people but never dogs and kids? She too could sense Riko's "wrongness" that was bedeviling him and had since they had first met. "But let Rose and I talk to Riko first, okay? I don't want anyone to get hurt if Riko loses her temper again."

"Okay," Kusano frowned slightly while thinking this over and then brightened. "You're very nice inside, Onii-chan CJ, and you smell good too."

"Thank you Ku-chan," Cash called after her as she skipped back to join her departing Circle. "You smell good to me too."

Cash watched her jump casually onto Minato's back to be playfully carried to her seat like a little queen upon a staggering servant. Life wasn't a total bed of roses with the other Ashikabi either, Cash realized, and was somehow glad that Kusano was Minato's problem and not his no matter how cute she looked and acted. On the other hand, he had more than enough troubles within his own dysfunctional Circle.

"Third," Cash continued more softly as the other Sekirei and Ashikabi also moved away, still chatting amiably amongst themselves. "Sweethearts, I love you all, more than I can express, but I am not ready nor mature enough to become a father yet. Before that happens, we need to get things set up to have and raise our children right. Each child we have will need to get all the love and care we can give. I will not be spread too thin and not give them what they should have and can only get from me. I simply won't let a kid of mine get raised without a full time Dad. I want our family planning put on hold until we ALL know its the right time and situation, understand?"

This was greeted by a soft chorus of disappointment which turned to half smiles as Miya stepped close to Cash while partially jostling Karasuba aside.

"Dear Heart, if you're still worried about incubating our eggs in a nest," Miya grinned slyly behind a hiding right palm while her eyes twinkled mischievously. "Sekirei females give live birth just like human females."

"You were all pulling my leg earlier?" Cash exclaimed in chagrin and disbelief and then grinned at his being duped so easily. His Sekirei all burst out in uncontrolled laughter. "Holy Cats did you get me good with that one! Man, I'm gonna have to keep my eye on you, Miya!"

"And that's exactly what I want," Miya replied with a sultry smile and a now very familiar cat eyed look, "you looking at me always and in all ways."

"Don't get too cute, Old Timer!" Karasuba warned immediately while shoving back. "We only went along with your joke because the expression on Hubby's face was priceless! But we ALL want his eyes on us all the time! And you're at the bottom of the immediate attention list now anyway."

"I think it's just wonderful that you took Miya's joke seriously, my love," Himeko moved to lightly kiss Cash's cheek, and her action and expression seemed to simply melt something inside him. For some reason just having her touching him felt so comforting, calming, loving, and right. The exact opposite of being near Riko. "It means that you'd even give up baseball in your love for us and our babies!"

"Well, yes, I would, if I have too, I guess," Cash half smiled in return while lightly capturing her right hand in his and giving it a gentle squeeze of affection. "But Silky, just because I don't have to nest sit and incubate your eggs, my decision to keep our family planning on hold still goes. I'm just not ready for babies and fatherhood yet."

"Well, that's okay," Himeko smiled as she reached to caress his left cheek softly with the back of her right hand and fingers. "I can wait as long as it pleases you, My Love."

Once again Himeko's facial expression, actions, and tone of voice made Cash regard her more closely. Now why couldn't Riko be like this? Everything about Himeko screamed pure love and devotion for her Ashikabi, expecting nothing in return and yet simply reveling in any attention he paid to her. Himeko didn't have Kazehana or Akitsu's totally stunning looks and build, Miya's experience and training, Karasuba's total self confidence, Toyotama's total submissiveness, nor Uzume's blunt and good humored intensity, but she had something more. There was an inner calmness, self effacing charm, and warmth that made Cash feel as if he had known Himeko all his life and was now completely comfortable around her at all times. Was this a part of her healing powers? Or was this just her sweet personality resonating perfectly with what he really deeply desired in a female? Wait. What if some of these good traits could be shared with Riko if and once she was integrated into Kazehana's Prime Circle? Perhaps all the Sisters would be helping each others personality flaws and weaknesses, not only with Himeko's sweetness but also Karasuba's self confidence. On the other hand, that didn't mean he couldn't help them all where he should be helping either.

"Smitty," Cash said finally after his reflective pause. He turned to Toyotama and also reached out to take her hands in his. She smiled weakly at his earnest expression while still feeling his mild displeasure at her earlier "Master" cheer.

"I just can't be your Master, sweetheart. You keep calling me that after I've asked you not to, and it really makes me very uncomfortable, nor can I tolerate you living in fear of yourself any longer."

"But I'm damaged inside!" Toyotama half wailed in despair as she sensed not only was he uncomfortable but was also perhaps getting a little angry and disappointed in her.

"NO! You are NOT! Everybody has hangups, some worse than others! We have to learn how to deal with them and grow out of them. I think the answer to your inner fears is this. I want you to love me like I love you. I trust you, and I want you to learn to trust yourself. We are all partners, side by side, helping each other, depending on each other. Can we do that? Can you? No! Don't hang your head! Don't look away! Look at me! Can you? I will take responsibility for you and love you, but not as your master, only as your man. I know I'm not much of one, but depend on me to help you. If you really want to be my wife, then you've got to stop with the master stuff and take responsibility too."

"I, I will do my best! Hus, hus, husband!" Toyotama nodded her head timidly at first and then more forcefully. Her full black mane of long hair swayed side to side as she now squeezed his hands to show her determination. She would do her best to never disappoint him ever again!

"Good! Ouch! Not so hard, dammit!" Cash yelped in dismay while trying hard not to jerk away from her intense grip. His direct communication techniques with his super strong alien wives were going to need a little more refinement, he decided ruefully as she instantly eased up. She then immediately fell to her knees to contritely begin kissing his throbbing hands and apologizing for hurting him.

Himeko reached over and began healing his pains while giving Toyotama a slightly irritated look and mouthing the words, "YOU CARELESS DORK!" Toyotama glared back but kept kissing Cash's hands as if she was a young mother tenderly healing her child's minor boo boo. Well, maybe Himeko wasn't totally perfect either, Cash sighed internally, and there was also another one that needed a little confidence boost.

"Rose," Cash looked at Kazehana while pointedly ignoring the byplay in front of him. "When Riko gets here, I want you to meet her first and try to calm her down before I try to talk to her. If I meet her, there's no telling what she'll do the way she's pissed at me. I don't want anyone to get hurt, including her. Natalie needs her anti-matter shields repaired right away, and her hull freed. We need Riko for those. They are our first priority. Everything else is secondary. You can also tell Riko that we will do everything we can to make her relationship right with your Circle and me as long as she is really willing to do her part now too. You will just have to decide whether she can calm down enough to make rational decisions to work with us, okay?"

"Lover, I," Kazehana began uncertainly, and then she nodded. Being in charge of everybody and making these tough command decisions wasn't a whole lot of fun. She had felt Cash's anger when she had refused to let him go north and rescue Riko, and his displeasure hadn't felt good at all even though he had submitted to her Pillar authority. Just now she had also felt his irritation at her sudden dark desire to get drunk and flee before Riko arrived.

Trying to use her new status as Prime Pillar for an advantage to get a little more loving was one thing, but actually being a leader sucked, Kazehana grimaced in thought, especially when she wasn't really getting the unified Sister support that she should be getting. It was making a big nervous lump in her stomach if she made another mistake, and she knew she had been making too many here lately. Besides, she wasn't that far from the distraught, vomiting, and hysterical drunk that had stupidly kidnapped Cash in an indoor whirlwind, and she had still had an almost girlish uncertainty when confronted with something new as Prime Pillar.

Also, she had hurt him badly in her drunken carelessness in the Tokyo Dome and that fact still weighed heavily on her emotions. Life had been a whole lot simpler when she had able to lay back and cynically watch and comment on events without getting involved, but this was going to be Riko's absolute last chance to make good. A final decision would have to be made. Why had Riko run anyway? How could any of this get fixed now? Kazehana sighed anew in self disappointment. Why couldn't she and her Sisters get their act together at least as well as Haihane and hers had done for Seo?

Cash frowned anew as he felt a wave of unhappiness mixed with resignation course through Kazehana as well as another wave of strong desire for alcohol. Clearly Kazehana was not looking forward to this confrontation and wanted to run, but to her credit, she was fighting it.

"I will meet Riko at the door, Lover-kun. I guess you should stay here until it's safe to talk to her. Natalie can relay what we'll be saying."

"Okay, will do," Cash sighed, and then he cocked his head at Miya while attempting to smile warmly. This next needed to be handled delicately even if he had discovered Miya's dry humor side. She simply exuded raw and intimidating mental power on a par just above Kusano and Riko. He could also sense that the new mutual velvet covering of love now overlaying Miya's iron will and heavier iron fist was still extremely thin in a lot of places. She felt like an older yet cleaner and healthier version of a dominating Agnes Mortenson on steroids, forceful and intimidating as hell yet with a true submissive streak in her bonding to him. Now if they could only build mutual trust to go with that and grow closer together in every way.

On the other hand, Miya had promised no more sneakiness and had just fine lined that promise to him within twenty four hours of making it. Therefore as Prime Leader and also simply as a man who wanted to always truly believe in her, he was going to make it clear now once and for all that he wouldn't tolerate any kind of underhand actions from her, ever, not if she wanted his romantic attention. This total reversal from usual human male/female interaction by using sex as a motivational hammer struck Cash as incredibly ironic. After all, hadn't that been Agnes Mortenson's weapon of choice to lead him where she wanted, and now he was using the same thing on his oldest Sekirei? Weird, and maybe not the wisest of choices either from earlier witnessing first hand what even the weakest of Sekirei were physically capable of doing. Well, something had to be said because he could sense the growing uneasiness in her emotions, even if he had to borrow a small page from Agnes.

"Miya, as my wife I really appreciate your motives and efforts to help with Riko, but I don't especially like the back door way you've went about it. I also understand why you've tried to set up a big psychic link with the Petals and your Sisters to artificially boost things along in fixing our Circle, but don't. Riko and I deserve to know that whatever happens, it will be because of what we have desired and chosen to do. Do you agree?"

"No," Miya's lavender ponytail went slowly and negatively from side to side as she gave Cash an unsmiling but thoughtful answer. "I don't agree. We are a resource you need to learn how to use, in everything, including major headaches like Riko. Your Sekirei have minds as well as training and experience. Use us. Karasuba and I both believe getting Riko fully bonded to you and connected to Natalie is actually our top priority. We got permission from Kazehana earlier to do things to make it happen. That's why Karasuba was allowed to talk to Riko, and I approached Sayomi. Everything we have seen and went through says that you and Riko will need all the help you can get. I will put our bonding assistance on hold for you though, until you agree to it. I was going to tell you of my plan before she got here. I do not wish for you to ever feel like I'm doing anything you don't approve, or that I'm being sneaky and sly behind your back. I can feel your unhappiness and deep irritation about this whole situation, but please don't be upset with me. Dear Love, it was not my intent to be underhanded at all, only efficient and helpful."

"Well, good enough, I guess" Cash returned after a long pause which did nothing to quell the instant uneasiness still resonating in Miya's mind from his lingering distrust of her methods. "Until I do ask then, all of you just need to give Riko and I some space tonight if we sleep together, and that includes you, my amazing Natalie. Uzume, you especially need to keep your distance so you don't lose your temper with us again too, okay? Will you all do as I ask?"

"Ummm, when you are sleeping, can I come and watch you?" Natalie pressed forward while pouting in disappointment. "I want to be close where I can actually touch you, but I won't wake you!"

"Yes, but only if we're both sleeping. And Miya, tell Sayomi and her gals that we'll honor what you promised without them coming over tonight."

"All right, Wolfie, we'll agree to no bonding help for now," Karasuba also gave Cash a no nonsense look. "But we'll be eating and sleeping in the command quarters with you, right beside the bedroom door. You and Riko can be alone in the main bedroom if that's what you want, but as unstable as Riko has become, Natalie will monitor what you're doing and warn the rest of us if there's any danger. You will not leave here or there without all of us with you either. Remember too that Riko could snap your neck in an instant to commit murder/suicide, but I think it's highly unlikely. I'm pretty confident that she's coming to get fixed with you, just pissed off about it for some reason she didn't tell me."

"Good enough again," Cash shrugged his acceptance as he drew Toyotama lightly to her feet and fondly kissed her forehead. She responded with a bright smile and turned to wrinkle her nose at Himeko. He also fondly patted Toyotama's firm rear end, winked at Himeko to get another sunny smile, and gave them all a silent, affectionate gesture with his right palm to head back to the bleachers.

"If Kazehana allows it, just give me and Riko a little space to talk here before we leave too. I'm going to stand apart over there and cool down a little more. Better yet, put yourselves on the bleachers beside Kazehana and give her your emotional support, okay? Remember Miya," Cash turned to give his lavender haired Sekirei a warm, yet semi serious smile, "I appreciate your efforts, but please, no help unless I ask for it."

"You know what Blackie?" Miya murmured slowly with a very reflective, still half troubled, and half surprised expression as they both watched Cash slowly stroll away while throwing his baseball repeatedly into his mitt. "There is a very kind, loving, and considerate man underneath all that emotional baggage from his mother. It's very comforting to see him express it more and more. That's also the first time a human male has spoken so, so, ummm, firmly to me and made my knees feel a little weak in wanting him. That's something Takehito never did."

"Yep, same here," Karasuba grinned contentedly while unconsciously caressing the handle of her katana. "Those damn sexy blues eyes of his, the way he smells, and even though he's downright puny compared to our powers, I love his big muscles and leather smell anyway. Everything about him just kicks me in the guts every time he gets close, especially those damn blue eyes! It surprises me too after all those years the way I was. Our little mama's boy has really started to cut the apron strings too! We finally got us a MAN, Old Timer! And haven't I always said he was the best damn Ashikabi ever? I'm done underestimating him also. You better learn that too after the way he sniffed your little plot with Sayomi out so fast. And get Uzume to change your panties like she does for the rest of us. Oh yeah, remind me to have her make a nice double sleeping bag for my camping honeymoon with my Throbbing Wolf that I get before YOU get yours."

"Old Timer?" Miya right eyebrow arched in annoyance. "After I saw you tear up earlier? I see a corrective sparring match in your near future, Weepy, with MANY deserved lumps on YOUR thick, gray haired skull."

"Weepy? Weepy my ass! Since you got your jollies earlier, just save your energy until I get mine, then I won't feel like I'm taking advantage of you in your old age."

Akitsu, silent the whole time and staring north, gave Cash a slightly frowning look of nervous concern as Karasuba and Miya continued their minor sniping. The real problem was that the oncoming and still angry Riko actually felt insane, and Akitsu didn't like what she was sensing at all. For some reason, Akitsu's nervousness made Natalie's simulacrum programming glitch so that her form suddenly grew into a giantess about five times taller. The sight made Cash as well as everyone else stop and gawk upwards in surprised awe. Natalie took a few flustered seconds to make the correction to return to normalcy and moved to stand beside Cash who had been protectively flanked by Akitsu.

"I'm, I'm not sure what happened just now," Natalie began in puzzlement. "I want to do my best to appear normal for you, Cash Darling, but something unknown surged through my programming circuits just now."

"Don't worry about it," Cash chuckled reassuringly. "Just another reminder of how truly amazing you can be, Love. Tall or short you look marvelous!"

"Hey, I saw the look on your face while staring up Natalie's skirt, you sly perv. If you'd like to boink me tonight, Wolfie," Karasuba also chuckled easily while moving in and slipping an arm around Cash's waist again, "or maybe even do a honey sandwich with Akitsu like old times, I'm sure Natalie wouldn't mind."

"Ohhh Husband! Can we?" Akitsu's very interesting chest started making very interesting small circles against his torso as she began to suggestively move on his other side.

"Hey! No fair jumping the line, Blackie! I'm first!" Toyotama growled not so softly as she approached. "You too Aki-chan! Onee-chan has a new schedule for us to sleep with Mast, with, with Husband, remember?"

"Well no, I don't remember seeing that little memo," Karasuba grinned lazily as they all gathered around Cash once again. "But I'm up for a sweet and sticky foursome if you want to get lucky too, Toys. You might even learn a few happy things as well as get your sweet tooth fed."

"Hey now, wait," Cash began with a start at that intimidating mental image, but he was ignored.

"Really? Geez, I've never, ummm, or felt sexy enough to, but, ummm," Toyotama eyebrows went up and her head cocked to one side as she started seriously thinking it over. "Maybe that WOULD be fun as long as all the lights were turned off, you and Aki-chan help, and, and I could even bring my coconut oil!"

"WHAT!" Kazehana fumed immediately. "Hey now, you guys aren't going to go behind my …!"

"Uhhh, hey, wait," Cash began another protest, but he was again ignored.

"Okay, okay, a five way romantic snack and massage party," Karasuba surrendered easily. "No worries! Toys brings the oil, Aki-chan the Cool Whip, I'll bring wine, honey, cheese, and a few scented candles to set the mood, and you bring the fruit, Windy. Zoomer and Mekko can have the bath with Wolfie afterward. Miya can just kiss off since she just had him last all to herself. How about it?"

"Well, ummm, yeah," Kazehana blinked while bringing a contemplative finger to the right side of her full red lips that were now pursed in thought as she studied Akitsu's continued and very suggestive rubbing against Cash. "Why not? I've always been up for sharing as long as Lover wants to, and Miya DID have her turn already. Being Prime Pillar kind of sucks when it comes to having fun. I'm way behind everybody in getting my share of the loving too! Can I bring a few bottles of saki?"

"NO!" Cash finally barked out angrily, but he was unprepared for the totally hurt facial expressions he received in return. He instantly tried to make amends while retaining some tiny shred of male dignity.

"That's, that's, still very difficult for ME! Uhhh, maybe someday, a hundred years from now, but not tonight! We've got Riko to worry about tonight, and, and, tomorrow is going to be a very busy day too! No booze and sex before the big game! It robs a guy's legs and focus! Look! You know you are all incredibly sexy and alluring to me, and I love you, but give me a break, okay? I'm not like Seo! Besides, there's going to be more to our lives together than constant sex anyway! I'm only human!"

"Okay," Karasuba sighed in disappointment as Kazehana stamped her foot in petulant disappointment, "but that goes against that old Australian adage which says to never turn down an orgy nor a boinking, good or otherwise. It might be the last one you'll ever get."

"Geez Louise," Cash rolled his eyes as he tried to tell a suddenly interested, stiffened, and still sore Little CJ to never mind or go blind. "I want you guys to help me with two other things. Riko knows she has totally lost your trust in her, but she probably wants to get it back as quickly as possible and start over with all of you. Let's begin thinking of ways for that to happen, and it HAS to happen. Before the meeting where she got angry, I felt that she's also seemed very, very worried about the differences in size between us, and ummm, well, uhhh, her ability to someday handle coupling with..."

"Hey, that's no problem!" Toyotama exclaimed in sudden understanding. "She can just borrow some of my coconut oil! And I saw flavored gels for that over at the base pharmacy too! Strawberry, grape, orange, and even lemon!"

"Really?" Kazehana and Karasuba chorused together in pleased interest.

"Those would taste a lot better with fruit, honey, and cool whip than the coconut oil," Akitsu observed pragmatically while not stopping her exaggerated clinging to Cash's torso.

"Uhhh, let's, uhhh, just keep things with Riko simple, okay?" Cash replied uncomfortably. "We only want her as strongly winged as the rest of you. That doesn't even really require intercourse, just a healthy tama connected to us properly by our combined power linkage with Natalie. No need to get nuts and pressure her unduly, so let's proceed as naturally as possible. Besides, as angry as she feels, I don't think Riko is ready for sex with me anyway, maybe not even in this century, let alone any group gig which I'M totally not ready for."

"Heh! If you can get her interested, I'm not worried about Riko," Karasuba grinned knowingly. "She's got her sex guide memorized, and an all night orgasmic mental trick that will leave Throbbing Wolf the envy of every horn dog human male in the whole world. I just want to be around to see how she does it so I can learn it too before you and I go camping in the forest."

"Mental trick?" Cash squeaked in alarm as the outside air rushed over his still sweat soaked clothes. The sudden cool wind and thought of Karasuba also learning an all night technique, one that she could teach her Sisters, chilled a very intimidated Little CJ down to shrinkage size only found in male members of the Polar Bear Club taking their annual, freezing, ice water plunges on the first day of January in northern Atlantic waters. In actuality, the cold wind shrinkage was from Riko's sudden entrance.

A disheveled and pale Riko floated a little further into the recreation hall to stop when Kazehana suddenly leaped in front of her. Riko's bobbed black hair shook slightly about her reddened face and her long, black, battle uniform cloak also shook from Riko's cold induced and involuntary shivering. All eyes, including Cash's, silently watched as she floated stationary in front of Kazehana, visibly swallowed hard, allowed herself to drop and stand, and then stumbled badly before she sank to her knees. With a tight clamp on her mind shield, Riko's forehead touched the rec hall floor with her palms clasped together way out in front of her.

Cash had seen this classic, Japanese deep apology pose before. It had been in the manager's office of his Tokyo baseball team after the backup shortstop had made three errors in one inning to help lose one of those ugly, quirky games that sometimes occur with no warning. The shortstop had still been made to clean out his locker afterward and hadn't been seen again. Life is tough in Japan's minor leagues, but it looked like a return to good graces in Kazehana's Circle was not going to be an easy cake walk for Riko either. Whatever the supplicating Riko was saying didn't seem to be making much headway with a suddenly head shaking Kazehana that had her fists on both hips and speaking forcibly in return.

"What are they saying, Natalie?" Cash frowned in concern. Riko's chances to get past Kazehana any time soon were looking exceedingly slim, and tension had mounted as the rest of his Circle had moved to form up beside and behind Kazehana.

"Riko has apologized for running away and not facing her problems with her Sisters and her Ashikabi with the proper honor and respect. Oh dear! She has decided she does not want to be in the Prime Circle any longer and is going to demand that you cut her bonding whether that allows her to still live or not. If she does survive, she would rather clean toilets the rest of her solitary and loveless life than live anywhere near us. She intends to return to Japan and live secretly while she rebuilds her cleaning business. Karasuba and Uzume are also trying very hard to change her mind, but Riko seems very adamant in her decision. She wants nothing more to do with back stabbing Sisters she can't trust nor an uncaring and unloving Ashikabi that has repeatedly treated her so wretchedly, especially since you ruined her First Kiss."

"First Kiss?" Cash blinked in puzzled disappointment. "Help me out here. What's that mean? Is that a cultural thing I'm ignorant about?"

"Apparently so. Data from various manga sources on the internet indicates that romantic young maidens in Japan place a great deal of value on having their first intimate contact be with the one they will love for life, as well as anything else sexually. Riko is very disgusted that you put nothing of yourself into kissing her and then learned you had bargained that supposed to be romantic kiss away for Karasuba's honeymoon with you in the first place."

"Romance?"Cash gaped in disbelief. "After everything SHE'S done, she wanted romance yet?"

"Ummm. Yes, but she will not tolerate you spitting on her feelings like that ever again, and she also feels that all the Sekirei do not want her here other than what they can use her for. She is reminding Kazehana of all the things they had decided they wanted in a loving Ashikabi, how you have not been one for her at all, and she is also demanding the right to insist on her bonding to you be cut immediately. Before she leaves, she's also demanding to tell you to your face that you are simply the WORST!"

That didn't sound good at all. So she wanted totally out, eh? Damn! They needed her! Cash, like Karasuba, had been sure that Riko had returned to be reconciled to them, but now that was being shot to pieces. There was also a big undercurrent of barely restrained and monumental anger leaking through Riko's mind shield on the far upper bands. On the other hand, the expression on her flushed face seemed almost blandly serene and her stilted movements while talking rapidly seemed non threatening enough. Was she calming down? It didn't seem so.

Cash frowned slightly while wondering what he should say or do to help her. Sometimes, and Cash had seen this in love spats among fellow ball players with their wives and girlfriends, saying nothing was just as bad as saying something. When females get really pissed off at their males, there just wasn't any way to anticipate whatever was going to happen next. Even if he did come up with something, would Riko listen to anything he had to say now anyway? It didn't matter. With a thunderclap, a mini Sekirei war started.

Cash's Circle was suddenly blown outward and upward in a semi circle away from Riko with a bubble of instantly compressed and then expanded air. Kazehana attempted to send a quick incapacitating burst of sharp tama pain at her Sister and friend now turned sudden adversary, but the Prime Pillar was instantly thumped hard by the concussive force of air rushing to fill the vacuum caused by Riko's expanded bubble that had all the sound and effects of a powerful indoor thunderclap. All Kazehana could do was woozily keep herself from falling just as hard to the floor. Miya had met a similar fate but fell totally dazed to her knees along with a staggering Toyotama and an unconscious Himeko. Natalie's simulacrum beside Cash simply shattered apart and vanished.

Cash could only stare in open mouthed shock while wondering what in the name of John McEnroe had set Riko off this time? After that, he could only blink rapidly in mute consternation as total chaos amid cries of dismay and shock erupted all over the rec hall from Riko's sudden outburst. Most of the actual physical movements of the reacting Sekirei occurred almost too fast for Cash's eyes to follow.

Due to Akitsu's sixth sense warning shared with former bed partners, Karasuba and Akitsu had jumped towards Cash along with Uzume a few microseconds before Riko's attack. All three were spared the worst effects of the loud bang, but their ears began ringing like Cash's had done after Haihane's earlier fist smack. His three Sekirei landed unsteadily before Cash while twisting in mid air to intercept the now onrushing Riko whose angry facial expression looked like she was intent on giving Cash a very large chunk of her pissed off mind, verbally and maybe otherwise too.

Akitsu instantly threw up a huge wall of ice to cut off Riko's vision of Cash, but it also blocked his view of what was happening. The ice was just as quickly backed by a large black swath of writhing cloth from Uzume that started taking on multiple layers that would have to be peeled away before Riko could spot her objective and attack him. Karasuba simply began some kind of twirling, vibrating, weaving movements that almost instantly went too fast for the eye to follow. If Riko did get past the ice and cloth barriers, invisible death was waiting for her.

Cash realized at once that he had to stop all this somehow. If Riko were killed, then Natalie would die too. DAMN! He had to pull the plug on this insanity fast, but how? That was the problem, and there was no doubt in his mind that it was going to get worse.

The oncoming Riko suddenly had her own escalating problems. One was that she faced more than just her own Circle's remaining Sisters between her and Cash. Despite calls that Cash had insisted on letting him and his Circle handle Riko, she suddenly had her hands full with multiple attacks from all the other Sekirei sitting higher up in the bleachers' cheap seats. Assorted launched weapons like chakram, shuriken, ninja stars, throwing knives et al were no problem as Riko flicked them all away with her kinetic powers as they came at her, but it slowed her progress down and diverted her attention from removing the barrier of ice and cloth built by Akitsu and Uzume.

The psychic and elemental attacks from the more mentally powerful Sekirei were another matter though and much more demanding. Seo's Circle fired a cone of stun/lightning, but it had been anticipated. Riko had closed the distance towards them and then shot up high and quick enough to evade being stunned/fried while delivering another concussive bubble collapse of her own. This also blew back a large blast of water from Tsukuimi and a bigger incoming ball of fire from Homura. Taki's potentially blinding mist attack failed for the same reason, but their combined distracting efforts in making Riko keep fighting off multiple attacks paid off.

A small vine snaked upwards from Kusano's potted plant being held on her head. The leafy vine seemed to vibrate fast enough to blur around the edges, and it was blurry enough that Riko couldn't see it clearly as she battled more incoming weapons and infighting Sekirei trying to close in on her with their weapons extended. For some reason another compressed air bubble expansion and collapse failed to halt the plant's progress too although it did slam all the other onrushing and leaping Sekirei backwards. Riko turned to flee sideways and up through a roof skylight to come down behind Akitsu and Uzume's barrier, but Kusano's persistent plant shot out to wind around Riko's left ankle. A sudden offshoot quickly wrapped around Riko's right knee and thigh while another small branch encased her arms against her torso. A big blurry leaf formed to wrap around Riko's head, but just in time Haihane leaped upward with her talons extended to stab and/or slice Riko.

Instead, a half panicked Riko gave Haihane another helicopter spin like the one in the earlier restaurant tantrum with Benitsubasa. The massive sharp claws of the suddenly twirling Sekirei easily swiped through Kusano's main plant stem and rendered all it's offshoots lifeless. The mass of plant life collapsed in a pile below Riko. Again Riko shot sideways and up into the rec hall's steel rafters to gain space while wriggling and ripping free from the now lifeless short lengths of vines clinging to her. After snagging the bodies of several Sekirei leaping towards her and throwing them back to keep the crowd behind and below at bay, Riko sent an even larger compressed air bubble downward and collapsed it to forestall any more immediate attacks. The concussion shattered some light bulbs and a few skylights. That really big bang also shattered Akitsu's ice wall and sent large chunks of ice back into Uzume's layered cloth barrier. The weight of the ice was too much for the cloth wall and pulled it down to half its height, leaving Cash once more exposed to Riko's sight.

Cash glanced upwards at the embattled Riko who was clearly hesitating while trying to decide on her next more. He then swept a fast look at the scene of more than eighty highly agitated and motivated Sekirei spreading out to launch a combined attack on their single but incredibly powerful foe. Circles had sorted out their initially confused battle drill and were meshing with grim purpose. To Cash the whole rec hall looked like the scene of a baseball brawl where both dugouts and the players on the field were starting to organize a rush at one another for a mob melee. The only difference was that both dugouts had emptied to attack one single player and kill her. Riko had always had a talent for mindless mayhem, but this was just too much.

On the other hand, Cash also instantly realized, Riko had been holding back all along. She wasn't really trying to harm anyone, but only brushing them aside while defending herself, keeping her freedom, and yet reaching her target, one Cash Joseph Archer. Hadn't she threatened to simply snap the necks of several Sekirei the time Mutsu and some of his gang had once landed on Cash's apartment roof? That had been no casual statement, and Mutsu had immediately recognized the danger of Riko's incredible kinetic powers. To put it plainly, Riko was the best ranged fighter in Natalie's nest because the horizon was her effective range. She would be well able to fight them all off from afar. She was only having trouble now because she had confined herself inside the rec hall, and she had limited herself to not really harming anyone. There was no killing intent from her highly inflamed and roiling emotions either, only enraged determination to finish her objectives in freeing herself from his bonding and proclaiming him the WORST. On the other hand she wasn't winning any friends with this latest outburst of lunacy. It had to stop.

"Get ready Shiina," Seo commanded softly from slightly behind and to the left of Cash. "If she even twitches towards us, hit her with your enhanced Death Garden. My Circle and Kouji's will catch her in a crossfire if you and your Petals miss."

Shocked anew at hearing this while moving and watching events almost in slow motion, Cash turned to see both Ashikabi pointing up at Riko. Seo with his forefinger extended and Shiina with his open palm outstretched to blast the life out of Riko. Both Yukari and Sayomi's Circle of Petals had linked up and meshed with Shiina to make him look like a barely leashed God of Death encased within growing and pulsing dark purple and dark green light. Haihane had landed, regrouped, and meshed her Circle which was now giving off an intensifying golden glow. Kouji's Circle meshed with them and then Mikogami's. The next lightning/stun blast at Riko would be incredibly big and powerful and probably blow off the entire rec hall's roof as well. Minato's Circle had also meshed with Sanada's to make both of Homura's extended fists begin to glow with white/orange heat to launch a huge fireball. There would be no way for Riko to endure, dodge, or deflect the three upcoming massive attacks, let alone whatever a recovering Kazehana and Toyotama could throw at Riko after staggering to their feet. Miya was still on all fours and barely conscious. Where was Karasuba?

"Oy! Oy!" Cash breathed out in total despair as he gaped anew at the far end of the rec hall now in semi darkness from all the blown out ceiling lights. Half the ceiling fans had also been damaged, and broken glass was everywhere from the shattered light bulbs and imploded skylight windows in the building's roof. The destruction would do nothing but escalate if he didn't stop this madness quick! Wait! Near a still badly staggering Miya, Kazehana, and Toyotama, Himeko was still down and unmoving near the entrance! Himeko, his sweet and silky Himeko must be badly hurt! She must have taken the brunt of Riko's first collapsed bubble! Natalie! Natalie was also gone! He couldn't feel her in his mind!

Wave after emotional wave of Sekirei killing rage, frustration, and building, near panic and fear was assaulting Cash's mind to mix with his terror for his females' safety. The gathered Sekirei were instinctively scared for him and determined to protect their Prime Leader no matter what! To his right, he sensed Akitsu readying a wave attack of sharp ice shards with a chopping sweep of her hands up at Riko. Uzume was also tensing to leap at Riko while extending a hardened cloth dagger. A coiled Karasuba suddenly appeared in the air behind Riko with her katana upraised for a neck strike. Riko was a goner, and then so was Natalie! Uzume was also going to leap into the killing zone that the meshed Circles were going to attack! He could feel that Toyotama, lance extended, was also determined to run and leap at Riko while Kazehana readied her razor wind attack. Cash had never felt so helpless in his entire life, but he had to stop this! Natalie was in grave danger! Silky was down! Uzume could be killed! Silky was badly hurt? It felt as if a huge hand had gripped his heart and begun to squeeze very hard. Silky! Something within him snapped.

"CEASE!" Cash bellowed with fists clenched in helpless agony. His maximum psychic and vocal outburst hit the rec hall as if someone had lobbed a large Sekirei/Ashikabi grenade into their midst with Cash at ground zero. Outwards from him in a ragged circle, Sekirei were suddenly curled up on the rec hall floor in writhing tama pain and gasping for breath. Their Ashikabi were also down on their knees and grasping their aching heads as their meshed Circles mentally screamed at them in agony. Two thumps sounded to Cash's right as unconscious Riko and Karasuba both limply hit the plant pile below them while narrowly missing the clawed Haihane now laying spread eagle on her back. Akitsu, Uzume, Toyotama, Miya, and Kazehana had also been struck hard and had collapsed to the floor like rag dolls.

Cash blinked in renewed consternation at the sudden havoc he had caused. He had just wanted everyone to stop fighting. He hadn't wanted to hurt anyone, especially his beloved Circle. What had happened? How had it happened? He had done this somehow? What should he do next to help everyone? He bent down to first touch Uzume and then Akitsu beside him. They seemed to be breathing and didn't look outwardly harmed. Without thinking further, Cash found his feet running towards Himeko. Silky! He had to check on Silky!

Cash hit the glass strewn floor beside his fallen Himeko as if he was sliding into second base after hitting a rare double. His hands caught her underarms to stop his forward motion and the left side of his head came to rest between her breasts to listen for a heartbeat. She was alive! Alive! Great! Now what? Inspiration hit him. A Norito! Just as he had done for Karasuba in the dream river! He used his left hand to force Himeko's jaws apart, jammed his lips onto hers, and let his tongue savagely stab into her mouth while mentally yelling at her to wake up! He loved her! Please wake up! He felt a hand weakly grab the back of his head and press his lips down harder. She had awakened and responded! He would give her everything he could to help her recover!

Several long seconds of tender mutual kissing passed as he could feel Himeko's energy return and another worry hit him hard. Uzume! They had to help Uzume as well as Kazehana and Akitsu! An instant pang of guilt struck Cash as he tried to calm his racing thoughts for better and calmer action. He had given unconscious priority to his Circle? Man, that was not good! There was a LOT of pride, power, and natural, competitive feminine jealousy in that potential Sekirei Circle landmine. Even in baseball no team member liked to see their coaches play favorites in anything, let alone a Circle of Sekirei getting unequal love and care from their Ashikabi. On the other hand, he hadn't realized that Himeko had somehow also captured truly deeper feelings within his heart as Uzume had done. Nor could he ignore or deny how special Kazehana was to him as well as his protectiveness of Akitsu. He also had to help the other Circles as their Prime Leader, especially since he had been the one to hurt them all.

"Silky!" Cash tore himself away from Himeko's now more forceful loving embrace and scrambled towards Kazehana. "We've got to help the others! And we've got to put the wraps on Riko and protect her too! Help me Silky! Start with Kazehana! Natalie! Natalie Honey! Are you all right?"

_"I, I think so! But what about you, my love? My emotional circuits went offline due to multiple sensor failures when Riko did something, and it momentarily stunned my psychic bands too. I began running a quick diagnostic to stabilize my simulacrum program and get it formed again, but you just now projected so much pain and unhappiness and, and disappointment! It HURT! Mutsu and all the __Sekirei in my control room are in great pain too! What has happened? I can feel so many of my children are still in pain and even unconscious. Why? What did Riko do? I can barely sense her mind. Is she okay?"_

"I'm sorry to have hurt you Natalie," Cash began sheepishly as he staggered up. "And all the others too. It was me somehow, and I don't know about Riko except I can feel her mind is alive. I, ummm, got upset with everyone fighting and getting hurt here and especially at Riko for throwing another tantrum and causing this whole mess. So I yelled as loud as I could, and it somehow hurt the tama in every Sekirei. It knocked our Prime Circle unconscious too. I don't know how I did it though. Uhhh, Himeko and I are going to work on getting everybody back on their feet here. After we deal with them and Riko, I'll send Himeko over there as quick as I can to help those in your control room, okay? You make sure everything is all right with you and tell me as soon as you know for sure."

_"Yes Cash Darling, and be careful with Riko when she awakens. Keep her blindfolded. She is very unstable emotionally."_

"That's the understatement of the ages," Cash muttered darkly while casting a baleful eye at Riko's still crumpled form on the pile of vines and leaves near Karasuba and Haihane. He would leave Riko's revival to Himeko too, no Norito kiss, but he wanted to quickly give Uzume a Norito to get Riko bound and blindfolded before any more mindless mayhem happened. Then he should Norito his other Sekirei too, starting with Kazehana and Akitsu.

Cash turned quickly to go back to Uzume, but the toes of his right foot caught the shaft of Toyotama's lance as she stirred from where she had fallen. Cash tripped, took several more arm waving off balance steps while stumbling forward, and tried to turn away from falling upon the still unconscious Haihane. As he half spun, his left foot slipped on the floor's covering of slick glass shards from broken light bulbs and skylight windows to leave him struggling for balance like some one legged clown miming a clumsy, comical defying of the Laws of Gravity on a cliff edge. Gravity won. Cash fell backwards with arms still flailing to land squarely upon the upturned claws attached to Haihane's right hand.

Cash felt three long steel blades very painfully stab up through his back and appear bloodily out of his chest before his shocked eyes. His body suddenly felt extremely weak, and he wanted to pant and catch his breath before attempting to get up, but he couldn't seem to catch his breath. Some warm, metallic, and salty tasting liquid was suddenly gushing out of his mouth, choking him while running down both sides of his neck. It smelled like fresh blood. A high pitched screaming began nearby. Curiously, it sounded and resonated in his mind as if it were Riko for some reason, and then others including Natalie quickly joined in the macabre sounding chorus that echoed loudly around the rec hall.

Himeko's face appeared above his, her open mouthed features twisted in shocked and horrified agony. He tried to give her a small crooked smile of apology for being such a stupid clumsy loser of an Ashikabi and reached his left hand up to lovingly caress her cheek. He didn't have the strength as a fuzziness came over his eyes and mind, but he felt her grab his limp hand and squeeze it hard. He struggled briefly to think of some way to explain that he hadn't wanted to impale himself like this and for everyone not to blame Haihane for his human clumsiness and stupidity, but he just couldn't talk now. Oh yeah, he could drop his mind shield. It was too much trouble to keep up anyway, just as it was to keep every muscle in his body from relaxing, even his bladder and anus.

Cash suddenly realized in ironic surprise that he was actually dying here and his inability to bond naturally with his crazy Riko chick really had killed him. Man, his Mom was REALLY going to go nuts this time, and his Sekirei too. Wait. His dumb ass clumsiness had just killed them and Natalie too! He really had been a moronic joke and total failure of an Ashikabi after all, let alone a Prime Leader.

A wave of sorrow and regret swept over him for having hurt his loved ones so badly, and now they would never have the chance to share true bonded love and happiness together as well as miss out on so many good times, laughter, and the making of a big loving, happy family. Damn! He would never play baseball or sing love songs to his sweethearts again either! How long would his Sekirei survive without him? Would they die quickly or would they suffer badly? Natalie would self destruct now too. Damn! They shouldn't have chosen him!

He blinked once slowly as he tried hard to keep looking up at Himeko's eyes. Her mouth was moving, but he couldn't hear what she was saying. The constant weird and echoing screaming chorus had stopped too. Funny. Did a fella's ears shut down when dying too? Well, that didn't really matter now, did it? What was important was the results of his stupid death. He hoped all the other Circles and Sekirei on Kamakura Island as well as the invading humans would survive Natalie's self destruction if she could stay rational long enough to not blow up half the Earth as she died. This wasn't the solution he would have chosen for their troubles here, but maybe it would work out for the betterment of Man/Sekirei kind anyway. He must tell Natalie to have Kazehana help control her imminent meltdown somehow. Natalie! Can you hear me Honey? Natalie! Why couldn't he at least hear her in his mind? Silky, can you at least still read my mind? I love you.

His last sleepy yet trying hard to focus, coherent thoughts were for Himeko to relay his love to Natalie and his desires for her controlled meltdown, as well as his love and regrets to Himeko's Sisters, and that he really did love his Silky and them all more than baseball. Where was the blinding white light? Wasn't there supposed to be a great white light now? For some weird reason as Cash Joseph Archer's self awareness slowly faded away into darkness, his eyes could then only inanely focus on a still slowly turning ceiling fan far above Himeko's head that had one of its four blades missing as a result of Riko's last stupid tantrum. Then the wounded ventilation fan also disappeared into the encroaching vast darkness too.

***scene break***

The freezing wind whipped spray wasn't making his task any easier. With his one unbroken arm, the Chinese submarine captain dragged one of his injured crew to marginal safety higher on the jagged shoreline. He had to be careful in his handling of the young sailor who had several broken ribs and a shattered lower left leg from being dashed about like a doll between the heavy surf and rocks below. Most of his men had already sought shelter on the back sides of a few larger boulders away from the frigid spray from the crashing waves splashing up them. A few more were crawling and clawing their way up from where the lifeboats had snagged and deflated in the rocks below which were still being inundating by the pounding and swirling waters as if the God Neptune was angry at having been cheated out of drowning his prey. All were suffering from various broken bones, cuts, bruises, abrasions, shock, and mind numbing cold. Only sheer survival instincts were making them try to struggle higher away from the killer waves and cold wet spray still attacking and sucking what little heat was left out of their bodies.

The captain knew in his heart they were all going to die a miserable freezing death from exposure here. Slumping down beside his wounded crewman and trying to protect the young man from the cascading cold waters around them, he prayed that he and his men could simply go to sleep and freeze to death without feeling the real pain and agony from their injuries. His prayer was ignored.

Mutsu, encased in his black Karasu battle suit as a guard against any unknown weapon threats from these castaways and the foul weather, landed on atop of a large boulder a few feet away from the wounded captain. He staggered slightly because he was still feeling the effects of Archer's mind numbing bellow that had earlier knocked everyone in Natalie's control room to their knees. Mutsu regained his balance and surveyed the human disaster scene before and below him.

From his lookout's detailed report after the initial attacks on his submarine, the Chinese sub commander instantly recognized this black bug eyed robot standing over them as the dastardly terrorist who had perpetrated the criminal maritime acts that would soon kill them all. How and why the dirty fink terrorist had lost his boobs and skirt didn't register, nor did it really matter. The feisty captain rose up to his knees and began shouting curses at Mutsu, shaking his one good fist and then picking up a rock to fling at his enemy. Those of his crew that could, also picked up whatever small rocks they could find and began winging them up at Mutsu, most missing weakly but a few thumping home with resounding whacks on various parts of his Karasu suit's hard plastic exterior.

For his part Mutsu stood in puzzled amazement as the rock missiles harmlessly plunked his battle suit and fell away. What had he ever done to these guys? They needed help badly, didn't they? What was with the bad attitude? The old guy on his knees and with an obviously broken arm sounded like he was yelling in Chinese, but where had they come from? There must have been a nearby shipwreck of some kind of war vessel from the ragged and bloody uniforms they wore, but there had been no distress calls, and no ship of any kind had come within 75 kilometers of the Island since the MBI base personnel had been sent back to Tokyo. Nor had there been any kind of approaching energy detected.

In any case that all didn't matter either. Mutsu simply stunned them all into deep unconsciousness after deciding to call Seo in order to bring all the Sekirei on the Island out here to save these sorry looking morons from freezing to death and get them safely to a secure shelter. They certainly weren't going anywhere in their ripped up and deflated lifeboats. Most appeared like they would need to be extensively healed by Himeko from their battered and bloody looks. Mutsu shook his head again in amazement at what he was seeing. It was truly a wonder these poor bastards had all survived what must have been a very harrowing landfall in these large waves and strong wind, but why had they been so pissed off at him? Couldn't they tell a helping hand when they saw one?

Besides, Mutsu groused to himself, he had more important things to do with his time than nursemaid this ship of fools, although to be fair, their existence here and now did validate that there were some bad blind spots in Natalie's island defenses. A plasma cannon needed to be set up here soonest to cover the back side of these northern peaks from approaching small craft, stealthy submarines, insertions of special ops teams, and low flying aircraft. Also, he wanted to get back to check on Matsu and Koko's ongoing world wide internet efforts to destroy MBI's Sekirei data as well find out what Archer had done to kick everyone's tama so hard.

That was Mutsu's last thought before another severe lancing pain that must have been caused by Archer again went straight to Mutsu's core and knocked the breath and consciousness out of him. At the exact same moment around the Earth, 43.214% of the world's population experienced varying and lasting degrees of what could only best be described as a sudden and piercing migraine headache.

The visual effects of this world wide psychic phenomena were also different and varied in intensity. Some folks like Captain Nelson on his submerged nuclear submarine, simply grabbed their temples and grimaced in pain. Others like the aging Chinese double agent/secretary/whore in the Tokyo embassy staggered sideways while holding their heads in one hand and searching for wall support with the other to remain standing upright. More sensitive humans like Hiroto Minaka simply went to their knees while groaning loudly from the excruciating assault of pain being felt deep in their craniums. Leila, Sayomi's mother in San Francisco, Cash's mother, Cash's three aunts, and Cash's younger sister in Springfield, Illinois along with most of the Dryas Octopetala psychics around the world all fell prostrate wherever they were; writhing and shrieking in continual agony very similar to what most of the Sekirei on Kamakura Island were experiencing. In Mutsu's case, the big male Sekirei simply toppled back off his rock perch in a slow motion fashion as if he'd been a giant tree blown over by a monstrous gust of wind to land upon the wave pounded rocks below.


	30. Chapter 30

**The Game Changer**

**Chapter Thirty – Pep Talks, Team Building – III  
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The exhaust fan of the ship's stasis tank was chilling his wet skin and his clammy, damp undershorts. This, added to his aching chest, slightly residual feeling of choking, and his irritated throat all made him instinctively roll sideways up on his left elbow to seek relief from his several discomforts. Several deep coughs wracked his body as his eyes blinked open to taste and see a thick and foul tasting blue fluid drool out of his mouth and onto the tank's still wet floor. His first coherent thought after taking several deep breaths was to realize his females were alive, but their presence in his mind was somehow curiously muffled, but what had happened to all of them? He must go to them at once and check on their well being. The whisper sound of a metal iris opening behind him followed by rapid footsteps made him look sharply over his shoulder. All sensations of his physical discomfort were then ignored as he recognized the very troubled face of his visitor.

"Yo, Muts," Seo's voice echoed loudly in the empty portion of the stasis tank as he bent down to grab Mutsu under his armpits and hoist him up. "I took a small risk and woke you up a couple hours early by manually over riding the tank's healing timer. We need you now, big fella. An American nuclear sub has left Tokyo Harbor and may soon be approaching the island's north coast. We're worried my Circle's lightning/stun attack will badly harm or maybe even sink the Yankee if used. Matter of fact, none of our Sekirei will launch a potentially endangering attack on any of our invaders now. Natalie's weapons are offline until repairs can be made. That seems to be looking a little grim too. We need your power to deal with these Yanks safely, maybe turn them around to send them on their way, and then Himeko can finish your healing after she wakes up."

"My wives?" Mutsu staggered a little as his legs felt strangely weak and unsteady. He was also feeling very lightheaded. He would need his feet planted on firm ground to draw power from the Earth's core to just stand upright. Why wouldn't their Sekirei defend themselves? What had happened? "My wives," he repeated.

"Sedated in the control room, but okay otherwise," Seo replied quickly while turning them both towards the tank's iris and stooping to put his shoulders under Mutsu's right arm to support part of the big male alien's weight. Seo started walking them both towards the passageway leading up to the control room while adding more information after a short pause.

"It's been very difficult on them," Seo continued as he tabbed the iris opening, "and we thought it better for them to sleep until you recovered. You've had a pretty rough ride, Muts, after a very nasty fall and pounding by high waves. Ummm, a LOT has happened around here too, but suffice it to say that we were able to fish you up off those shoreline rocks before the rising tide swept you out to sea and turned you into crab food. Also, it was very fortunate that the air system in your Karasu battle suit automatically went into re-breather mode when the suit's interior CO2 levels went too high. That basically bought us the time needed to recover from our own problems in the recreation hall, get your gals calmed, and then find you still alive.

"Even so, Muts, you're really only here due to Riko's engineering skills in designing our battle suits and one hellacious amount of sheer luck, but you still took a lot of skeletal and lung damage from the waves beating you on those rocks. Hopefully your short healing stay in Natalie's stasis tank has been adequate to get you well enough to help us. We NEED you, big guy, and a LOT more luck too. By the way, I imagine you feel as bad as you look, right?"

"Indeed," Mutsu croaked in agreement from the way his wayward mind and body felt. He blinked while frowning and trying to force his feet to keep up with Seo's urging. What had happened? He had been preparing to rescue some wounded Chinese castaways from surf pounded rocks below him, and then, a ferocious stabbing pain in his mind, then nothing. Just before though, there had also been an overwhelming sense of being loved and calm satisfaction mixed with what? Loss? Despair? Sorrow? From what source? Archer? Damn. Why were his thoughts so clouded? Mutsu, still stumbling forward, blinked again as he tried to regain his logical thought processes. Focus on the now. Focus.

"What happened? No. First, what's our status?"

"In deep shit, as always, even deeper than before, if possible," Seo gave a laconic chuckle while ruefully shaking his head. "The Americans are now sending a couple of carrier groups and a lot more nuclear subs towards us. The first invaders from the other nations are hanging back until the Yanks arrive. I'm fairly sure from this they all are going to try to attack together now."

"And this one American sub headed for us from Tokyo, but preceding them all, is undoubtedly bringing nuclear weapons, and more importantly, infiltrators too. They'll probably be what, Navy SEALS?" Mutsu winced as they stepped through the iris and began up the passageway. All of his joints and muscles ached as well as his chest and throat. "Probing for weaknesses in Mother's blind spots before an all out coordinated attack? Why won't our Circles neutralize them? For that matter, Miya, Kazehana, Riko, and even Akitsu each could handle this task easily. Where are they? Where's Archer?"

Seo stopped their progress, half turned, and pointed back at the stasis tank behind them with his free hand. Mutsu frowned anew at seeing the tank had been sectioned off into three parts. His former section was now empty, but the next adjacent had Archer and his entire Prime Circle still floating half naked in a light blue healing fluid filled with tiny, upward moving bubbles. They were bound together by large strips of dark cloth so that each female in some way had bare skin to skin contact with a portion of Archer's anatomy. In the next section beyond floated the entire unconscious crew of the unknown Chinese shipwreck in the same aerated and upward effervescing blue goo.

Mutsu focused his attention back on his floating Prime Leader and his Prime Circle. Kazehana was tied to Archer's right side, Miya to his right arm, Karasuba to his left side, and Akitsu to his left arm. Toyotama was attached to his right leg, Uzume to his left, and Himeko was tightly bound front to front with her head also bound so that her lips were constantly touching his. The entire Prime ensemble was doing a slow spin in the middle of their portion of the healing tank's fluid. Then Mutsu saw what had to be Archer's smallest Sekirei, Riko, twist slowly into view while tied to her Ashikabi's back.

In addition to her black lace bra and panties identical to her Sisters, Riko also wore a full, black leather skull cap that looked like an s&m accessory only found in some really hard core kink catalogs, cheesy Japanese game shows, or worn by really lame looking pro wrestlers. The total head mask, one that only had openings for her nostrils and mouth, had been padlocked closed around her throat. Her wrists were handcuffed behind her back, and her knees, ankles, and elbows had been securely bound with wrapped cloth also. Riko was thus completely blinded and restrained to be totally helpless even while unconscious in the stasis tank. The back of her head and torso were matched up and tied to Archer's. She had necessary skin contact, but in no way could she be any kind of threat to her Ashikabi in the vulnerable moments of their future awakening after their healing process was completed.

"Not again," Mutsu palmed his face wearily and then heaved a big sigh.

"Reeker kinda looks like some kind of real sexy junior female assistant to Hannibal Lechter now, doesn't she? I think she's really tying to give extreme bondage kinkiness a new poster child," Seo chuckled lightly at Mutsu's pained expression. "On the other hand, you've got to give CJ credit. He certainly has a knack for winging straight up HAWT looking and boobilicious Sekirei! Ummm, Akitsu's rack is nothing but incredible! Man, I almost wish I had gotten to Kazehana before he did too, ya know? And get a load of Miya and Karasuba in black lace undies. No wonder Takehito went nuts for them both. They gotta be driving CJ almost bonkers now too. Then you add Riko's power and insanity as well as Kazehana, Uzume, Akitsu, and Toyotama's emotional problems. I'm beginning to suspect that Natalie is half nuts as well. It's no wonder why CJ has been having such a tough time getting them all on the same page with us, eh? Damn! I love black lace lingerie!"

Mutsu turned his head to give Seo a sardonic look as they both continued their slanted passageway trek up to the ship's main deck. If anyone was half nuts it was Archer.

"Will you cease from that worthless and lecherous prattle and get totally serious for once? What happened this time? And I suppose they're the reason why I was in there too? I got a couple of incapacitating mental blasts from them, right? Who and what else have they managed to screw up? Is Mother unharmed?"

"Uhhh, more or less, I guess," Seo shrugged philosophically. "I'm not sure what's going on with Natalie either. All her systems except her weapons are online, but we have to operate them manually. From that we're pretty sure at least her subconscious mind is working. The rest of Natalie's mentality seems to be linked and locked inside her stasis tank with CJ and his Circle. I've got a bad feeling about her status, but nothing I can pin down, because she's being a little cagey about the details."

"Strange. Okay, so Archer and the Prime Circle is on another untimely hiatus, and Mother is not fully functional again," Mutsu grimaced in acceptance of all this bad news. "What other reasons do we have for celebrating this not so joyous awakening?"

"Cynic," Seo accused while taking a long last peek at Cash's Sekirei over his shoulder. "But you're right. There is more bad news. Something new and weird has occurred, Muts, actually a couple of somethings. Well, you see, it's, oh hell, let me start at the beginning. After Riko flew off in a giant huff from our last meeting, Karasuba talked to her, but it didn't help much, maybe even made things worse. Then Riko, still really pissed off, finally came back to the base while you were in Natalie's control room with Matsu and Koko. A big argument began when Kazehana met Riko at the rec hall door and refused to let Riko talk to CJ. The rest of the Prime Circle agreed because it sure looked and felt like Riko was NUTS and angry enough to hurt or even kill him. Then Riko hauled out a new trick of collapsing large bubbles of air to generate sonic blasts on levels of an indoor thunderclap, and then my man, the fight was on."

"How many did Riko kill and hurt?" Mutsu interrupted Seo's narrative while shaking his head and sighing again in sheer disgust. "I KNEW Archer was asking for trouble by trying to keep her."

"Actually, Riko didn't really hurt anyone, not even Archer, although there's no doubt she could have. She has INCREDIBLE power, you know, almost like Miya and an enraged Karasuba. Anyway, she caught us all off guard and knocked us all around pretty good, even the Prime Circle, but before things got way ugly, CJ got really upset and somehow stopped and dropped every Sekirei with a big burst of tama pain."

"I felt that one," Mutsu muttered with narrowed eyes. Archer had THAT power now too, eh? Did this mean that he, Mutsu Number 05, was forever going to be hampered/controlled/subjugated by Archer's ability to induce that kind of punishment? It seemed so. "Then what?"

"CJ tripped over Toyotama's spear," Seo grimaced at the recent memory, "slipped on broken light bulb and skylight glass made by Riko's sonic attacks, and fell back onto Haihane's claws. I saw it coming and tried to get to him, but he got three talons clear through his chest before I could catch him."

"That means he must have come very close to stupidly killing himself, right? In the midst of the most powerful beings on the planet that love him? While the most powerful nations on Earth are mounting an all out attack on us? That guy," Mutsu growled in disbelief, "has to be the biggest screw up in history. I suppose that's what hit me the second time then? The pain that knocked me out and put me in need of that stasis healing was more of his foolishness? So we're all that attuned to him now too? And if it hit me so hard, how did he and his Sekirei survive? More fool luck?"

"Ummm, not really," Seo shook his head thoughtfully. "Riko, Uzume, and Toys were mostly still out of it from his first yell, but you could make a real case that CJ made his own salvation by kissing Himeko into her Norito before he accidentally impaled himself. Then he had already highly tuned Kazehana, Miya, Karasuba, Akitsu, and Natalie to him as well. They were stronger and able to stay conscious, fight their way to Himeko, and then mesh their minds and power with Himeko to catch and maintain CJ's life force after he went unconscious."

"You mean he DIDN'T die?" Mutsu demanded incredulously.

"Well," Seo shrugged, "CJ certainly went unconscious, and his heart stopped, but his five Sekirei meshed through Natalie and healed it immediately after I lifted him off Haihane's talons. Then we rolled CJ sideways to clear the blood out of his lungs, throat, and mouth. Homura seared CJ's chest and back wounds shut to seal off any more external bleeding. Hibiki and Hikari jolted CJ's heart twice to get it re-started. Miya re-inflated his collapsed lungs and gave him mouth to mouth to get him breathing again as Himeko kept concentrating on his internal injuries. His body responded, and it basically all worked to keep him alive."

"So why are they all in the tank? And what's with Riko being blinded and trussed up like a deranged mental patient?"

"Yeah, well, see that's on account of the first weird part of this mess. The next problem we had was CJ wouldn't wake up, neither would Uzume and Riko. He refuses because it seems he had accepted his death as the means to solve our current problems here on Kamakura Island so that none of our approaching enemies would get hurt. We think maybe Uzume and Riko have accepted that as their fate as well too since they're bond mates, and remember, Riko has always been on his exact same mental wavelengths from the beginning. Natalie then ordered us to put all of his Sekirei into her stasis tank so that she could try to heal whatever had happened to CJ's traumatized psyche, the rest of his chest damage, as well as whatever was wrong with Uzume and Riko too, especially Riko. The rest of us tried to get back on track, but a lot of our Sekirei were deeply upset and traumatized by CJ's close call, and then Sayomi and her Sisters collapsed unconscious. That's when we knew you were in deep shit too. Fortunately you had an open com channel for us to home in on and find you."

"I was going to call you for help in rescuing those Chinese sailors when Archer going blank hit me hard." Mutsu shook his head anew. "More dumb luck. This mindless activity must stop. Minaka and the combined armed forces coming at us can not be this lightly regarded. We also must get Mother's hull free before they get here. I asked for a pulse cannon to be set up to cover the blind spots in our northern approach. What's the progress on that?"

"Kouji is trying to do that, but," Seo jerked his head back over their shoulders, "we need Riko to build the broadcast power receiver to fire it. Kouji also needs her help on building a prototype anti-gravity device big enough to maybe lift Natalie out of here if we can't use her engines. There are new cracks in Natalie's anti-matter containment shield. We need Riko to fix those too as well as several other things we need done right away. Face it. We need Riko fixed. We also need our Prime Circle meshed and operating like it should."

"And the odds of all those are what, slim to none?" Mutsu asked sarcastically in between more coughing. He spat out more foul smelling blue goo in renewed disgust. Couldn't there be any GOOD news? "Neither Riko nor the rest of Archer's insane females have shown one sign of doing that yet, let alone him being a guy we all can consistently depend on for anything close to common sense leadership. All right. Let's have it. So why won't our other Circles use their abilities for defense?"

"There's the second really weird part. Just before he went blank, Haihane said that CJ dropped his mind shield. He broadcast his love for all of his Sekirei and that he was actually glad that he wouldn't be killing multiplied thousands of the invading forces. The concept of dying for your enemies so they could live kind of blew everyone away, ya know? That appealed to their Sekirei love capacity big time. My gals all say it now feels liked CJ bonded with every Sekirei in that moment in a way they can't explain, but now they swear they'll kill themselves if they ever disappoint or fail to protect him again. Weird, huh?"

"He's stolen your Circles too? And made it so they won't fight? At all?" Mutsu stopped walking in open mouthed astonishment. A Sekirei who wouldn't at least kill to defend themselves and their Nest? What kind of total madness was this? Especially when just one small nuclear bomb would obliterate them all? And there were possibly a thousand or more were headed for them?

"No, he hasn't stolen any of them," Seo scratched the back of his neck uncertainly with his free hand while urging Mutsu onward. "I'm not sure I understand exactly what happened there either, but my Circle and I are as close knit as always, maybe even more now. The other Ashikabi say the same thing. I think it all has something to do with him really asserting himself as their Prime Leader somehow, even if he damn near died in the process. Does that make sense? I mean, how else did CJ knock YOU out twice, even at a distance? He hasn't supplanted you with Sayomi and her Petals, has he?"

"No," Mutsu cocked his head as if listening. "They are with me, and wait, something else. I can now feel Archer is alive in the back of my mind and, and something else is alive with a golden glow about it. They weren't there before. Interesting. But that doesn't help our current situation."

"Yeah?" Seo nodded with eyebrows raised at hearing of Mutsu's new mind linkage to CJ. "You're probably right. It doesn't help, and especially since for right now, all our Sekirei have become pacifists like CJ. So, it seems that YOU, big fella, have the only offensive, non lethal weapon available to defend the rest of us and Natalie, at least until CJ, his Circle, and Riko's situation gets fixed. And you won't get any power boosts from anyone but your own gals either, not as long as there's even a remote chance of anyone getting badly hurt."

"If that's the case," Mutsu sighed in hopeless resignation as they reached the iris leading to the control room, "then I'll need a LOT of food, and help me wake Sayomi. For some reason I also feel like I really need a hug, and a few Twinkies. Damn."

"Cheer up, Muts," Seo grinned as he tabbed the iris open. "At least you're not feeding the crabs with your tender body, right? And with any luck, CJ and his Prime Circle might be fixed before that Yankee sub gets here. Then we'll have a few more non life threatening options for you to use."

"We need more than luck until then, you moron. I still FEEL like crab meat," Mutsu growled in annoyance at his companion's stupid optimism. He then shivered as a gust of air accompanied their entrance into the ship's control room. The resulting chill he felt all over from their present situation went deeper than his bare skin and still clammy, damp shorts.

***scene break***

Cash stood upon the highest, windswept rocky crag that overlooked an incredibly beautiful yet totally alien looking landscape; one filled with lakes and rivers watering a wide expanse of huge arboreal forests that separated a rugged range of snow capped mountains and a distant ocean. Here and there he could see small postage stamp sized patches of what had to be fields in different stages of cultivation. He stared down in total awe at the intense colors of the leafy deep greens that were mixed amidst a riotous cacophony of floral displays among the forest canopy. He knew immediately that no trees on Earth had ever blossomed in such vary colored glory, nor had the clear sky above held such a deep blue hue while showcasing small yet warm binary suns flanked by three smaller moons. This was definitely not Earth.

There was a different, too blue/green colorization to the waters of the nearby lakes, winding streams, and rivers feeding them, and a much larger river fed by all before it emptied into the far off sea. The air being blown across his mountaintop perch had a familiar heady mint odor combined with the somewhat stranger scents from the waters, trees, flowers, and tilled ground. There were no roads, Cash noticed, but there seemed to be a lot of structured flying traffic; some kind of small aerial vehicles going in different directions off in the distance. The view of this alien world, one seemingly much more advanced and yet more elegantly preserved than Earth, was truly staggering, but the wind was cold upon his bare chest. Wait. Shouldn't this be Heaven? If it was, then why was he only wearing a pair of black boxer briefs high up on a mountain? A fella could really freeze his ass off up here!

Puzzled, Cash then turned his head to see that there was a fortress literally sculpted from a mountaintop directly behind him; an elegant edifice that looked like its turreted towers and massive walls had stood unchanged for eons. No such giant bastion of defense had ever been seen on Earth either, he thought in wonder. The dimensions of it were truly staggering to behold and looked as if someone had somehow carved out a fairy tale castle from one sheer rock about half the size of Springfield, Illinois. Well, there went the Heaven theory, Cash frowned as he peered at the breathtaking immenseness and beauty of the fortress. No one had ever claimed that town was even remotely close to being Heaven, let alone look anywhere near as good as this place. Now where was he? How had he got here? And why? Or was he dreaming again? With Natalie maybe?

"Yes, my love," Natalie, smiling sadly and formally dressed in her battle uniform, shimmered into view a few steps before him with the fortress as her backdrop. "I have brought you here in a stasis dream. This is my family's ancient aerie on my home planet. It's name in human English would be most closely called The Ruler's Place of Safe Nesting. I know it doesn't sound too original, but we Sekirei are a rather blunt and practical race. I was born and grew up on this mountain. From here I went off to the Battle Academy and joined what should have been my only Circle of Sisters. I had a very happy childhood, my Darling, and an even happier time at school. Then my Sisters and I were chosen and happily bonded to what should have been my only Ashikabi, an elite Sekirei battle commander from the first ruling family of our entire galactic empire. So you see, I was one of the most favored females of my family, ever. I'm sure my name and likeness has now been memorialized with the greatest of honors in our Family's Hall of Ancestors."

"I see," Cash frowned even deeper at the sad tones in her voice that belied her declarations of past happiness. She still hadn't said why he was here, and she was hiding something from him. Besides, he had died, hadn't he? He looked down at his bare chest and reached to finger the three large and jagged scars that now marred his skin. That's right. He had stupidly fallen onto Haihane's upturned claws, but no, if he had died from that, then he wouldn't be in a stasis dream state. He had been saved somehow, most probably by Himeko and Natalie. Then his body was still back on Kamakura Island within Natalie's healing tank with, yes, there were all of his Prime Circle asleep around him in his mind, even Riko. Realizing all that still didn't explain what Natalie was doing now.

"What are you hiding from me Natalie?"

"I will tell you later. Come, my love," Natalie smiled a little more cheerfully as she reached her right hand out to take his. "I want to show you around my home and my home world. I want you to meet all my family and friends as well as visit our other Nests in these mountains and our summer home by the sea. Then I'll show you my room at the Battle Academy and the testing stadium where I won my place as The One Who Kills. Then I'll show you all of our family's great cities and our spaceport too. There's a tourist shuttle there that we can take to visit my planet's moons. There's a lot of fun things that I want us to do together on them, especially since they have much less gravity. You'll be able to put on wings inside this one huge, huge lunar dome and fly with me like my ancient ancestors! Later we'll talk, but for now, let's go!"

Cash look at her thoughtfully and then chuckled lightly while now shivering from the alien planet's cold mountaintop winds. She said she explain later. That was good enough for him.

"All that sounds great, honey, but can't I get a few clothes on first?"

***scene break***

A small puff of air coming through the open side door swirled the hay dust that hung in a shaft of sunlight inside Old Man Wilson's barn. Cash closed the door behind them as Natalie began taking off her battle cape to use it for a cover on a loose stack of hay.

"What are we doing here, Natalie?" Cash asked cautiously as she continued to disrobe silently with her back to him. She had kept a small part hidden amongst her otherwise cheerful and loving thoughts and comments as they had toured her home world. Was now the time she would explain her hidden thoughts?

"Cash Darling, this is where I have been the most happiest in my entire life," Natalie turned to smile sadly at him again. She sank down onto her cape now gloriously nude except for her long boots. These she began to sensuously remove while making long stroking movements along her legs, loins, and torso with her off hand. Despite the very sad emotional vibes he was receiving from her, Little CJ quickly indicated his interest in her actions. Natalie was simply stunning in her beauty and sexuality.

"It was here you made me the Sekirei I was always meant to be and more. Dearest, you saved me physically and emotionally, gave me back my sanity, and made me whole and complete as your bonded mate. Now I am going to do the same for you. You must wake up, my Love. You can't hide in your unconscious mind like a small scared boy any longer. I want to make love to you before we leave this beautiful dream, but Cash Darling, you MUST wake up and be the whole, mature, and complete man and Prime Leader that you need to be for this planet. You can live without me, and you must."

"Uhhh, no, no!" Cash held up both hands as he backed slightly away in protest as he finally understood what she had been hiding and now wanted. "You want me to allow your self destruct to activate! I can't do that!"

"Yes, you can, and you must," Natalie nodded simply. "The only reason you and our Prime Circle are in danger, as well as the rest of our Nest, is because you're here with me. Sayomi's order of Dryas Octopetala has been successfully hiding their members within Earth's population for thousands of centuries. They can certainly hide you and our Nest once you leave Kamakura Island. If you stay here, you will risk dying needlessly, just as you almost did in the recreation hall. You are NOT going to kill Kazehana, Karasuba, Uzume, Toyotama, Akitsu, Riko, Himeko, and Miya needlessly either. The rest of our Nest and the world will suffer unnecessarily without you, and my reason for even coming to Earth ages ago will die needlessly if you stay also.

"Cash Darling, I have just shown you that I have lived a full and happy life. I was raised in a loving home and family. I've won honors with my Sisters, and I have went into battle with them as every Sekirei of my high rank must do. I have traveled the cosmos with my second Circle of Sisters to further the betterment of both the Sekirei and human races. I have given birth to wonderful children now ready to take their place in the real Sekirei Plan for Earth and our galaxy. I have found and experienced the greatest love and complete happiness of my life in you. Now you must make a decision and do that which only my man who truly loves me can make and do. We can not risk the lives of the poor Earthlings coming to attack. We simply need to remove their reason for invading, and that is me.

"Natalie, I, I can't," Cash began shaking his head as tears began streaming unchecked down his face. "You must not give up hope like this! I'll, I'll fix Riko! Somehow I'll find a way for her and me to,"

"No, it's too late. The cracks in my anti-matter containment shield simply have gotten too big from firing my weapons and cannot not be repaired well enough to use my weapons again, nor enable my ion engines to burn long enough to achieve orbit. Even if my hull was freed in time, I simply can't be moved now, and I can't be taken intact by the invading military forces. It will take several days for me to permanently power down my anti-matter systems. Then I can internally slag my interior with my ion drives to make an indestructible containment shield. There will be nothing left for the Earthlings except a hollow, useless, cooling piece of molten rock that they won't have the technology to break open for many centuries. You simply must allow me to begin the procedure, and only my Prime Leader can legally give the order."

"We can still find a way, maybe," Cash pleaded in continuing protest. "There must be some way! I mean, we got time to fix Riko, right? And then maybe we can figure out some,"

"Stop this. There is no more time to blindly hope and look for solutions. You need to fix Riko anyway," Natalie once again smiled up at him in fondness, "for your own sake as well as hers and her Sisters. You all need her as much as she needs you. I know you will eventually make each other and our Circle whole. A new, long, and loving life is ahead of you. Cash Darling, make love to me as my handsome, mature, elite, and bonded mate, and then afterward give the order for my self destruct to begin. I want to be able to die for you as a Sekirei of my rank honorably deserves and with the happiness and contentment of knowledge that I have saved my greatest love and the lives of my children. We both know this must be done. Let us rejoice that we can do it together as a mature and responsible man who would do what is right and best for his loving female. Then you MUST wake up, begin planning for escape, and be my man who will love and take care of our children in the centuries to come."

"If it takes days to shut down, then we still might find a way before the end, right? Can you stop your self destruct before then?"

"Only if a 99.813 percentage of success resulting from all parameters passing my internal standards testing can be met. You must start the countdown clock now, my Love, and accept the fact from now on I am most likely going to die. Time is short."

"Dammit Natalie!" Cash clenched his fists in frustration.

"My Love," Natalie shook her head slowly. "Please don't spoil our last time together for me. Isn't it true sometimes, we face situations that are basically not winnable, even in baseball? Fate is not always kind to lovers either, nor to a broken Sekirei womb ship, but I am well content. Make love to me, and let me make sweet love to you. Then you must wake up, and let me go."

Natalie moved to her knees and took Cash's right fist, gently prying it open, and tugging him gently towards her as she began kissing his palm. His knees buckled as he slowly and silently sank down in front of her as an inane thought crossed his mind. There was no crying in baseball, but he sure had done a lot of crying in Old Man Wilson's barn. Now here he was being stripped down to his boxer briefs and a sorely wounded heart again, trying his best not to cry more. To do so would be to dishonor his Sekirei wife and break her heart, and it wouldn't change her mind anyway because she was right. The old "needs of the many outweighing the need of the one" had bit cruelly home. He had always known being a Prime Leader would really suck. As Natalie's kissing lips softly touched his, the slight draft in the barn visibly swirled through the golden shaft of sunlight that now illuminated them.

***scene break***

To Riko, the cold eyed look she was receiving from Natalie was more chilling than the freezing winds whipping down upon them from the alien world's mountain top snows. Natalie's expression was such that Riko gritted her teeth, gripped her battle uniform's cape about her body, and looked down and away so as to better endure what had to be coming next.

"You are Sekirei, not human. As such you are to be judged and punished as a Sekirei." Natalie's voice was even more frigid in its contempt. "Causing near fatal disruption in the Prime Circle, breaking your sacred and legally binding vows of support for your Circle of Sisters, fleeing from your Ashikabi's healing, disobeying your Prime Pillar, fighting your Nest Sisters, and causing grave and near fatal harm to your Ashikabi and your Nest's Prime Leader, these would make you the vilest of criminals in all the Sekirei Halls of Ancestors throughout our galaxy. You would be kept alive ALONE on public display in a stasis tank, unable to sleep, ridiculed unto ten generations, and then sent untouched and ALONE as an unclean abomination into the second sun so that no trace of your specific genes could ever befoul a future Nest.

"As your mother, my name and the names of my children would be erased with yours. Myself and my immediate descendents would be summarily cast out of our Circles to die, ALONE! No trace of our family shame nor our specific genes would be allowed to remain to taint our Hall of Ancestors nor their VOWS to their Circles! Thus has it always been. Thus it shall always be."

"But I," Riko began uncertainly while looking back up. Natalie, staring out at her home world from their windswept carapace below the family fortress, had turned away.

"Silence," Natalie's soft command cleaved through the winds. "As always, it is all about you, never about your Circle, never about your Nest, and never about your HERITAGE! YOU are a daughter of the Galactic Ruling Elite of all Sekirei Worlds! To dare to approach your Prime Leader with a closed mind and then cause him needless pain! And yet even now you are filled with self serving ambitions, twisted pride, and all consuming jealousy of your own Prime Pillar and Circle! To dare to even attempt justifying your recent actions as the most abhorrent kind of Sekirei ever to me, your Mother!

"It is true your were raised closed off, ignorant, and alone. It is to your very small credit that you remained marginally sane during that time. However, you have since been shown and helped into your rightful place, only to willfully now let yourself be consumed by unreasoning emotions totally contrary to your vows. In the process, you have sealed our mutually certain doom. Earth's combined military forces are coming with nuclear weapons to destroy Kamakura Island and every living thing on it to purge me and every vestige of my Nest from their planet. I am claiming extenuating circumstances in my official logs for allowing my Prime Leader and my other children to escape and remain alive, but to ensure that your criminal genes will never infest this planet, I am going to self destruct with you in my stasis womb. To that end, I have recorded and sealed the logs of our mutual shame within my indestructible hull's Death Egg. If it is found in the centuries to come, at least my family will know that I acted honorably in acknowledging my failures with you before my name is removed from their Hall of Ancestors."

The long ensuing silence was only broken by the soft moans and sighs of the winds gusting over the rocks behind them. Riko bit her lower lip very hard, trying desperately to think of some way to make amends or at least beg that only she be killed. In the end, she could only silently sink to her knees and bow with her arms crossed over her head. Natalie didn't acknowledge the action or even look at Riko when she spoke again.

"I let you share my last time of happiness with my Prime Leader by hiding your presence in my mind. It hurt me greatly that my Love sensed it and disapproved, but I was determined to show you your true heritage and what the true relationship between a Sekirei and her Ashikabi should be. Because I felt your unreasonable jealousy over his love for me during our lovemaking in his childhood secret place, that was a foolish waste of my Ashikabi's trust that I should never allowed to infringe upon our last joining.

"There are only one, and at the most two, of The One Who Builds in any Sekirei Nest. They never become Prime Pillars, let alone a Prime Leader's first lover. In normal Sekirei Circles they would be one of the last to be bonded and rarely any more than sixth in command. They have great powers in building and making war, but must totally rely on their Circle of Sisters to supply and overcome their emotional shortcomings. And yet you dare to usurp, rebel, and even trample over your Sisters' love for their Ashikabi, including your own loyal bond mate Uzume! You have read too many human Cinderella type fairy tales, Riko, and taken them much too selfishly to heart; all the while forgetting that you are NOT human but Sekirei, a Sekirei who is The One Who Builds, a Sekirei who was born to SHARE her Ashikabi's love with her Circle of Sisters!"

Once again a long silence followed Natalie's bitter words before Riko could summon the resolve to speak.

"Is there nothing I can do for you, Mother?"

"Nothing! You've done it! You already know that when you ran away and exposed yourself and Karasuba to human satellite weaponry, I was forced to fire my own weapons in your defense! You also know that has caused more cracks in my anti-matter containment shield, and I will have to slag my interior with my ion engines to keep from causing a planetary disaster! Your asking is much too late, and don't ever call me Mother again, or I will sever our mental link and let you die ALONE!"

"If I could examine your shield," Riko began again as contritely as she could, but she was instantly cut off.

"You are bound and floating in my stasis tank like the insane criminal that you have become!" Natalie turned to almost snarl down at her daughter. "It would take a combined Prime Pillar and Prime Leader override to even get you consciously reconnected to your Circle, let alone let you out, and even then you would have to pass MY rigid sanity tests! Which you just now have proven by your jealousy of my relationship with my Love that you can't! Besides, I would rather DIE than have you ever touch me again! Just stay here, and wallow in your pathetic HUMAN jealousy and close minded anger! You like sitting by yourself up high and feeling sorry for yourself so much? Fine! Then just stay here! ALONE!"

Riko jerked and hunched over in searing pain of complete separation as Natalie suddenly disappeared from the alien mountaintop, cutting Riko's ability to mentally feel her Mother as well. The cold winds of total isolation seemed to increase and become even colder, whipping Riko's battle cape about her fetal curled body, and echoing Natalie's now damning words, "Sekirei, not human, Sekirei, not human."

***scene break***

A soft, cool gust of night air came in the bedroom's half opened window, ruffled the sheer, plain beige curtains, and pushed a lock of Toyotama's long hair across her nostrils and mouth. She quickly swiped it away and stifled the urge to sneeze before putting her chin back on top of her stacked palms. She was sitting sideways beside the foot of the room's western style bed while leaning over and resting her arms on the raised mattress area just below the sleeping Himeko and Cash. From this position Toyotama could gaze up in mild melancholy at her Ashikabi's boyishly handsome face since Cash was on his left side and half curled towards her.

Himeko was spooning Cash against his back, her long, bare right leg thrown possessively over his right hip and thigh, and her right arm clasping his torso to her from under his right arm. With her loose, long gray hair splayed about her pillow and over Cash as her chin nuzzled against the back of his neck, Himeko made a picture of perfect, satisfied, and carefree sleeping contentment. The possessive sight wasn't helping Toyotama's sad, wistful, and Ashikabi deprived mood much. In fact, it was beginning to piss her off.

"For ten yen I'll guess what you're thinking, Toys," Karasuba whispered sarcastically from behind Toyotama while leaning against the main bedroom's open door to the hallway. "We're gonna be responsible when Natalie dies because we totally suck as a Prime Circle, right?"

"Nope, I mean we do, and I'm really, really sad about Natalie, and we're probably the absolute worst Circle in all of Sekirei galactic history, but no, that's not what I'm thinking."

"Okay, so then for five yen, you're still beating yourself up because it was your lance that tripped Hubby up? Or no, for two yen, you're wondering where, oh where, are Himeko's panties?"

"No need to go broke, Blackie. I'll tell you for free," Toyotama sniffed unhappily and whispered in reply without turning her head. "I miss him, and it was my turn, and yet Mekko hasn't turned loose of him once all day and now tonight since we got out of the tank. She's been latched onto him like a starved vampire ever since the accident and even when she was healing Mutsu. She's taking all his love and awake time to herself and leaving me, I mean us, out in the cold. It really pisses me off, actually. What are you doing here anyway?"

"Couldn't sleep, same as you, wanting to be closer," Karasuba whispered softly as she studied the sleeping and half naked pair on the bed before making a small disappointed grimace of her own. The almost total disaster in the recreation hall and Natalie's approaching fate had deeply marked them all, but there was no doubt that Himeko had played the biggest role in saving Cash's life. Toys was also right. Himeko was now monopolizing Hubby's time and affection in a most shameless manner.

Another small gust came past the window's curtains, cooler than the one before. Toyotama moved to pull the window almost closed so Cash, wearing only a pair of black boxer briefs, wouldn't get chilled as he slept. She paused to glance past the curtains and up at the star filled night sky over Kamakura Island. Homura and Kusano's last combined heat layer of protection had dissipated into a thin reddish/orange haze so that the night's usual heavy winds had greatly abated. Even so, perhaps it was maybe too cool for her Ashikabi to sleep with one side uncovered.

Toyotama sighed in annoyance as she glanced at her sleeping Sister. Himeko was wearing the same sheer, crimson shortie nightgown that Uzume had made for all of them to sleep in, but Himeko's matching panties that had come with the outfit had been tossed on the floor behind the door. It didn't take a frustrated Black Sekirei warrior genius to figure out the reason behind Himeko's sweetly satisfied sleeping expression either, nor Toyotama's sour looking face.

Karasuba also sighed internally. She wasn't as jealous as Toys about Himeko sharing Cash's bed tonight, but couldn't he have invited her too? It kind of hurt a gal's pride to be pushed down the attention list like this. Matter of fact, a few short weeks ago he might have died a very nasty death for blatantly rejecting sex with her.

"It just pisses me off," Toyotama repeated suddenly as she resumed her bedside position at the foot of the bed.

"Maybe you're being a little too sensitive here Toys. Mekko isn't some machine. She must have gotten really tired from all the healing she was asked to do before we went into the tank and even after we got out. Maybe tonight she needed some extra energy from him, and then they just naturally got cozy. Any of us would have done exactly the same if we were in her nightie."

"Well, fine, so she's a worn out sweetheart, but not too worn out for getting frisky out of turn. Anyway, I'm still gonna take dibs on his morning wood, so don't get any ideas," Toyotama scowled over her left shoulder as Karasuba began softly closing the door. "Even though he let Mekko fudge in, it's still my turn, and I'm gonna remind him to be fair since he loves me as much as he does Mekko. I'm not jealous of her though."

Karasuba chuckled as she moved to sit with her back against the wall beside the now closed door. Karasuba brought her bare knees up, rested her arms on them, and her chin on her crossed arms in a similar contemplative pose to study Cash's sleeping face the same way as her Amazon sister in front of her. Since Natalie had insisted Riko wasn't in any condition to leave the stasis tank yet, Cash was sleeping deeply from the day's exhaustion of unsuccessfully trying to find a way to save Natalie without Riko.

"I think you owe me five yen Toys, because you're just as jealous as I am. Face it. Mekko is the only one of us that really got the fairy tale love story with our guy. They clicked on all points right from the start and have stayed that way. She's been a perfect match for what he feels is an ideal woman for him, laid back, intelligent, practical, doesn't get flustered or overly excited, nor angry much, very, very affectionate, romantic, innocent, and virgin pure girl next door type. All you have to do is watch the way he looks at her and how easy they fit together when they're around each other, even better than with Kazehana. It's no wonder he would want Mekko and not us when he's stressed out, right? AND, he trusts her completely. He loves all of us, but all that absolute trust separates us a little from Mekko in his mind.

"Except maybe for Aki-chan who is still missing a small snowflake or two, I can feel that the rest of us still have a few serious compatibility issues in his mind. Miya still has that devious streak of hers as well as a bloody past as big as mine. Uzume has lost her cool and physically scared him several times. He's still a little leery of Kazehana's past drinking problems returning. Riko's a total basket case, and I'm, well, I'm still pretty much too scary for him to relax around. You've just been royally pissing him off with that Master bullshit. That all naturally leaves Himeko as his comforter and tonight's bed mate winner by default. It's been an all out stress filled day for him since we were rolled out of that tank. Muts stunning that submarine crew and sending them east at full speed has got Hubby worried they'll hit another ship. Ordering Natalie to begin self destruct hit him real hard too. He needs some calmness now, right? Besides, Mekko can heal and restore Little CJ any time they want to get it on multiple times. She can keep him calm as well as refresh his whole body. I'm not sure that isn't a better talent than what Riko could do with her pudenda nerve trick too. THAT'S what REALLY makes me jealous."

"Well, yeah, all right, I'm a little jealous of Mekko too, a LOT really," Toyotama replied while sighing wistfully. "I'd love to have him all night and still let him wake up as if he'd slept really, really great. I get drained of energy when I go off too quick. With me it's wham, bam, YAY, and then I start snoring. Three minutes fun time, tops. I wish, I wish I wasn't the least talented of us all when it comes to sex."

"Ahhh, you just got to learn how to pace yourself in the sack," Karasuba snorted softly. "You'll do better in time. I wish I had your hair and big boobs. Slap a purple miniskirt with deep cleavage on you, and wearing high heels, you and Kazehana would make a great set of sexy looking bookends. Heh, come to think of it, all of you, even Miya, would make a helluva lot better looking gravure models than me. Riko would probably win awards if she wasn't as nuts as she is. Me? I gotta get by on my personality, sexy ass, and witty charm. I have to find a way to get Wolfie to trust me more, a lot more. I will though. I'm a VERY determined type of gal. The only other thing is, I want to get to where Hubby wants to be around me at other times too, just relaxing and enjoying each others company like he does with Himeko. He's actually a real fun date when he let's himself go too."

"I've never been on a date. I only wish I was more interesting, and you're right, he likes to just hang out with Mekko better than me too, all of us really. She even got the best love song the other night." Toyotama went silent for a second before adding, "Are you really that content with Himeko being favored a lot more like this? It REALLY pisses me off."

"Well, Toys, look," Karasuba shrugged philosophically. "What we got now with Hubby is way ahead of what we had, so do we really have any kick coming? And where's the winging rulebook that says an Ashikabi has to love or even treat his Sekirei equally after bonding? We've all played second fiddle to Kazehana all these years in the sexiness and popularity departments anyway, and now she's his Prime Pillar ahead of us. Just because Himeko made it a smidgen ahead of Windy now, what does it matter to you and me? We should just feel happy for Himeko, right? Not pissed off and jealous or wanting to take her down a peg. On the other hand, tell you what, let's work on those casual relationship aspects of our marriages with Wolfie together, okay? Once Natalie shuts down and we leave this island, we should be able to find something to really boost our brownie points with Hubby to make him want to hang out with us a lot more and move up to Mekko's level. Maybe even go on a date with him together. How about it?"

"Sure, okay," Toyotama turned to squint slightly at Karasuba. "Say, are you trying to cheer me up or something? If you are, it's working, a little."

After turning back and several long moments of mutual silence as they both watched Cash's muscular, now scarred chest expand and contract in a calming manner, the bedroom door opened slowly, just wide enough for Kazehana to sidle stealthily inside.

"Windy!" Karasuba hissed and then gave a soft mischievous chuckle as Kazehana flinched badly. "If you're here trying to sneak a little morning wood, then get in line!"

"You're disrespecting your own Prime Pillar list you made and trying to jump my turn too?" Toyotama demanded in a loud whisper filled with righteous indignation. "What gives? And you're supposed to be my bond mate too? Foo! FOO on YOU, ONEE-CHAN!"

"Heh heh, guilty, sorry Toys," Kazehana winced while putting her left hand behind her head, shrugging as impressively as only she could shrug, and smiling apologetically at them both. After a few uncomfortable moments of uncertainty, she finally moved to sit beside Karasuba while philosophically shrugging again at being caught. "Couldn't sleep either, eh? Sad about Natalie?"

Before an answer could be made, Akitsu fell through the still open doorway because Uzume had tripped her with a quick veil wrapped around both ankles.

"Oh no you don't, Aki-chan, no sneaking ahead," Uzume leaped lightly into the bedroom and did a double take at her other three sisters already inside. She gave them all a peeved frown and whispered, "HEY! You guys! No Fair! What's the big idea?"

"Just helping Mekko find her lost panties," Karasuba returned innocently. "What's your excuse? Wanna join us in the search?"

"Ummm, well, heh, I, ummm..."

"I'm after Toys on the list, Zoomer! Not you!" Akitsu hissed angrily while frosting Uzume's still swinging long brown hair into a stiff white swirl. The effect looked almost like a sideways frozen water fall. "Let me go! Or I'll HARD freeze the rest of you!"

"What is this? What are all of you doing?" Miya stepped over Akitsu and glanced around the bedroom in hands on hips, aggrieved irritation, and then gave Kazehana a sour, scary look with her jealous hannya suddenly appearing in the air behind her. "So, when MY back is turned and Natalie's preparing to die, your own list means nothing? What's the MATTER with you?"

"So I'm still a dirty bird, sue me," Kazehana rolled her eyes as she threw up her hands and looked away in annoyance at Miya's accusing tone. "And knock off the bad vibes, it's irritating and not scary anymore. Besides, you got your love cup filled to overflowing before the accident, and I haven't been getting enough loving lately. You're on the bottom of the list now anyway, so why do you care?"

"I like things kept orderly!" Miya whispered while giving Karasuba a small, narrow eyed scowl, "so no one gets more than their share! It's the only fair way! You made the list!"

"Yeah?" Kazehana hissed angrily back. "Well tell it to Lover-kun! He's the one that took Himeko out of turn! So screw my list! And besides, when did I have to become everybody's nursemaid and sex warden? I've had less time with Cash than the rest of you guys put together!"

"It's your job to," Miya began while pointing an accusing finger at Kazehana's nose.

"NO! It's NOT!" Kazehana interrupted angrily while waving her hand in total annoyance. "It's HIS! And if that makes me a lousy Prime Pillar, then you take the job back! I'm not having any fun with it anyway! I'm screwing it up every time I have to make a decision, and now Natalie is going to die because I'm such a dud! I'm just a good time, sleazy party girl and public obscenity according to you, remember? I'm really great at drinking, dancing, flirting, telling jokes, and having a great time in bed and out! The problem is Cash is NOT that much of a good time party guy! I spent years trying to find a good hearted, solid, tender, generous, and loving man to be my Ashikabi, and now that I've got him, I'm a weight around his neck, and he chooses Himeko to sleep with instead of me! Funny huh? I get a guy that wants to take me farther than my mattress, and I can't keep him interested! You want lists and order, then be my guest Miya, or Blackie can do it, because I'm not making another one!"

"Kazehana! I CAN'T be Prime Pillar! All our Sekirei love you and look to you! YOU rallied them to help save Cash in the rec hall, not me! When Natalie dies, they will NEED you! You just have to do a better job!"

"My decision making and leadership skills suck!" Kazehana shook her head in finality, "I should have listened to Lover and let him go after Riko! We all should have went! Maybe that would have helped save Natalie! And then I should have just let Riko yell at him in the rec hall too! You need for me to say it? I screwed that all up big time! Even so, for your information, I'm not accepting the total blame for us being the saddest excuse for a Prime Circle that ever tried to mesh! We're killing Natalie because WE failed! I can't fix Riko! I wish I could, but I can't! I don't even know what my job IS half the time, Miya, but one thing I know, it's not to babysit you guys sniping at each other like selfish and jealous bitches all the time so we can't mesh easily together like we should! And it's not being a gatekeeper on Cash's bedroom door either! You're in charge of all our domestic needs! If you want to make the rules for us all, then YOU do it!"

"No way!" Uzume said in a negative, head shaking fierce whisper. "Miya's rules at the Izumo inn were the worst! Joe won't spend ANY time with any of us if she's in charge of anything other than fixing meals!"

"We can't dishonor Natalie like this! There's proper ways to," Miya began heatedly while making another scary face, but she was interrupted again.

"Knock off that self righteous bullshit, you old biddy," Karasuba snorted loudly in irritation. "You'd jump over all of us to get your brains boffed out by Hubby as often as possible, Natalie dead or alive, list or no list, and you know it. At least the rest of us are being honest about what we want. Besides, other than putting the ship in stasis when it crashed and saving our butts when Cash and I misfired, just what have you ever touched that YOU didn't screw up? You want a list? You got a list of fuck ups longer than my arm! Just ask Natalie while she's still with us. Besides, other than a few Sekirei who actually like you for reasons I still can't understand, no one trusts you any more than they trust me! And none of them trust me at all!

"Look Windy, Miya and I both permanently screwed up our chances to be Hubby's Prime Pillar, but face it! We could never fit him anyway because none of the other Sekirei like us, never have and probably never completely will! Other than maybe Kaho whom Cash will never wing, you're the only one that has the innate needed power and is genuinely loved by everyone enough to lead us! Yume would've been perfect, but she's dead! You're it! So quit trying to run away from being our Prime Pillar!"

"We still have to share Husband and his love making time somehow," Akitsu added tearfully. "I don't want to be ignored like this any more!"

"Oh Aki-chan," Kazehana sighed wearily. "He's not going to ignore you! If anything you've been taken care of more than any of us! I'm the one that's getting shortchanged around here! Why can't I have more quality time with Cash Lover without having to constantly beat the rest you guys out of my way?"

"What the hell, Windy, we can just share. Aki-chan and I know that he's a pretty good dancer for a jock type," Karasuba smiled at the warm memory, "and he rocked our worlds with a futon double play afterward too. You'd be a lot more fun just watching us than Riko was that night. I'm not sure we need a wet blanket like Miya who got 'Man Eater' for a special song tagging along and ruining our date mood though. If she wants to be a jealous old wet blanket, then let her do it on her own time!"

"I just, I," Miya began while looking down and away from them all. Her angry demeanor had greatly deflated into worried and almost stuttering uncertainty. "That's why we need a list! I just feel he's much too wary and tense, and, and intimidated around me. Natalie's death is just going to HURT him so much! He will need us! All of us! But I want time I can count on so we can all relax together and do something for shared fun to grow closer, and I want him to be more, more at ease with me. Otherwise, I'll, I'll be left out of, of everything."

"Miya, you're not the only one feeling like you're gonna be left out now and in the future, but what does it really matter, you guys?" Toyotama frowned slightly before giving a small sigh of despair. "Blackie and I were just talking about this. Our husband chose Himeko tonight because he LIKES her the best and TRUSTS her the most too. Damn it! He came within seconds of dying on account of us! Himeko SAVED him! So now we're all second rate behind her. It's understandable, so why bicker? Think about it. When he turns to look at us in a group, who does he look at first? Who does he just touch and smile at the most? Kazehana? No, it's Mekko. And he'll do it more after Natalie is gone. When we ate lunch and dinner tonight, who did he choose to sit beside? Has he ever really yelled at Mekko for anything, even before our fight with Riko? Only Mekko is the same, steady, dependable kind of gal he really likes to sit and chat about anything and everything, especially baseball, muscle building, and sports training. She just soaks it all up, asks him all kinds of questions, and he loves to answer them for her. She got the best love song the other night too. He can only take being around the rest of us in short doses after all. Other than having sex, leading the other Circles, and wanting us to get along with each other, what does he really have in common with any of us? Haven't you even noticed?

"What are we going to do after Natalie destructs, we leave this island, and try to live with him somewhere? The way things look now, I'm gonna be bored out my ass sitting around for ten days to get a chance to spend twenty minutes in bed with him. Then he'll take a quick shower and go hang out with Mekko because I got nothing else to talk about or interest him. What kind of life is that? And you guys are pretty much in the same boat. Mekko will get the most fun dates from now on too, and they'll be solo, not shared, so why bicker about what we won't get very much of anyway? At least we got it better than Riko, right? She's still in the damn stasis tank and gonna die with Natalie! All because of her out of control jealousy!"

This last was greeted with a very long silence as Karasuba simply put her chin back on her crossed arms that were resting on her knees once again. Four other sets of eyes silently stared at Toyotama, mulling over her statements and then exchanging slightly wounded glances with one another as the realization that Toyotama might very well be right slowly set in. Future time with their Husband was indeed going to be a lot less than any of them really desired. They all stared gloomily at the deeply sleeping Himeko.

"Well, I'm used to being on the bottom of everyone's happy list," Karasuba finally whispered lightly. "I guess being there in our Circle is okay, for now. Look, Cash was raised in a society where the male was the strong protective guy, and now he's the weaker one. He's not ignorant of our bloody histories either, especially mine, Windy, and Miya's. So he's greatly intimidated by all of us EXCEPT Mekko, and we know that she never really had a killing mentality. Her constant compassion for others is very appealing to him too. Why wouldn't he keep us at an arm's distance a little the way we have been? Maybe I can improve my standing with Hubby as time goes by if I get him to do some painting with me. And anyway, Toys is right, we're all light years ahead of Riko even though she's never killed anyone."

"I feel so sorry for Riko," Toyotama shook her head while frowning. "Poor kid. It's funny. I never thought I'd ever say that. And it's probably almost all my fault she's so darned defensive and closed off all the time. I was so jealous of her when we were kids, even more than I was of Mekko. When we were young and in school, I was the strongest and fastest of all. I was the boss of the playground except for the single numbers. Then everyone started getting their powers, and I had to team up with Itchy to compete. I still had to bully all the weaker kids like Riko just to feel important, but she used to just stare at me like I was a nothing, a very dumb, ugly, not sexy nothing. Geez, I hated her! So perfect, so smart, so above us all. But you're right, Blackie, now I wouldn't trade places with her for all the Oolong tea in China."

"That just baffles the shit out of me too," Karasuba leaned her head back against the wall to stare sightlessly up at the dimly lit bedroom's ceiling. "I was so sure that Cash's anger when Riko lost her temper and shook him like a rag doll had caused his rejection of her, but Natalie says it happened within the first few minutes of their meeting the day before, but why? How?"

"I really can't understand that at all either!" The now sitting Uzume's head thumped back into the wall in frustration. "It really doesn't make any sense to me since she matched his brain waves from the beginning! And now she's just insane!"

"Are you sure Natalie's current relationship with Riko has really been all that accurate?" Miya asked with a thoughtful expression. "I mean, Mother gets pretty emotional over Cash, maybe even more than the rest of us. Was she really objective in her conclusions about Riko?"

Karasuba thought about it for a few seconds before responding.

"Yeah, I'm pretty sure she was objective. Riko's a natural and deeply dependent introvert and total geek loner to begin with, and then had some emotional problems dealing with her sudden release from MBI's confines. She came off as a desperate too clinging vine as well as a totally controlling type like his ex Agnes Mortensen when she met Wolfie. And he unconsciously sensed she was not a team player at all. Then she went steadily more nuts the more he rejected her. No mysteries there."

"To top it off, from what Natalie chronicled as the bad first impressions he formed in their first meeting, Riko then punched the buttons on every phobia he's got except for his mild fear of public speaking. What did she call that? Glossophobia? Cash got that from his schoolmate bullies. Anyway, a stranger comes to the door when our guy was a young boy and announces his Dad has been killed. That caused his fear of strangers, and by extension, aliens. It also caused his fear of events and places over which he has no control and escape is impossible, and again by extension, his fear of falling from heights. It's a no brainer that his Mother caused his gynophobic fear of females, especially one like Riko. Yet it seems none of that caused him to reject the rest of us right away like he did her. Besides, he's used baseball to give his life and mind a more balanced structure to control his fears and emotions. He should have used that and STILL formed an instant whoopee loop with Riko like he did us. It's driving me nuts that he didn't!"

Natalie shimmered into existence, standing beside Cash's side of the bed and staring down at him with a very troubled expression.

"What's wrong, Natalie?" Kazehana asked softly.

"I wanted Riko fixed before I die."

"And for us to get our miserable act together to possibly save you?" Karasuba interrupted.

"Well, yes, there's that too," Natalie sighed in resignation, "although the chances of that are now very, very small, but what's worse is now it also looks like Riko will need to die with me. I'm trying a little more tough Mother love with her to get her to open up. She just might if she gets the right encouragement, but there's no way it can be totally successful without Cash's help, and he's too upset and depressed over my self destruction. Cash Darling just does not have sufficient, conscious emotional motivation to utilize his tama healing powers for correcting Riko's crippled mental condition, and he blames himself for not bonding with her. My tests have shown that it would take a significant change in his base emotional range to gain even minimal motivational levels to attempt her healing. As things are now, his conscious mind would have to work on the problem in the years to come, but it could take months, maybe even years for that to happen."

"And we really don't have that kind of time," Kazehana chewed her lower lip in concern. "One of the reasons I let Riko even get into the rec hall was because I knew we needed her to face this invasion, and now we really need her fix you, Mother, and if not, then to escape. I should have just had Karasuba kill her to be merciful earlier when they were talking, and let Cash wing a replacement. Maybe meshed with a newcomer we would have the powers necessary to save you, but no matter what Lover said, he would have never forgiven me for deciding to outright kill her. That's why I'm such a lousy Prime Pillar! I can't make the right kinds of choices!"

"Actually," Karasuba sighed too. "It was my job, and after all the sneak killing I've done, I should have chopped Riko on my own when she let her guard down up north. I could tell then she was a lost cause."

"I just can't freaking believe this!" Uzume started to sob quietly. "There has to be a way!"

"Husband could heal Riko like he healed me," Akitsu said with total conviction. "She's not a lost cause."

"Would linking with the Petals and all the other Circles help us get Riko properly connected to Cash now?" Miya asked while chewing reflectively on her left thumb.

"I'm not sure, and especially not if she's unwilling to drop her mind shield to him and share her innermost parts as he demands of all of us. The projective empathic power of his subconscious is too strong, stronger than what an entire Nest of Sisters could override. He charts as powerful as an elite adult male Sekirei on Kouten in his empathic abilities, but he doesn't consciously know that yet. Nor can he consciously control them. He's learning quickly though, and we all REALLY felt his power twice in the rec hall accident. As far as Riko is concerned, he doesn't even realize what he's doing in subconsciously rejecting her because he has willed himself to consciously accept her. The main problem is he doesn't read his own emotions well at all yet. He has spent his entire life suppressing them, just as she has done. That in a small shell is what the whole problem between them has been."

"So what can we do?" Kazehana sighed. "He told Miya not to help so that he and Riko could choose to make things right between them, but neither of them can? And we can't help either?"

"Ya know, I think she DID choose!" Karasuba exclaimed softly. "She came back to us last night instead of running away! She came back, hoping to force him into accepting her somehow. I know it sounds contrary, but don't you think she really wanted him to chase after her and catch her? Something different has to happen now, something radical, or we might as well still kill Riko just to be kind!"

"Easy for you to say!' Uzume snapped back instantly. "You're not her bond mate!"

"You're right I'm not," Karasuba sighed in annoyance. "On the other hand I really am in the kid's corner. I actually like her quite a bit. I want her to live and be happy as much as you. I want her power for our Circle too, not some weaker replacement. We NEED her, but our hands are tied, and she's going to suffer a lousy rejection death if she doesn't get fixed. And I still feel we're all missing something crucial here to save her, but what is it? It's driving me just as nuts as you sound, Zoomer."

"Why are all of you beating your heads against the wall here again?" Toyotama sniffed again while shaking her head in puzzlement. "Their first meeting tells us everything we need to know. Riko surprised him and announced she was a super powered alien female from outer space bent on being his love slave/wife/permanent mistress. That scared him into backing off a six story roof, all while she's giving off highly emotional mixed vibes of desire and yet being closed inward. Then he fell four stories before she finally caught him and then let his head get whacked. It isn't any wonder to me he didn't want her. She almost killed him with carelessness, just like she did in the rec hall."

"Yeah," Uzume agreed with an impatient whisper, "but she saved him! He never hit the street, right? Why should that make him so damned angry and deeply unforgiving all the time afterward?"

"You're missing the point, Zoomer," Toyotama returned patiently. "For some reason, Riko doesn't have normal protective instincts for an Ashikabi in her tama, nor the ability to be a team player for easily bonding with the rest of us. Husband sensed it immediately, even if he didn't and maybe still doesn't understand what he feels, but he knows down deep that there's something very wrong with her. She's never had the right vibes because of the way she grew up, always hiding her true self from everybody, especially MBI's researchers. Reek's got no real self confidence either. Anyway, my main point is he should NEVER have fallen off that roof in the first place. With her powers she should have saved him the split second BEFORE he was going backwards. Cash knows a good baseball player reacts instinctively when the ball is hit. So should a Sekirei protecting her Ashikabi. She didn't, and he sensed it. The rest of us all would have gotten to him before he fell too, because we'd NEVER let our Ashikabi even start to fall without doing something.

"Besides, who says they didn't form a winging loop of some kind even before that? A negative one. Natalie says he's a powerful empath, right? Able to sense emotions and feelings even better than Aki-chan, AND he projects his too, like that, that inner calmness and self assurance of his that attracts us high wire types so much, and, and, how he WANTS us, ya know? That's how he shares his addictive orgasms with us too, and makes our toes curl up so hard when we do.

"Look at that first time meeting with Riko again. He was hungry, worried, and depressed. She was emotionally stressed out too, wanting him so badly yet unsure of how to get him. Remember he's basically an introvert with some bad hangups too according to Natalie. Riko just felt wrong to him because of her stunted and only lightly protective tama even when they started reacting. He returned his uneasiness at her and made her feel more unsure of what to do and how to act, especially when she doesn't really turn him on very much. Their emotional and psychic connection got worse, then worse yet, and zip, over he goes off the roof while she just stands there and watches like a dope before saving him. When he comes to and not too long after that, she demonstrates that she could have easily saved him from falling at all. His subconscious mind adds it all up, and it royally pisses him off. He doesn't forgive her for it either.

"Then they keep trading more bad vibes all the time after that. The more pissed off he gets at her growing instability, the more twisted up and angry inside she gets to make her even more wrong feeling to him, and the more he wants nothing to do with her. Round and round they go. So now she's a total panicked headcase with a stunted and badly twisted tama that down deep, he doesn't REALLY want to fix because he trusts her protective instincts way, way less than any of ours. It all looks pretty simple to me.

"The thing that makes me feel so sorry for Riko is that no one knows what to do for her, especially me. She HAS to get her tama healed and start over again with Husband somehow, but darned if I know how to do that either since she's such a total introvert. And how in the world could she ever gain his trust after all that's happened? That's the real mystery here if you ask me. I mean his head says one thing to do right and fix her, but his heart still says another, and she knows it. They're gonna need a LOT of help, but she'll need sex appeal help no matter where it comes from. Even Mekko and I teamed up for enough sexy vibes to get winged when we had too."

Another very long silence passed, so much so that Toyotama turned to look over her shoulder again. Cash's other six Sekirei were staring in understanding as if Toyotama had just landed from another planet and graced them with advanced knowledge, which technically she had in the cosmic time scale of things.

"Toys," Karasuba's face suddenly went into her Cheshire cat grin as she stood up and held out her hand to pull Kazehana up. "You just gave me a great idea. You know, there are reasons why we really need each other and our different ways of looking at things. You just showed me again why. Don't let anyone ever call you a dumb ape again, especially Mekko."

"I didn't do anything very smart," Toyotama sighed while shaking her head slightly, "I just notice all kinds of stuff. It's the only thing I'm really good at, remember?"

"Yeah, but only YOU really noticed it, and connected it right. I'm damned impressed. It simplifies everything. All we've got to do is MOTIVATE our Hubby's subconscious into forgiving Riko and healing her tama. I believe that can be accomplished pretty easily if we can reset their first meeting and get them together on a much more favorable basis."

"I know that smug look of yours, Blackie, and it usually means trouble," Kazehana eyed her second in command suspiciously. "What are you thinking of doing?"

"Just using the tools available to get Riko and a few other things fixed in our Circle's esprit de corpse, especially our relationships to our Hubby and each other," Karasuba shrugged while standing up. "Trust me, you're all gonna like this plan."

"And just what is this plan?" Kazehana exchanged a mutually dubious glance with Miya and Uzume.

"It's just doing that voodoo that you do so well!" Karasuba grinned in triumph. "And what YOU do best is party, right? You're gonna throw a one big damn, stasis dream party! Everyone on this Island comes to it except those on watch, and Muts, since he is our only defensive weapon. He be a total party pooping, mood killing zero anyway. You can do that, can't you Mommy? Get us all in one big stasis dream, maybe in a time and place in Cash's past where he'll react a little more favorably towards Riko?"

"Affirmative," Natalie frowned in puzzlement, "but how will this plan work? And I'll need both Kazehana and Cash's formal directives for my legal logs since Riko is under formal Sekirei judgment right now. I am quite angry with her, quite prepared to mete out the justice she deserves, and quite frankly I don't think it would be good for her to feel connected to me again yet. One of you will have to contact her and get her cooperation in trying to regain her Circle. But again, a big party?"

"A party, huh?" Kazehana blinked at Karasuba in somewhat confused approval. "I mean I like the sounds of it already! We could make it like an American wedding reception with a lot of booze, right? Even though it's just dream drinking, I mean well, Natalie can plug in the same effect, so yeah!"

"The more booze the better, I'm thinking," Karasuba grinned evilly in return. "Hell, we might even get the Old Timer Miya to loosen her too uptight knickers a little!"

"I'm in!" Uzume jumped up and pumped her right fist in excitement. "Fixing Reeker with a party! Yeah! Uhhh, wait, Natalie is right. How's this gonna work? I mean, half our Sekirei hate Reeker's guts now!"

"Yeah, but they all LOVE to party, and NEVER underestimate Hubby!" Karasuba reached her hand down to pull Akitsu to her feet. "That's my new mantra. Hey, we're Sekirei, right? Songbirds? We'll sing! Aki-chan, you, Zoomer, and Kazehana can take the lead out front to look sexy and sing a little karaoke together with the rest of us pumping up the background. Maybe Natalie can force feed us a little instrumental knowledge and ability from her computer banks."

"But, I've never done that, not in public," Akitsu protested with a horrified expression of advanced pre-stage fright.

"Don't worry," Karasuba gave her bond mate an encouraging hug. "Stasis dreams can be manipulated into almost anything. Since I'll be helping to do it, and I'll make sure you sing great! Besides, after we squeeze you into our really HAWT outfits, everybody's going to be watching your big tits and won't even care about your tonal qualities. Most will be singing along and half smashed anyway!"

"And just HOW is getting everyone drunk and singing as a bunch of half naked fools going to get Reeker fixed?" Miya demanded with narrowed eyes. "And if you call me Old Timer one more time, I'll,"

"DO NOTHING!" Natalie exploded in righteous anger. "YOU of all my children KNOW how a Circle of Sisters are supposed to behave towards one another! Must I give you more lessons in that before I die? And HOW to STOP your jealous bickering? Because if Kazehana just says the WORD, I'm just the gal who can do it! Karasuba! Stop your bitchy sniping and explain exactly what you're trying to do!"

"Okay, okay!" Karasuba held up her hands in surrender. "Our Prime Circle and the rest of the gang sets the mood to get Hubby really relaxed, right? Riko even more so. When the time looks right, the rest of the Nest meshes with us as much as they can so that we all can help him meet Riko favorably. We get them alone and talking baseball, because she KNOWS the damn game! And the only one of us that really does! She also has seen him pitch more than the rest of us together, AND she's the one Sekirei who can actually become his own personal pitching coach! She helps him improve his pitching motion and control with her kinetic powers, he pitches better, and bingo! It's bye bye virginity and hello unity because we all join to get a new and sane Riko tuned to where she needs to be!"

"Cash isn't much of a drinker," Miya frowned skeptically.

"Neither is Riko," Karasuba chuckled, "But she's the one that needs it to really loosen up and let her hair and her MIND SHIELD down when he notices her. All we gotta do is use our natural musical and psychic talents to set the stage for that! And our sexiness too! A side benefit is that we show Hubby something organized and in tune for once that gets him interested in his Sekirei on a more equal basis and want to spend time with us all together outside the bedroom. Then we got us a Prime Circle that will no longer be the laughing stock of the universe and able to save Mum. All we really gotta do is just let Natalie put everyone to sleep, put the plan together in a stasis dream, and then let her put it all into action! What do you think?"

"You know," Kazehana with both eyebrows raised in speculative approval."I really kind of like it! Natalie, can you ask for Cash's approval while he sleeps and get his permission and cooperation to attempt this? Fill Mekko in on the plan too. Karasuba, you and Uzume are in charge of connecting and telling Riko what we want her to do. If she agrees, and only if she agrees that she wants to try, then we'll proceed. If not, she can die with Natalie, and we'll all help Lover choose a more compatible replacement before we leave Kamakura Island. Miya, will you do your best to help us?"

"Yes, I've always wanted Riko fixed. And if she can get meshed with the rest of us, then possibly we'll have the powers needed in time to save Mother."

"There ya go!" Uzume nodded vigorously. "I'm all for that too! And I LIKE looking HAWT for Joe! Aki-chan! I have some great ideas for girl band costumes, especially for almost exposing our chests! Remember the last time you were like that with Joe in front of the whole gang and getting his kisses?"

"All I have to do to help save Riko and Mother is try to sing a little?" Akitsu asked somewhat doubtfully, but now with greatly increased interest while hefting her breasts in anticipation.

"And keep the beer cold, Aki-chan!" Karasuba chuckled again. "Damn! I'm good! The more I think this out, the more I have just amazed myself!"

"Don't break your self patting arm," Miya sniffed and rolled her eyes.

"Living with you from now on won't be a piece of cake for me either, Toots," Karasuba sighed peevishly, "but I'll keep me vows. It would be nice if you could keep yours without all your better than everybody in the whole damn universe attitude."

"Careful, you two, I've SO had enough of that crap from you both, and Natalie WANTS to spank!" Kazehana warned before looking down at her bond mate who hadn't said anything. "Toys? What about you?"

"Yeah sure, why not? Let's give it a shot," Toyotama shrugged while not taking her gaze away from Cash's sleeping form. "What have we got to lose? Reeker's toast if we don't try something. So's Natalie, right?"

"All right," Kazehana looked at each of her Sisters while sighing beautifully in long suffering. "We're all in agreement for once, if not in super enthusiasm. Let's get started."

Toyotama mutely watched her five Sisters head back to their futons in the hallway while exchanging a little more hopeful comments between each other. Natalie watched them go with a pleased yet sad expression before turning back to gaze lovingly down upon Cash's sleeping face. Toyotama brushed past her to crawl onto the bed, cuddle herself firmly in place on Cash's exposed side, and let her left hand drop down and slide into the top of his boxer briefs. No matter if Karasuba's dream plan worked or not, Husband's morning wood was going to be claimed by the one who was first on the list, no matter which way the wind blew for Riko and the others.

***scene break***

The light mid-March wind had a promise of soon to blossom flowers, bare trees renewing their leafy branches, and already greening grass, but there was a decided breezy chill in Batavia, New York. A brisk cold wind was coming down from across Lake Ontario about 30 miles or so to the north of the small city. It made Cash zip up his heavy sweatshirt to keep his aching chest warm as he walked across the parking lot of the Green Frog Oasis Saloon. He noticed that there were only a few cars parked close to the large pub's entrance. This meant that the noon lunch rush of local day laborers was over, and that there would be plenty of dishes, pots, and pans ready for him to wash before tonight's crowd arrived. That was when the really serious dining, drinking, and dancing in the popular and spacious nightspot began, but this was the last rowdy Friday night Cash would be working. Next weekend he would be breathing the early spring winds of Tokyo, Japan.

Gripping his new canvas duffel bag a little tighter and taking a deep breath to ready himself for the inevitable confrontation with the owner/bartender/friend, Cash opened the Saloon's front door and stepped inside. He paused to scan the warm, friendly, and relaxed looking interior where he had worked since being released from the Muckdogs' roster last September. He was going to miss the long wooden bar where his balding, rotund, and best pal "Juice" Pardee reigned supreme as the local king of all sports knowledge. Juice also freely dispensed common sense about life's general problems while giving particularly succinct and devastatingly accurate advice to the chronic love lorn morons who haunted his bar trying to pickup a mate/date/one night stand in the bar. Before Cash took one additional step inside, his friend polishing beer mugs at the middle of the bar had looked up and already noticed the new, empty traveling bag in Cash's left hand.

"What's this, Joe?" Juice cocked his head while semi glaring with a puzzled, disapproving frown. "Don't tell me you're giving up already! You ain't moving back home to the Asshole of the Midwest and work in your uncle's hardware store again, are ya? Hell, you'll make more money here if you'll stop donating your singing tips to Jeremy's family. I know it sucks, and you feel bad because he's got leukemia and all, but man, there's a lot of really sick kids in Buffalo's Children Hospital. You're broke and need to start taking care of yourself a little better. I could even give you a raise for playing and singing on Monday night's jam sessions and make you the exclusive performer on Thursdays if you'd just commit to being here on a regular basis. I've been thinking about getting a regular group to play that gig anyway since the older drinking crowd's always bigger when you play that old time rock and roll shit. Hey, maybe you could join them since they said they're looking for another lead singer. You can hold out here until your lawsuit is settled, and then you can get back into baseball. I know that room in the back here ain't much, but you don't have to go and live with your insane mother again. Besides, you'll break Jeremy's heart if you give up and leave. He's your biggest fan, Son, other than me of course."

"Jeremy died last night, Juice," Cash shook his head sadly while looking away from his friend's piercing light blue eyes. "I just came from the hospital. The bone marrow transplant operation he had yesterday went badly, and he never woke up. His body had a negative massive reaction that shut down everything inside him. The big time surgeons said all the odds were with him since the DNA match from his cousin was so good, but Jeremy just didn't make it. His family is really taking it hard. Helping them was the only thing really keeping me here, so I figured hey, uhhh, now's as good a time as any for me to make a move."

"Awww, hell, that's tough about the kid," Juice blew out a deep sigh of regret and sympathy. Cash had been really close to that youngster ever since coaching him in Little League the year before and had been a weekly hospital visitor after the kid had been diagnosed with bone marrow cancer last July. "I'm sorry, Joe. I'll send flowers to the funeral home for ya. Just give me the address when ya get it."

"Thanks Juice, and uh, send them my last paycheck too, will ya? I'll be working here until next Tuesday, but I'm not going home. Next Wednesday is Jeremy's funeral, then I'm flying out of the country. I got a reply from one of the minor league teams in Tokyo that said they would supply room and board if I'd come to spring tryouts for them, but they want me in Japan by next Friday for their spring training orientation. I just sold my car to pay for the airline ticket."

"You dumb bastard!" Juice angrily threw a big beer mug across the width of the Saloon to shatter it against the far wall, just missing a big window. The few customers and waitresses in the bar froze while looking aghast at the weird scene between Cash and his employer/friend.

"You're going over there on a shoestring? It's your so called "Come to Tokyo" hunch again? I've told you and told you that's a dead end over there! The odds of a Yank catching onto a small time team in Japan and then successfully coming back to play here are worse than hair growing on top of my shiny head! You'd be better off going to Mexico if you're that damn desperate! But you should stay here, Joe! Our high school coach will still let you train and pitch with his guys until you win your lawsuit! It should be settled in a few weeks! Dammit Joe! You can't go!"

"I gotta go Juice!" Cash replied through gritted teeth. "It just keeps getting stronger every day and night! Pounding in the back of my skull, calling me! If I don't make it over there, then what the hell am I out? I'll fly back and start over. I can always get another car, right? At least I'll be throwing against better hitters than high school kids, and who knows? Maybe one of those Japanese pitching coaches can help me get my forkball working again and find the plate with my other pitches more consistently too. I sure as hell ain't making any progress around here, and I'm tired of wasting my time washing damn dishes and pans! I'm a ballplayer Juice! I should have been playing in the Winter Leagues down south, and I would have if it hadn't been for Agnes and her idiot father black balling me all over the whole damn country!"

"Yeah," Juice sighed in defeat again as his sudden anger also instantly evaporated. He knew from experience that nothing was going to stop Cash from doing anything once his mind was made up. "Yeah, I know. All right then ya dumb shit. You keep your last check and Monday night jam session tips to live on over there because I hear its pretty damn expensive. I'll stake ya to some travel money too, and send more to Jeremy's folks to help with the funeral. Then I'll rub you're leaving to play baseball again in Agnes and her father's faces.

"I never understood why you got messed up with that selfish, round heeled little bitch in the first place. You've got all the older gals around here wanting to mother hen you to death, the younger gals wanting to eat you alive, and yet you're scared to death of 'em and never give 'em the time of day. Why in the hell did you roll over like a whipped puppy for Agnes Mortenson? Even her name irritates me! Ya know now that she was already pregnant when she seduced you and then claimed it was yours, right? She only used you for insurance money and to give the kid a last name because the other guys knew all about her and refused to get involved. Man, you're a total dumb ass when it comes to women!"

Cash dropped his bag and took a seat on a bar stool, propping his head with his elbows on the bar and his forehead with both palms while closing his eyes in disgust. He didn't need Juice reminding him about how great a fool over Agnes he had been last summer. If ever there had been a total moron moment in his life then, wait, what was this? Someone was coming towards him, mentally shivering in fear and apprehension? Why? What had he done? Who was it? This fearful heaviness in the back of his mind felt like it was a young female coming too. What was she scared of? Cash frowned in wary suspicion. This strange mental pressure had a familiar "wrong" feel to it. Could it be? He moved off the stool and went to where Juice had begun cleaning up his broken beer mug.

"Holy Mother of Pearl!" Juice exclaimed as he stopped picking up broken glass and peered out through the Saloon window. It looked like a petite yet nicely rounded super model from Japan was doing some kind of sci-fi movie shoot while impressively dressed in some kind of long black cloak and a crimson uniform featuring a very short crimson skirt, black knee high boots, and lots of intriguing bare flesh.

"Will you get a load of that? Man, I've only seen gals like that in movies and hot manga magazines! Why is she just standing out there in my parking lot? Where did she come from? Man, she looks like she really needs a hug or something!"

"Oh for crying out loud!" Cash groaned in disgust. "It's Riko Sekirei! Damn! What in the hell is SHE doing here? She's been dogging me for a date for so long I feel like barking! And she's coming in! Stall her, Juice! Then get rid of her! I'm hiding out in the kitchen and washing dishes!"

"Riko Sekirei?" Juice's jaw dropped in amazement. "Dude, THAT hot, lonely looking gal out there is your next door neighbor from back home? Holy SHIT! And you're running away? COME BACK HERE, YOU MORON! Help her even if she is dressed weird! She looks scared to death! At least talk to that sweet young thing!"

"NO WAY! Trust me, Juice!" Cash yelled over his shoulder as he snatched up his new duffel bag and hit the kitchen door running. "She ain't sweet!"

"Hey! Asshole! Don't you run out on me now!' Juice yelled at the swinging door. "This afternoon we got a wedding reception booked in here that's going to start in a little while! And it looks like a big crowd of them are pulling in the lot now! I need those dishes washed, especially the beer mugs! More washed later!"

"All right, all right!" Cash's muffled voice came back. "I'll start the damn dishwasher! And stick around back here to help! Jeebus!"

Outside, Uzume and Karasuba joined Riko on the parking lot and stared with her at the rustic exterior of the Green Frog Oasis Saloon.

"Even though he agreed to trying this, he still doesn't even want to SEE me," Riko's voice broke in nervousness, "Or hear an apology, let alone TALK to me! This is SO not going to work!"

"Have a little faith, baby," Karasuba pinched and pulled hard on Riko's cheeks.

"Owww!" Riko flinched backward but couldn't break free.

"And if you give up before we even try," Karasuba growled between clenched teeth, "you'll just be validating Natalie's judgment that you are not worthy of him as your Ashikabi. Now Zoomer and I have went way out on a limb here for you, Reeker. We don't want a replacement in our Circle. We want you. If you don't get with the program and do your best, you might as well ask Natalie to fry you now. Dammit, you really want Hubby to fix your bonding, don't you? You were sincere in your apologies to all of us a little bit ago, weren't you?"

"Y, y, y, yes!" Riko shuddered, "but I'm so nervous! And everybody REALLY hates me now. What am I going to do?"

"Just do as I tell you, stay in the background, act like you're playing the drums, and drink a little booze. When the time is right, you can apologize to him too. What's so damn hard about that?"

"Geez, Reeker!" Uzume shook her head in dismay. "Ya can't possibly want to be cut off from all of us again! We're here to help ya, ya silly ditz!"

"It's just that," Riko swallowed hard. "He's never really WANTED me! And, and I'm about as sexy as a dirty dish rag!"

"Just hang in there with us," Karasuba grinned confidently. "And leave all the heavy lifting to your Sisters. WE want you with us, Hubby needs you to save Natalie, and Natalie wants your help in saving her Nest despite how she feels about killing you as a wayward daughter. Ah, good, here's the rest of our Circle. Okay Zoomer, give us your best shot for a HAWT girl band look."

"OHHH!" Riko gasped in chilled surprise as the cold breeze coming across the parking lot made huge goose bumps on her suddenly bare skin.

"Yahhh!" Kazehana exclaimed as her cape disappeared and she crossed her arms to protectively cover her breasts. "This place is COLD!"

"Oh my word!" Himeko quickly moved to use Kazehana as a windbreak.

"I like it," Akitsu nodded while drawing in a deep and very impressive breath of the fragrant wind.

"You would," Toyotama shivered with a sour expression while looking around. "So THIS is Batavia, New York? Man, somebody needs to turn on the heat! Damn! Do these stasis dreams have to be so freaking realistic? I've never gotten headlights this big!"

"Just fresh air, Toys!" Karasuba grinned her approval at their Circle's new look. "Deja vu, huh Reeker? Great job Zoomer! C'mon gang! Let's get inside and get set up before we all freeze our tits off out here!"

"We finally agree on something!" Miya muttered under her breath as she made one hasty and warmth seeking leap towards the front entrance of the Green Frog Oasis Saloon. "And I thought those perverted lightning twins had skimpy outfits!"

The other Sekirei and their Ashikabi who began arriving on the Saloon's stasis dream parking lot didn't stop or even linger in the cold north wind to smell the flowers either.

***scene break***

The bow spray from the Pacific Ocean wind whipping across the American nuclear submarine running full speed on the surface had soaked Captain Roland G. Nelson's uniform coat despite the heavy foul weather slicker he was wearing. Wet clothes were the least of his present concerns however, and any astute observer, namely the lookouts around him warily eying their enraged captain, could see that he was pounding his fist on the sub's conning tower in total frustration. Making a stealth approach to one's destination and then suddenly waking up almost 36 hours later running flat out away from their mission's objectives would certainly frustrate any commander. For Captain Nelson, it had been a personal slap in the face, and a wet one insulting one at that.

"Chief!" Nelson barked into his command headset. "Get that crazy ass Minaka up here! Now! I want to talk to him, and you too!"

"Aye aye, Cap'n!" Came the Chief of the Boat's tinny response.

Less than a minute later, Hiroto Minaka blinked owlishly as he emerged on deck. He then leveled a smug, "I Told You So" look at Nelson before folding his arms in pinch mouthed silence. Deep red finger and thumb marks that had been tightly squeezed onto the side of Minaka's neck indicated where he had already gotten "The Word" from Chief Jankowitz about needlessly pissing the Captain off with any useless chatter and only speaking if and when asked something. Nor was he to stupidly complain about not being allowed to wear his world domination cape again.

"You were right," Nelson began tightly without turning his head from watching the ocean's sunlit horizon nor deigning to otherwise acknowledge Minaka's presence. "I was wrong. We're going back. This time your space gizmo will be set up for activation before we attempt to launch our SEALS. You and your geek cohorts will see to it that every man jack aboard my boat will be wearing the proper protective headgear to protect them from your gizmo's effects when it's activated. Whatever number of helmets we're short when we approach will mean you and your people will go in bareheaded. Chief, you will immediately begin to modify every diving helmet, firefighting, and nuclear cleanup headgear we got to match the specifications of what these clowns brought on board. Improvise for the rest. You have 34 hours. Got it?"

"Got it, aye aye," Jankowitz snapped off a precise salute.

"Take Cackling Boy here with you," Nelson added dryly, "and beat him like a rented mule if he tries to goldbrick on this assignment."

"Rented mule, aye aye," Chief Jankowitz smiled in evil anticipation while cracking his knuckles on both hands.

The action caused Minaka to shift his eyes sideways and swallow nervously at his now mortal enemy while shrinking back against the sub's conning tower. Minaka suddenly felt a warmth on his thighs that turned his underwear cold, wet, and clammy. That embarrassing feeling didn't totally come from the American submarine's headwind and ocean spray as it raced back towards Kamakura Island.


	31. Chapter 31

**The Game Changer**

**Chapter 31 – Eighth Inning, Relief Pitching**

His image mirrored on the picture's covering glass,Captain Roland G. Nelson stared at the photo of his wife and two teenage daughters. All three were so beautiful, sweet, and caring yet three strong personalities so easy to love, and he was nuts about them. He had their picture hung above the metal work desk in his submarine's one bunk quarters which, although small, were luxurious compared to the rest of the crew. Let's see. He was thirteen hours ahead, so that meant his honey, honey wife had just made breakfast for the girls and was probably trying to get them into the car for the drive to their high school. Then she would head into downtown Nashville, Tennessee where she worked as a receptionist/para legal in a law firm. It would probably be just another peaceful and serene weekday in southeast America, and around the world for that matter. Serene until Mrs. Roland G. Nelson's husband and father of their two beautiful daughters, a nuclear submarine captain off the southern coast of Japan in the Pacific Ocean, potentially launched the beginning of an all out World War III nuclear missile barrage that would most likely start a nuclear winter and eventually destroy the planet.

Nelson shifted his eyes down to the paper held in his hands; a decoded, highly classified, his eyes only message from the United States Secretary of Defense. America's entire military was now on DEFCON 1 alert, "nuclear war imminent", etc. etc. Specifically, Captain Roland G. Nelson of the U.S.S. Mandrake was hereby ordered to arm his boat's nuclear missiles in preparation for a preemptive launch targeting Kamakura Island, said launch order awaiting presidential authority. Acknowledge soonest.

He shook his head and frowned as he reread the brief missive carefully while his stomach continued to emit waves of nervous nausea. The bold "DEFCON 1" in the defense department's transmission almost mesmerized him and at the same time sickened him greatly. There had always been the possibility of such a gut wrenching order being given, and he had known it full well when he had accepted his promotion to Captain and taken command of the Mandrake. After all, his boat had been BUILT to launch nuclear missiles at his country's enemies. On the other hand, in his heart he had really believed the Cold War had been over for decades, and none of the regional skirmishes with old and now new national enemies would ever warrant the USA hauling out its ultimate big guns. Now he was staring at his own ultimate decision, and possible destruction as well as his family's. Did he, Captain Roland G. Nelson, potentially start WW III or not?

Even if they didn't get through the alien's covering heat/energy weapon shield, the Mandrake's nuclear missiles exploding over Kamakura Island would definitely blast and obliterate the approaching Hindi, Chinese, and Russian fleets as not so simple collateral damage. If successful in actually striking the Island, the effects of the Mandrake's missile onslaught would be an order of magnitude or two worse, now and later. He could dive his boat deep and survive the immediate nuclear fireballs and winds' cataclysmic consequences as well as the EMP burst, fallout, potential earthquakes in a dangerous fault zone, AND tsunamis.

However, such an attack would REALLY piss off the USA's supposedly mutual allies whose fleets would be totally destroyed in trying to capture and/or eliminate the aliens and their ship on Kamakura. Nuclear fallout wouldn't make the folks in Japan too happy either, let alone Okinawa, Taiwan, Hawaii, the Philippines, Southeast Asia, Mongolia, South Korea, and its VERY touchy northern neighbor. Hell, the Middle East, Africa, Australia, Europe, and the two Americas were gonna be pissed too, and rightfully so as a nuclear winter set in. And the BIG question was, wouldn't they have a right to be? So why risk it?

Looking at the facts, something really smells with this prepare to launch order, Nelson frowned to himself again. Why should the USA simply attack without probing more first? What had happened to alter his previous orders? He turned his message over, gripped an ink pen, and began doodling his thoughts as an exercise in decision making.

Fact one: In recent events, all use of alien weaponry from the Island had been totally defensive. The Mandrake could have easily been captured and/or destroyed instead of having its crew put to sleep and sent packing safely back out to sea like unruly little school kids. The aliens totally removing unmanned orbital threats/recon above, destroying recon drones, and making immediate overhead airspace a no fly zone was totally predictable too. The kicker had been human pilots venturing too close had received repeated warnings in their native languages before their engines had been surgically targeted without killing anyone. That really wasn't aggression at all. The aliens had also demonstrated that their advanced weapons could easily blow every approaching ship out of the water as well as incoming missiles, invasion fleets, and attacking aircraft, but hadn't. In fact, other than an old missing Chinese submarine which could have sunk by itself in a mild rain shower, no one had really been hurt or killed, yet.

Questions: So why did all that alien non-aggression NOW warrant a sneak nuclear missile attack upon them? One most probably doomed to fail yet collaterally and eventually sure to kill hundreds of millions? What was causing this kind of total lunatic type of fear in his top command? What if a suicidal nuclear attack was also imminent from the approaching allied fleets? The aliens hadn't done anything much more than exist up until now, nothing aggressive nor lethal. On the other hand if the aliens retaliated with all their advanced military might, the results of THAT simply couldn't be pretty at all for humanity. Wouldn't surround, contain, probe, give the whole situation time, and attempt a compromising or at least gain a peaceful understanding dialogue from everyone involved be better? Was mutual annihilation really the only option to resolve whatever beef the world political leaders had with the aliens on Kamakura? Something had to be done, otherwise Captain Roland G. Nelson's family was going to die as well as a lot of other innocent folks.

Fact two: Something very nasty had hurt someone/something on Kamakura Island a few hours before he and his crew had been put to sleep and the Mandrake sent away. Maybe the victim had been the head alien? Who knew? What had happened as well as the why and how was anyone's guess, but the resulting mental response had been easy to understand. Nelson and almost half his crew had felt the initial pain quite clearly in their minds, and the feeling of dying, yet the immediate mind message broadcast during the incident felt throughout the Mandrake had simply been … love. Pure and simple love. Self sacrificing love. Warm. Peaceful. Deep. Unreserved. Protective. Like a newly wed parent cuddling their newborn child and spouse. Not only a pure self sacrificing love, but love mixed with extreme sorrow for causing others any harm. If put into words, the alien mind message would most closely be: Life is precious. Love essential. Then who or whatever had been hurt so badly on the Island had been healed, restored, or revived while somehow yet continuing to mentally broadcast those same happy, loving, and peaceful vibes.

Nelson wasn't too sure about much in his long time cynical way of military thinking and career, but he was SURE deep inside himself that whatever was on Kamakura Island wasn't needing a bunch of exploding nuclear missiles to pacify it. So why would he need to obey a launch order that he KNEW to be bogus, or at least very uninformed, and as a result start the nuclear devastation of Earth? It would be the end of his career if he disobeyed a launch order of course, but weren't his loving wife and daughters' lives worth it? Let alone the other seven billion inhabitants of this planet? Wasn't life truly precious and love essential?

Questions: If assuming the Kamakura aliens were simply loving and protective, or at least NOT a threat to world peace, then what if some evil cabal with great influence bent on world domination WANTED the Earth devastated? Or what if there were some different, aggressive alien invaders OTHER than what was probably those invader's more passive enemies on Kamakura Island? The planet's resources and what few remaining survivors would then be easy pickings after the Earth was devastated by war, right? What if the little green men on Kamakura weren't here to invade the planet but to really protect it from being invaded from some other violently hostile alien life forms? What if the world's military might was being used as dupes to do these hostile invaders or some evil cabal's work for them in killing off the Kamakura aliens and most of the world's human population as well? The Mandrake was one helluva powerful weapon in its own right, able to devastate a third of the planet by itself. Should its captain risk its present use against its future need if indeed there were other hostile invaders from space?

Fact three: Cackling Boy Minaka had come aboard his boat with an alien device to kill not only the aliens on Kamakura by gaining their ship's power, but also while ONLY supplying enough protective helmets for his own little cadre of MBI scientists and chums. This meant Minaka had been fully prepared to sacrifice the lives of the Mandrake's crew as useless collateral damage to accomplish his goals once the Island had been reached and breached. So just what was the true potential for those resonating eight crystal rods? Did they have killing potential far beyond just nailing the Kamakura aliens? He hadn't really pressed Minaka on this point, and the skinny little crackpot hadn't disclosed much of anything other than to answer specific questions from what Chief Jankowitz had beat out of him. This all implied that Cackling Boy with the pretentious cape KNEW a helluva lot more than what he had divulged to date. And needed a VERY thorough interrogation before Nelson decided to do anything, let alone acknowledge a nuclear strike order. He could dodge that for about another four hours by claiming that he had been running deep submerged and out of radio contact. It would mean altering the boat's records and hell to pay if he got caught, but again, wasn't avoiding a total world nuclear disaster worth it?

Questions: Was Minaka acting alone? If not, who was Minaka working with or for? And what were his/their actual goals? Why had he and MBI taken years of trouble and expense to shelter and raise the aliens on Kamakura only to kill them off either by what he had called the Sekirei Plan as some silly death tournament, or by now lethally using his eight crystal rod device powered by the Mandrake's nuclear reactor? MBI had kept the Island and its alien ship off limits until now, even using the aliens to defend it militarily against all comers. Then the aliens had kicked his sorry ass off the Island. Since he was obviously an enemy of the Kamakura Island aliens now, why did Minaka NEED to repossess and get into the alien ship again? What would he or his masters use that access for? And just as importantly, WHO were Minaka's masters? Could one possibly be the Secretary of Defense for the United States military?

Fact four: The aliens on Kamakura Island had already demonstrated technology far beyond the world's military capability, and they hadn't used it once to attack and overwhelm any country or the world in general in the years previous and now too. Life is precious. Love essential. That was not a warlike mentality whether alien or not.

Question: Could a commander of the latest and most sophisticated war submarine the Earth could build assume that the Kamakura aliens with their advanced technology also had their pacifist act together far more than the world's military and political leaders? Able to lightly pat all their approaching military butts and turn them away from a dangerous electrical socket called Kamakura Island? Would the aliens want to, or be convinced to, clearly communicate they were totally peaceful and by doing so justify his countermanding a presidential launch order?

Nelson abruptly dropped his pen and punched the open button on his command console's communicator.

"Captain here. Sparks, has there been any communicating transmissions or signals FROM Kamakura Island to us or the other international fleets?"

"Negative."

"Have you monitored any attempts at communication from our combined fleets TO the Island?"

"Negative."

Interesting. The aliens had verbally warned away manned aircraft. Why not naval forces? Well, they had gently turned the Mandrake away almost like a little child venturing to close to their Island, but there had been no verbal warning. Wait. The aliens WERE capable of verbal communication when they chose to be, and in several different languages too. Would they be open to answering some questions from one Captain Roland G. Nelson of the U.S.S. Mandrake? The boat had small recon drones that could be altered for communication missions. Now how to do that visually so that only he could send and receive without the other fleets, and more importantly other U.S. ships, would know about it? A blinking light maybe? He would need trusted conspirators if he wanted to at least try to save his naval career and impending retirement pay and benefits and still avoid a word wide nuclear holocaust. And potentially become a traitor to his country. Dammit.

"Exec, Sparks! Report to the Captain's quarters immediately. Chief of the Boat report also with Hiroto Minaka. Bring any mule persuasion devices you deem necessary."

"Exec, aye, aye."

"Sparks, aye, aye, Captain."

"Chief here, aye aye, Captain," was the Chief's deep, raspy, tinny, but obviously "gloating in anticipation" response.

Captain Roland G. Nelson of the U.S.S. Mandrake lifted his eyes to lovingly stare again at his family's picture. Life is precious. Love essential. Just like his family. And the world. The Kamakura aliens' mind message had been pretty basic, but world shaking profound if followed wholeheartedly. Could it stop world destruction? Was he right to assume the Kamakura aliens really had their act together as an advanced, powerful, and peaceful species wanting to love and protect the Earth, all its life, AND humanity? Nelson rubbed his chin in worry, and his gut still felt nauseated, but everything in the world that mattered to him was indicated in this picture. The reflection of his facial expression off the photo's glass also indicated that if he had to break and twist every bone in Minaka's skinny ass body to get as many answers to his internal questions as he needed, then he'd do it before he acknowledged any nuclear launch order.

***scene break***

Deliberately playing hooky from Kazehana's stasis dream party, Cash stared at his image in the mirror. He was standing in the bathroom attached to his Kamakura Island base commanding officer quarters' master bedroom suite. Himeko and Toyotama were both still sleeping on the king sized bed behind him and now totally immersed in their shared stasis dream. A few minutes earlier, Cash had awakened and lifted his comatose Amazon Sekirei up into his spot on the bed and arranged Toyotama's limbs to be comfortable. The sleeping pair in their sheer, red baby doll pajamas had made an incredibly beautiful and sexy sight. He had then went into the guest bedroom across the hall to see his other five Sekirei in identical sexy sleepwear. Kazehana, Miya, and Uzume were sleeping on the guest bed without touching each other much. Karasuba and Akitsu were more mutually snuggled together on a futon between the bed and wall near the connecting hall doorway. Before heading to his bathroom, Cash had studied the two of the futon that had actually been his first Sekirei bonded pair for a few brief moments.

These two had demonstrated a natural, easy affinity to each other from the beginning, more just friendly than anything sexually, although Karasuba and Akitsu hadn't had any qualms about being naked together with him. Even when that had happened, they had concentrated on giving and receiving pleasure with him rather than each other, but they had clearly been totally relaxed, naturally friendly, and had liked and approved of each other in and out of the sack. This was probably without even knowing that they were born to be The One Who Kills and The One Who Senses types in a Sekirei Circle.

Cash wondered at how deep Sekirei mutual bonding in pairs and Circles went, especially if only one was killed like Natalie had been. What had her bond mate done? There HAD to be some built-in flexibility in the Sekirei system of reproduction and relationships along with nest and Ashikabi defense. After all, there were bound to be casualties from mutual Circle protection/aggression in a hostile universe. There was a definite order and some rigidity to Sekirei society as a whole, yet Karasuba and Akitsu definitely had their own widely diverse individual personalities as did their Prime Sisters. There was also a somewhat fluid pecking order of sorts, but there was also definite equality in a LOT of things. There were also harem like machinations and intrigue in vying with each for time with him, but they certainly didn't ACT like any submissive/ruled harem, with him or each other. Actually he was a kept man more than anything, and yet they adored, loved, feared, catered to, lusted after, bitched at, criticized, praised, and mostly treated him as a familiar equal too.

It certainly was an alien, interlocking nine way system, sorta like an eight sided umbrella with him as the connected handle in the middle and each Sekirei panel joined together on each side while braced together on the inside to form a protective whole. Hell, they even linked up with other circles and fought together in the same way. It was a way different approach to societal construction, gender differences, and same gender interaction, much different than Earth's way more fluid humankind; especially bonding first with their Ashikabi and THEN adjusting to and coming to love their Ashikabi after. Was it the same between bond mates, and if so, how deep did their paired bonds go? How much were they willing to share and give in just everyday matters?

In natural circumstances on their home planet and for ages emulated by the Dryas Petals on Earth, they probably would have been raised to make their Circle bonds, find their mutual Ashikabi together, and become natural battle mates, protecting each other, moving together, helping each other, meshing their powers, sharing emotional triumphs and disappointments together, maybe even eventually mutually caring and raising each others offspring. Always together. Never alone. Even so, Akitsu and Karasuba's natural affinity had surfaced BEFORE they had joined their Prime Circle here on Earth, which had later expanded into their mutual sharing with their six Sisters, yet still remaining closer with each other. Maybe this natural affinity also explained Uzume's exponentially growing unhappiness as her battle mate Riko had become more and more insane even though Riko's troubles also had to be an extreme case.

Wondering where Riko was being held captive, Cash had sighed deeply as he had turned to go to the bathroom. There was so much about Sekirei Circles, Sisterhood, their inter relationships, their distinctly different individual relationships with him, and their paired bonding/protective/sharing instincts that he had to learn. Why had things gone so immediately right between him and Uzume and yet gone so wrong between him and her natural bond mate Riko? How had it continued to get worse and why since he and Uzume had swiftly adjusted to each other so positively? He had to learn, and fast, which he couldn't do stalling around here instead of joining Kazehana's stasis dream party to fix Riko's flawed and weak bonding to him.

After relieving himself, Cash washed his hands, and then his weird looking image in the bathroom mirror had caught his attention. He studied himself for a few minutes. Gone was the old, total self confident, and smiling glint in his deep blue eyes as was the slightly smug, good humored, and self assured expression around his lips. Those had been lost on the gymnasium floor. In their place was a much more serious and almost self mocking set to his more gaunt looking facial features. Although most of their natural warmth was now missing, his eyes still projected some humor, but it was more of the self critical, haunted, guilt laden, cynical, and doubting himself kind. In addition, three white streaks were now present in the left side of his dark brown hair as if Haihane's claws had swiped there instead of ripping up through his torso. Fixing Riko's troubles. There was a laugh. What about fixing his? Cash absently fingered the three raised, jagged, and reddened new scars on his chest while shaking his head at a suddenly realized and chilling truth. Riko hadn't put them there. He had.

"You," Cash sighed when finally looking up at his now "stranger to himself" mirror image, "Cash Joseph Archer, are truly one dumb son of a bitch. You do realize you not only almost killed yourself, but almost everything you love now, right?"

His new image stared back at him in slow blinking, accusing silence. Then, weirdly, it began to speak.

"And you're a giant school boy coward. Standing in here and stalling around instead of helping Kazehana mesh her Prime Circle. YOU are simply an immature, self centered prick, a bull headed jerk, and a worthless, careless, clumsy damn coward. You're more of a Prime Lunkhead than a Prime Leader. And that's a fact. Another simple fact is that you've got no one to blame for the total, world screwed up mess you've made of things now. Especially with Riko. You're the one that could have fixed all of Riko's troubles from the first day you met her, and you could have done it at any time since. The poor kid really hasn't really deserved one bit of the crap you've dished out, and now because you've been such a total dick about not wanting to wing Riko, YOU have killed Natalie because of it, and maybe all your Sekirei and their Ashikabi as well as yourself too!"

"Dammit! How was I to know back then?" Cash gritted out defensively at his mirror accuser. "Riko FELT like real female trouble when we first met! The kind I KNEW all about! And a loser like me doesn't just go around kissing weird acting gals from another planet to start a total life commitment with 'em five minutes after the first meeting, right? Besides, she was way too beautiful to be falling for me right away! That never happened before, not to me anyway! So I KNEW something was really screwy! And I had a right to be wary and scared of her!"

"Bullshit! How long did it take you to get comfortable in having Akitsu around for life? And especially Uzume? They BOTH had their share of weird troubles when you first met 'em!" Cash's image pointed an accusing and damning finger back at Cash. "Yet you were kissing Uzume almost right away and KNOWING what you were doing! If you would have just accepted and taken care of Riko the same way early on, where would you be now? And you KNOW Riko's not a bad hearted kid really, never was! A totally confused screw up, a whacky kind of super smart nerd, an unrealistic dreamer wanting a prince charming, okay, and then overly jealous of the others, sure! But all that's understandable, and forgivable, because YOU withheld what you KNEW she needed to be your Sekirei and settle down into a forever and ever relationship where you both could grow closer and happier! You knew it right after you winged Uzume and saw how fast she wrapped her odd life around yours and vice versa! AFTER Akitsu and you had already done the same!"

"All right, all RIGHT!" Cash yelled at himself. "So I screwed up with Riko! Big time! But there were REASONS for me feeling the way I did about her! I mean for crying out loud, she comes across like a three headed, henpecking, over controlling, and manipulative hydra of everything I can't stand about my mother, my sister, AND Agnes Mortensen!"

"BUT... SHE'S... NOT." Mirror Cash bellowed back while slamming both fists down upon the bathroom sink's counter. "She got bullied badly while growing up! She didn't have a father NOR a mother! She was totally ostracized at her school and kept on an island away from any normal social contacts, especially with males! On top of everything, Riko was scared to death 24/7 that MBI lab goons were going ADJUST and limit her into something she instinctively knew she didn't want to be! She STILL has zero social skills because of all that. And its turned her into a totally closed off and paranoid recluse that has ALWAYS kept a tight mind shield up! Hello? Is any of this sounding familiar, Einstein? Like the same reasons why you have always came across as a total ass to almost every human gal you've ever met? So Riko dreamed about her Ashikabi being her Prince Charming and going to save her from her living hell, love her, and be happy ever after together! What was, and is, still so freaking terrible about that? But YOU, you self centered coward, couldn't at least keep an open mind about Riko and give her a chance to open up and grow on you! Moron! Coward!"

"I wasn't being a coward! Nor dumb! I was just being damned sensible and cautious!"

Mirror Cash wagged his head in aggravated impatience.

"Oh right! Just like you were with Uzume? Trying not to get haunted by Chiho's ghost? That was sensible? At least with Uzume you showed some guts for finally doing the right thing and winging her when you KNEW her situation was really desperate! Why couldn't you see Riko was just as desperate and have the courage to let things work out as well with her as they did with Uzume? And you've known down deep all along that YOU were Riko's only option for an Ashikabi, and yet you've STILL denied her winging time and time again, even after your other Sekirei TOLD you repeatedly that you were making a HUGE mistake! Almost killed Karasuba and Miya with the same stupid shit too! But NO! You couldn't trust anyone's judgment except your own! You HAD to be a total douche bag block head in charge! You were right! They were all wrong! And their judgment just couldn't be trusted because you, you dumb sonofabitch, were such an alien societal and Sekirei expert! Prick! Jerk! Moron! Coward! And you're STILL being one by arguing!"

"Okay! Okay!" Cash gave his accusing and angry image a lower lip chewing, gulping, and half panting look of near panic. "I'll get Riko and, and, uhhh apologize, and, and try to fix her, and, and I'm, I'm not a coward! And, and I'm gonna stop being a prick! I swear it! I'm gonna do it!"

"You're wasting your time with that attitude, fool!" His image shook his head again while sighing in disgust. "And lost the game before you've even thrown your first pitch. And chickenhearted standing here instead of not joining your Circle's party like you promised! You're hiding here in this substitute locker room to NOT meet Riko on the playing field! Again! She's no dummy! That has to HURT! She's gotta be totally terrified of facing you again by now! In her mind it's like she's behind three runs and up to bat in the bottom of the ninth with a full count and two out! Riko KNOWS she's only got one swing left to hit a grand slam to win the game, but she's never hit a home run in her life! Matter of fact, she's the last kid picked to play right field just to make the teams even and has NEVER gotten a hit in her life. Batting average of zero, and yet because of YOU, she's scared out of her mind and has to smack a homer now or die!

"You've put her in a situation that's guaranteed for her to fail! Is that how you pitch? You never throw a ball outside when your infielders are positioned opposite for a pull hitter do you? No! But that's what you're doing to Riko! And Natalie dies when Riko fails while you hide in here like a little, knee shaking, cowardly school boy. Riko doesn't need fixed, you selfish, sorry assed bastard! You do! When are you gonna grow up and be a MAN, one like Natalie needs!"

"Okay! All right! I get it! I'm an immature ass! I know I've got to be a better man for Riko, my Circle, and, and Natalie too! But, but, look at these scars on my chest! Natalie's gonna die and, and I don't really know how to help Riko! How do I do it? How so that I don't screw it all up again and make Riko hate me even more, and, and attack again? She could kill me with a snap of her fingers too! And dying ain't fun!"

"Seriously? You're SCARED of Riko? You REALLY are? Oh for crying out loud! Every one of your Sekirei could break you like a dry twig in an instant! Look, they all NEED your LOVE! The very last thing they want is to hurt you or have you get hurt! Even Riko! And you know she wasn't ATTACKING you in the gym too! She was trying to get you to either accept her or kill her and put everyone out of her misery, one way or another! YOU'RE the one that hung back, screwed up, and then finally fell on Haihane's claws! Right? Look, like I said, it ain't Riko that needs FIXED! It's YOU! You're a moron!"

"Well, yeah, you're right. I know you're right," Cash muttered to himself as his shoulders finally slumped in total self defeat. All self justifying resistance seemed to just melt and flow down and out of his feet onto the carpeted floor. "I know I'm a total moron. And a coward. Like I've always been really."

He frowned while sheepishly not meeting his mirrored image's eyes and began rubbing the three still sore bumps on his chest. Damn. He had been dumb. And cowardly. And careless. Again. Not only basically killing himself, but his Circle too, and driven the other Circles half insane until his Sekirei had saved the day for him. Again. Man, he HAD to get his act together! He HAD to stop being, well, who he was, or at least be a better Ashikabi, much better. But how? It wasn't like he could just snap his fingers and zap! He would instantly become a calm, balanced, mature, and unselfish adult male worthy of being his Circle's Prime Leader. Any way he looked at it he was just a minor league rookie needing more minor league seasoning before being ready for the big show. Sure, he had given Natalie permission to start her self destruct sequence, but that hadn't made him feel like he had "become a man", only a helpless under educated fool that hadn't found a better answer. And he still felt like a helpless fool, especially when it came to Riko.

"Look, dummy," Mirror Cash sighed again. "Actually fixing all your many faults might take decades, but there are some positive things you can do for Riko, Natalie, yourself, and everyone else now. Simply get in front of Riko, ask her to drop her mind shield, you drop yours, share your mutual fears, and then tell her you want her just the way she is, no changes! Then kiss her! Let your other Sekirei do their part and mostly carry the psychic load of meshing her into their Circle. Which is their shared job with you anyway. Especially Kazehana's. That's what her party is for, right? Trust her. Trust your Circle. That's it! All you have to do is stop being a damn bullheaded coward!

"Not only with Riko, but with all of your Sekirei! Just let Riko be herself. Every female wants that in a relationship, and Riko can't live up to anyone's too lofty expectations of her. Neither should the rest of your Circle be anything other than what they naturally are, and there's no law stating you can't adjust to them, is there? So why be such a stupid blockhead and demand that they do all the adjusting? Trust them! Trust them AND their bonding instincts to be what they need to be for themselves and for each other as well as for you! You simply give up all preconceived notions about them, accommodate their differences, and then just stick to what YOU do best!"

"Wha, wha, what do you mean?" Cash raised his eyes to blink uncertainly at his mirrored image. "What does a total screw up like me do best? I haven't done one damn thing right yet!"

"Just be a relief pitcher, dammit!" Mirror Cash bellowed back in frustration. "Your other teammates always score all the runs! Always have! They do all the heavy lifting on offense and defense too! All you have EVER done is put the ball in play the best you can by throwing it! That's all you have to do now! Put Riko's situation in play, the same as the rest of your problems!"

"The rest of my problems?"

"Your main priority now is trying to save Natalie, right? You need a meshed Prime Circle's power to even have a prayer of keeping her alive, let alone fend off the world's military might coming at all of you. And Riko is your best option to complete your Circle, let alone the one with enough ability and brains to figure out how to save Natalie. So just put Riko in play, dammit! Then trust your other Sekirei to be the team power and defense behind you! By the way, there are still more uncircled Sekirei with you guys and even unwinged Petal Circles gathered in Tokyo. They need to be put in play also. You even have several under used solo Ashikabi here on Kamakura Island. You're their Prime Leader too! As well as all the Dryas Petals on Earth. Always will be! Now and later!"

"Later?"

"That's right, later. If you guys get out of this mess, and a bright tomorrow comes with everyone safe, then what? Hey, do you want to rule the world?"

"Oh hell no!" Cash shuddered at the thought of him actually being needed for any real leadership skills on any scale, let alone world wide. Man, all he had ever wanted to do was just play baseball! He had already proven he didn't have the skills to lead starving sheep to grass! And damned near killed his Sekirei and himself in the process!

"But Mutsu does want the position, right? Well, LET him have it! Make him the best damn, world leading Prime Center the Dryas Octopetala gang can get! Then you go play baseball until Mutsu needs your Prime Circle's help and power. When he calls for aid, then go get the crucial outs he needs and then sit back down when Mutsu comes back to carry the load again. He'll do a whole lot better job of it than you anyway. Simple! Just give him what he needs to be a great Mutsu! Then do the same for your loving Circle!"

"My Circle?"

"Damn! Ain't you paying attention here, boy? Yes, let your Circle be the best they can be! Step back, and set them free! Look, if Toyotama NEEDS for you to be her master to help her feel sane and in control, then put a damn collar on her neck, bracelets on her wrists, and order her to call you Master! What's the big deal? Let her grow out of it if she can. If not, then just accept it, and stop trying to make her something she's scared to death of being! Would that kill you? No! But it could kill her if you don't! Or at the very least drive her nuts! Same with the others! Akitsu's still totally insecure and fears rejection, right? Put a big ass wedding ring on Akitsu's finger to show her you'll always keep her and never discard her! Do something tangible for her, dummy!

"And hey, your stupid total pacifist bullshit has got to ease up too. The world is a violent place, and so is the rest of the universe. You've got five freaking navies headed for you ready to wipe this damn Island clean! You NEED and the world needs protective fighters that aren't chained down by your unrealistic emotions. That shit is gonna get a lot of people hurt or killed, especially one or more of your Sekirei. Give Karasuba a whet stone to keep her sword sharp and permission to kill when she thinks she needs to! Trust her! She NEEDS to protect you and her Sisters! LET her! And your other Circles need to protect you and each other too! LET them! Set Mutsu free to be Karasuba's group battle commander! Simple! What's so freaking hard about that?"

"Here's more simple stuff. While you're at it, get Himeko a whole closet of risque underclothes to let her feel sexy for you. Let Uzume vent her temper as much as she needs to, especially when she thinks you're being a dick because you usually are! And for Pete's sake, if Kazehana thinks she needs a damn drink, throw her a bottle of sake, and trust her to find a way to handle her booze and her stress and her job. Let her always know she's your Prime Pillar, and you'll be there for her no matter what, drunk or sober! Can you at least do ANY of that?"

"Well, yeah, sure," Cash frowned as he tried to consciously absorb his own Inner Man's advice. "Uhhh, what about Miya? I mean, she's older, and, and more mature, kinda scary really, and well, what does she need?"

"Here's a novel thought. Ask her!" Mirror Cash rolled his eyes up at the bathroom's tiled ceiling. "Man, you are really one dense sonofabitch! Talk to her! Have a conversation, for Pete's sakes! A lot of them! Hell, she might just be lonely. She's a female, dammit! She WANTS to tell you everything about her inner self. And she wants to know everything you are feeling too, especially about her. You just gotta be patient, want her to talk to you, and encourage her to share her desires and personal interests for your mutual relationship. Matter of fact, you need to do this with all your Sekirei."

"Even Riko, right?" Cash nervously rubbed his jaw. "Even if I'm too damn dumb to follow what she's saying most of the time? Let alone what she's doing?"

"Especially for Riko! You got a LOT of ground to make up with her to make her feel comfortable around you and the rest of her Circle. But nerd girls need loving too, right? Dammit! Just go get her and tell her you want her exactly the way she is right now! No changes needed, nothing to prove, and you're not expecting any last minute miracles for anything! She's your Sekirei! Always will be forever and ever! You think it's great she's an uber engineering, computing, mathematical, and physics nerd genius! You really think she's beautiful and sexy too! And even interesting! You admire her power! Her brains! Her beauty! Even her being a great lover of fairy tales and sex guides! Hey! If she thinks she NEEDS a little kinked up, red assed spanking before giving you a blow job, then what the hell? Is that so tough? Let her be Riko!

"Just be sure to tell her that you ALWAYS want to live with her and her Sisters forever and ever! Now go to the damn party! Ask Riko to drop her shield and you drop yours whether she does or not. Then let good ol' Kouten Mother Nature go to work! As well as Kazehana, her Circle, and the other Circle's too. Be the Prime Leader they need by just trusting them! Now is all that really so hard? You're still a man, right? Like your Dad?"

"Well, yeah, I'm, I'm still a man, but, but," Cash tried to stem the sudden tears of long held sorrow forming in his eyes by squeezing them shut. "Not anywhere near like my Dad."

"Yes, you are," Natalie's voice suddenly whispered beside his right ear as her arms encircled him from behind, "And more, My Love. You are my Prime Leader. Something your father, Martin Cash Archer, should have become. He may have been a loving dad, and even a good man, but he shirked his responsibilities to the world, to his Order, and to raising you as his successor to satisfy a small and questionable demand from his country. And died a foolish and meaningless death with four of his flock to eventually drive your Mother and her remaining three Sisters insane. You, Cash Joseph Archer, have already become what your Father should have been, and more. All your Sekirei and every Petal on this planet now have a live, powerful, and capable Prime Leader that knows the total values of life and true, deep love. And gives both freely."

Cash turned to hold Natalie away from him a little while looking down into her big dark eyes that were shining up into his with pride, confidence, and love. He noted that she had somehow added natural warmth to her simulacrum to feel exactly like a natural female. He also saw that she was wearing her crimson Sekirei battle uniform. Now why was that? Who was she intending to, or was now fighting? It didn't matter. She was here. She loved him, and she believed in him. No one had ever really believed in him before, not even his Mother.

"You heard? I mean, sure you did. Me sounding like a total fool that... Hey, was that you speaking to me as my mirrored image? Fixing me? Or was I just being naturally nuts in talking to myself?"

"A little of both," Natalie returned with a small smirk and expressive shrug, "but most of it was your own subconscious trying to point out your conscious flaws, let you knowingly acknowledge them, and then address them out in the open. I just gave him the vehicle."

"And just how to do I do address them without getting us all killed, Natalie?" Cash sighed while shaking his head and giving her a grim, slightly cynical smile. "I've made a total mess of things up to now doing what I thought was right. I suspect any future efforts are going to get the same results."

"Just accept who you are, Cash Darling," Natalie smiled warmly up at him with a slightly pleading expression. "Stop second guessing yourself, arguing with yourself, and me, about what you really are, and ducking your hereditary responsibilities like your Father. You are my, and the world's, Prime Leader. Accept that, and all that goes with it, and then just let your people be who they are to help you be what you are. My children are quite talented, you know. And they'll still be quite talented after I'm gone. Honor me by letting them use their talents for you and our world. You just be my Cash Darling now, and the Ashikabi of Kazehana's Circle, always."

Cash turned to look at their oddly mismatched images in the bathroom mirror; a goofy looking, blue eyed American ballplayer in black jockey briefs and three white streaks in his hair. He also had three angry scars on his bare chest, and one totally hot looking, resigned to her death, Sekirei female simulacrum hugging him with a serene expression of exquisite love, confidence, and contentment on her smiling features. Okay. He did have a great team behind him, of that he had no doubts. He could readily accept and acknowledge that. They were super powered aliens after all. Maybe being Natalie's Cash Darling, and the world's Prime Leader wouldn't be all that hard to do either. Just put the ball in play, Cash, he silently told himself, and let his teammates do their thing together to win. All right. Yeah. He could do that. With a smidgeon of his old warm humor and self assurance displayed, Cash noticed his now smiling mirrored image was now nodding back at him. Maybe he was ready to join Kazehana's stasis dream party after all, and now he had a vocal mirrored aide who would help him do that and also have a little war chat with Mutsu afterward.

***scene break***

Kazehana had been around the world's party scene enough to know the elements of a great shindig even if it was one in a stasis dream. When the music is hot with a hard driving bass, the scantily clad performers looking even hotter, the attendees all ready for a tension unwinding good time, and the stasis booze is flowing, then a gal has got herself a Pah-Tee! With a capital TEE. The Sekirei and their Ashikabi were simply having a monster good time; a mutually shared dream blowout courtesy of Natalie that was filled with dancing, singing, laughter, good natured teasing, jokes, and what all comes with a bunch of young, boozed up, and moshing hot bodies and minds in a limited space, human and otherwise. The goal of stress reduction and positive interaction in the alien group to build a nice Riko meshing rapport was working maybe even way above Karasuba's expectations thanks largely in part to Kazehana, Seo, and Sanada's considerable expertise in low social hedonism for Natalie to draw upon.

That's not to say that Cash's Prime Pillar wasn't aware that all was going as planned in the midst of the whooping festivities of Natalie's stasis dream setting in the Green Frog Oasis Saloon, because they weren't. The stasis party's primary group goal of bringing Cash and Riko together on a favorable basis for meshing the Prime Circle was so far failing miserably. That was due to the fact that there are other basic negative elements to parties, even the blowouts where almost everyone is having a great time, and these negative elements have the potential to really sour the whole group's partying good mood and potential meshing vibes.

Inevitably, there are always a few uptight, shy wallflowers, male and female. These are too long social outcasts and nervous nerd types that simply don't know how to relax and join in the fun. These party poopers can usually be found hanging around the punchbowl, along the walls, or in a dimly lit rear corner doing their best not to be noticed while yet longing to join the merriment. They may even flee the room to hang around close outside while fighting a self evoked panic attack.

Naturally one of these outcasts was a highly embarrassed and now totally overcome by fear Riko who had promptly deserted her position as the Wagtails' drummer as soon as the others turned their backs to begin "playing" their first hot rock and roll song. When she had seen that Cash hadn't bothered to come to their party, Riko had grabbed a nearby tablecloth, wrapped it around her way too scantily clad body, and snuck along behind the bar to the pub's far corner near the punch bowl. Here she had shrunk into a self induced funk of mind numbed fear while literally praying to die unnoticed as the hated, unwanted, and death deserving, scum dog criminal that she had become in her mind.

Another potential party killer is the guy or gal who has always been one of the nervous social outcast types. Yet now he was bound and determined that tonight was the night he/she was going to throw off the emotional shackles that had bound them in their life long and isolated social prison of one and finally join the human race. These can usually be found outside the party venue walls or maybe just in an adjacent empty room pacing back and forth while they attempt to "psyche themselves up" for rebirth as one of the "in" crowd; cool, hip, relaxed, projecting self confidence they didn't really have, and at ease with themselves as Mother Nature had intended. The party killing effect comes from when one of these types is the main guy for whom the whole event revolves around and the poor bastard is too much of a social, phobia ridden coward to be reborn.

Kazehana's eyes narrowed as she scanned the crowd and saw Riko cowering in an opposite entrance wall's corner by the punch bowl. Without missing beat or a lyric word in the classic rock tune she was belting out, she turned to give Karasuba a look of exasperation. When Karasuba frowned in return, Kazehana gave a quick jerk of her head towards the cowardly and miserable looking Riko simply staring like a mind numbed idiot down into the empty punch bowl. Karasuba gave a small sigh, shrugged, and then nodded. The Black Sekirei casually left the raised dais while her sisters kept playing and singing. Kazehana's look had been one that had simply said go drag Riko's ass back up here before she ruins everything, their lives, the world's future, and their dream party. Now if they could somehow just get Cash to quit his needless schmoozing with the guy in his mirror, show up, and do his part for the party to become a rousing success.

***scene break***

Mutsu, feeling a little exasperated with the whole "screw it, let's just party our asses off in the face of imminent catastrophe and danger" attitude of the other sleeping Sekirei, stared in growing consternation and concern at the holographic image before him. He had been sitting at Natalie's command console for over an hour working through war gaming "what if" scenarios in dealing with the approaching human fleets. For the first time in his life, Mutsu had no clue about what to do next, but if he didn't do something, Natalie was surely doomed, as was the rest of them.

The hologram that was increasing Mutsu's unhappiness was showing the surrounding positional readouts of the now five huge task forces head towards Kamakura Island, and just as he had suspected, they were all moving again since the two American groups had gotten much closer. Not only that, but now the multinational invaders were showing very definite and disturbing signs of coordination and increasing velocity. Even that damn Yankee atomic submarine had turned around and was heading back at top speed, and no matter how Mutsu rearranged and toyed with his defensive and offensive assets, the end result had at least two nuclear missiles striking Kamakura Island.

Even those unacceptable results were predicated on the assumption that Cash Archer would let his Sekirei fight with all their most lethal powers, which the dumb shit probably wouldn't. Face it. Kamakura Island could not be defended from a coordinated, all out land, air, sea, and space assault. The humans would die in droves if they tried it, but they WOULD succeed in destroying the island and everything on it. As well as most of the immediate hemisphere.

The Island's Achilles heel was its vulnerability around its coastal perimeter since the surrounding waters almost up to the shore lines were deep enough to allow underwater assault teams make it onto the island while air, sea, and missile assets kept the Sekirei defenders busy. Once under rocky cover, the human attackers would be able to set up mortar, small arms, and lethal rocket positions that would ultimately blow holes big enough for more massed landings. Once the Sekirei numbers were reduced, and there would be rapid attrition from all the firepower the human fleets commanded, then the air and missile defense would start collapsing too. Even if the human armies and ships all perished in the battle, a follow on combined land and space based nuclear missile launch from the five nations involved would ultimately succeed.

Mutsu needed at least three of Natalie's pulse cannons set up in a triangle, two on the highest opposing points on the northern end to guard the northwest, north, and northeast rocky coasts and one on the highest point of the central plain to guard the eastern, western, and southern beaches. Then they would have a fighting chance, less than fifty-fifty, but still a chance, except, Mutsu only had one functional cannon out of Natalie's imprisoned hull, and it wasn't even operational because Riko, the only one who could power it up, was comatose and in Kazehana's damn stasis dream party. And the cannons would need powered somehow. Very soon too. The only other option Mutsu could see other than open pitched battle was a clandestine evacuation leaving Natalie to her lone self immolating fate, and that was just as unacceptable.

"Mother," Mutsu called softly as he stared at his depressing holographic readouts, but he got no response. "MOTHER!"

"Yes?" Natalie's ethereal form shimmered into existence a little to the left of him and then solidified, but her facial features were showing she was still distracted.

"Mother, please HELP me," Mutsu demanded almost petulantly. "We NEED Riko awake!"

"Please be patient, Mutsu," Natalie answered absently. Coordinating the number of individuals involved in the stasis dream AND dealing with Cash was straining her psychic circuits almost to her limit, but it was vital to give Cash the time he needed to confront himself and Riko.

"To even have a nominal chance to defend," Mutsu began with a frown and in a clipped tone, but he was interrupted by a red flashing signal on the top right side of the command console. He quickly waved his right palm over it for activation and immediately began receiving a metallic yet urgent sounding audio message from Natalie's vaporous and yet rigidly at attention looking simulacrum.

"This is General Newryt of Arcturian Starship Athena to the Son of Anu and Daughter of Ishtar! This is General Newryt of Arcturian Starship Athena to the Son of Anu and Daughter of Ishtar! System Alert! System Alert! One Earth hour ago a massed enemy fleet of Rigelian and Zeta Reticuli warships attacked and briefly pierced our defensive boundary! A combined, small invading squadron of our mutual foes in one mother ship and twenty three hundred auxiliaries have successfully evaded the Athena's ship to ship counter-offensive weaponry and escaped unscathed past the orbit of Jupiter! The enemy ships are now Earthbound! Estimated arrival in one hundred sixty eight Earth hours, repeat one hundred sixty eight hours! Activate the Sekirei Lunar defensive perimeter to repel the squadron of enemy reptilians and grays immediately! No later than seventy two Earth hours for safety margin! Repeat! Activate the Sekirei Lunar defensive perimeter to repel the squadron of enemy reptilians and grays immediately! No later than seventy two Earth hours for safety margin!... This is General Newryt of the Arcturian Starship Athena to the Son of Anu and Daughter of Ishtar!..."

The message repeated itself several times. A nonplussed Mutsu turned to stare at an also visibly nonplussed and blinking in disbelief Natalie.

"Mother! Who are, I mean," Mutsu paused to compose himself and ask more calmly. Behind him, his wives and especially Sayomi were simply gawking at each other with open mouths. The old interstellar war legends were true? With the Son of Anu and Daughter of Ishtar as battle leaders against intergalactic threats? No way!

"Mother. Can you please display what information you have in your data banks in reference to Arcturians, Rigelians, Zeta Reticuli, the Sekirei Lunar defensive system, and the Starship Athena? And this General Newryt? As well as the weapon capabilities of these invading grays and reptilian ships? And the reason they are invading?"

"I have nothing," Natalie blinked in surprised horror, her features now contorted in trying to maintain the massive stasis dream while starting a comprehensive data search. "Let me try cross referencing other..."

"How can we acknowledge we received this General's message? Or maybe ask him to send help?"

"Well," Natalie almost sighed in frustration, "we can't! Not without a fully meshed battle group of eight Circles, a tuned and linked set of jinkis on Akitsu's head, and her Prime Leader using his meshed Circles to channel a reply through her. All interstellar communication between Sekirei is psychic. A radio transmission out to Jupiter's orbit would take months and would be totally useless. I am receiving unwelcome outside psychic pressure from here on Earth now anyway and fighting it. My resources are being stretched almost to the limit, but I will do my best to research the world's information banks as to what answers I can glean from them for you as soon as possible."

Mutsu could only mutely sit and stare as Natalie shimmered out of existence to begin an in depth internet research. Then her entire command console almost shut down, and it had to be the fault of her tying up too much of her resources to keep Kazehana's party active to complete Cash and Riko's meshing with the Prime Circle. Who was giving her unwelcome psychic pressure from Earth? And didn't fighting it mean it was from something/someone hostile?

"Damn!" Mutsu growled in frustration to the ship's ceiling. "Wife! Who in the hell is the Son of Anu?"

"Well," Sayomi gulped in wide eyed chagrin. "Uhhh, I, I think YOU are, my Lord!"

"ME?"

"I mean, you WOULD be once you are made Prime Center with me as your Prime Pillar of the Order of Dryas Octopetala! But, uhhh, right now, according to the Decrees of Anu, there is no Prime Center other than, well, maybe Cash Joseph as heir designate! And Cash Joseph's mother is STILL the reigning Daughter of Ishtar! Except, her Prime Circle has been broken and un-powered for almost two decades waiting on Cash to grow up and take his dead father's place as the Prime Center and marry a new Prime Pillar and her Circle!"

"Then does Archer's mother know how to activate the Sekirei Lunar defensive perimeter?"

"I, I don't know my Lord! I've never heard of it! But I think activating it would probably be passed on during the secret rituals to transfer power! There's a LOT of ancient legends and stuff, but, ummm, uhhh, we could call MY mom! I'm pretty sure she would know! And maybe she would know about these alien guys invading us! I've heard, well, we all have since we were kids, you know, old myths and fables and stuff about little gray men and lizard people abducting humans and, ummm, doing things to them like, you know sexual experiments and mind control in taking over the world. And our Order secretly fighting them. That kind of crap. And, there's all kinds of UFO stories and eyewitness claims like that going back for centuries. There was even an old TV series called V about reptile shape shifters invading Earth, taking over secret control of the world's governments, and, and, I mean, we all, uhhh, only kooks and weirdos and wackos ever believed any of, you know, I never dreamed that, uhhh, any of that was remotely true, because, well..."

"Ancient Sekirei initially came to Earth for a reason," Mutsu frowned in thought, "trading their protection from interstellar invasion by some specie or species in order to gain more emotionally stable human DNA from cross breeding. Mother has already informed us of all that, correct? One would have to assume that there would actually BE enemy invaders from the stars, wouldn't one? Enemies of humans and Sekirei as well as other space faring races? And that Sekirei would logically have had and still have alien allies like this Arcturian general helping them in this solar system? Wife. Use Natalie's phone. Call your mother now. Advise her of this General Newryt's message, and ask for all the information she can gives us about everything in his message. Or better yet, call Archer's mother."

"My Lord! I'm, uhhh not too sure Mrs. Archer will talk to me! I mean, I'm like a traitor to her way of..."

"Call her now, wife. Or at least call your mother and have her call Mrs. Archer," Mutsu ordered gently before he turned to began pressing keys on Natalie's console in an effort to gain direct access to her data banks. "There's five coordinating human fleets, land based atomic missiles, and at least one Yankee atomic sub targeting this island, maybe eight more Yank subs from one brief message that's been intercepted. Now we have a potential space invasion? From a combined fleet of hostile aliens? We've got to move, make decisions, and Natalie HAS to stop that damn dream party so that we can either organize an effective defense or evacuate, scatter, and hide! We HAVE to get our act together here! Dammit! Look at this! I can't even get a sit rep 3D image now!"

***scene change***

Riko, frustrated and thinking frantically while looking at her reflected face in the fluid below, stood by the almost empty punch bowl sitting on the rear table in the dream stasis background of the Green Frog Oasis Saloon. On the stage at the other end of the huge pub, her scantily clad sisters were still pumping out their hot rock and roll music that had its intentional heavy back beat, sexually stimulating lyrics delivered with highly suggestive and crowd appreciated body gyrations, and harmonic pulse pounding overtones that saturated the dream stasis pub's very heady atmosphere. Also, the current tune kept repeating a chorus of "You might as well face it, you're addicted to love!" It was a complete wonder to Riko that the other Sekirei and Ashikabi hadn't begun a dream induced orgy instead of just happily moshing away together on the pub's dance floor. And Riko felt so out of place because she had never danced before in her life. Ever.

Dry mouthed, Riko stared down at the dregs of the dream's alcohol laced, red fruit punch while inanely wondering how she could dip the dregs out with the bowl's big ice ring blocking the dipper's access to the shallow fluid below. Wait. What was she seeing? There just seemed to be something wrong or maybe to be learned with what she was staring at in the bowl, but whatever it was eluded immediate mental identification in her overstressed brain.

Her mind was also racing over every engineering process and possible technique that might give her some clue as to how Natalie's anti-matter containment shield could be repaired or at least jury rigged well enough to save her Mother's life. Electron beam welds? Not enough power with the anti-matter systems off line. Combined with a beam laser? No laser. Same with a diode laser. Plasma arc welds? No. The cracks in the shielding were too wide. What could she use? Modify the pulse cannon to partially slag Natalie's shield for a temporary jury rig to at least get Natalie free and away from Kamakura Island? Too risky. If the cracks were stressed too much and too quickly, Natalie would explode catastrophically. There was nothing coming to her!

Riko was also mentally scrambling for some way to get Cash to come out of the pub's kitchen to favorably meet and talk with her, as well as ogle her in her skimpy, sex band outfit that just barely covered the essentials of lady like decorum. He was in there now. She could feel him. But it was too embarrassing! Having been the perennial and non participating wallflower of all Sekirei activity her entire life and now very nervously self conscious of her body's exposure, Riko was actually almost comfortable with standing by herself in the back of the saloon beside the all but empty punch bowl and wrapped in a table cloth.

It was, a small part of her mind noted, as if she were the last, mostly ignored, and least desired kid to be picked to play right field on some universal sandlot team. After all, she was only being marginally tolerated because she simply filled out the needed Prime Circle roster for game play; the automatic out when batting, the automatic error if the ball was hit in her direction, the automatic groan from her teammates when she naturally muffed every chance, and yet, by the very skin of her teeth, she was still in the game with a mitt too big and a uniform WAY too revealing and small.

Every team, every army, every group endeavor ever engaged in any kind of struggle for achieving anything, always had at least one screw up, right? There was always a sad sack of every platoon, the Wrong Way Corrigan of every quest, or, as Riko mused darkly, the hopeless foul ball of every team. And that was exactly what she was. How in the Nine Hells of Abner Doubleday could she turn her final swing at the plate during this silly stasis dream into a grand slam victory? She just HAD to find a way to get past Cash's unconscious mental blocks about her that was thwarting the very reason they were all here!

Somehow, she had to confront him alone, or get him to confront her, or at least induce a wallflower mercy dance; one where some hero takes pity on a highly troubled and shy recluse heroine. A gal who didn't know how to dance at all, but HE did. If he would just teach her! Rats! Face it. The only thing she and Cash really had in common to build an initial connection was their extensive knowledge of baseball, hers from reading about it, and his from playing, but how to use that knowledge to gain his inner trust as Karasuba had suggested?

On a purely intellectual level, Riko realized that a single game of baseball is a microcosm of universal life lessons, range of human emotions, and the hard realities of the chemically arranged and physical cosmos themselves. Every game has its own unique but definite beginning when the home umpire bawls out, "Play Ball!", as well as its own last play that provides a win for one team and a loss for the other; kinda like the first universal big bang and the final entropic collapse some multiple gazillion light years apart, but a definite beginning and end.

In between of course was where all the action takes place, the first pitch, first hit, first run, first galaxy, first sun, first life bearing planet, the first race of beings to discover intergalactic travel, the first error, first out, first bonehead play, first collision of galaxies, first black hole, et al and ad nauseum. These all had their complimentary and companion last play, pitch, run, death of ancient star faring races, dying suns and planets et cetera, et cetera. And opposing teams.

Riko could readily understand all this since she had read everything she could find about the game to find some possible way to favorably relate to Cash Joseph Archer, but what she had trouble understanding was the emotional, addictive lure of baseball and its total hold on her hard headed Ashikabi, as well as the gamut of emotions each game evoked; the hopes and thrills of victory, the anticipations dashed, the self recriminations for personal and team bad play, and the despairs of impending and eventual agonies of defeat.

Hey wait! It wasn't the GAME that was important! It was how Cash PLAYED! Or, Riko blinked as this profound epiphany hit her, how he played so POORLY at times to be specific. Only two times that she had watched him pitch had he ever displayed his sheer natural talents; once at his first tryout where she had "helped" him a wee tad so that didn't count, and the other when he was so pissed off at her that he had went into the "zone" of pitching perfection that he was truly capable of performing. Riko grimaced at this last memory of the Great Tokyo Dome Kerfuffle when Kazehana had stolen Cash and winged herself during the resulting total chaos; another total sad sack failure on Riko's part where all she had gotten was official and humiliating recognition as the Pink Robot Terrorist of Tokyo. Unbelievably, things had gone even more downhill since. In between though, Riko began to search her prodigious and eidetic memory, there had been plenty of times she had watched Cash pitch not anywhere near his true potential.

She rapidly replayed every pitching motion of his that she had witnessed. What had been different? His different grips on different types of pitches thrown? The changing arm angles of release? The right foot's placement on the mound rubber? The height of his left leg raised before striding towards the plate? The depth of his back bending during mid pitch? Right foot placement on follow through? What were the deciding parameters for Cash to repeat good pitches? It would be better if she had his live body to watch as he pitched again too, and then compare those to what she remembered. Oh right, be his pitching coach! Like Karasuba had urged! But first she had to get him to want her help!

Then, then he could fix their relationship, get their Circle meshed, and maybe THEN she would be able to think of something to save Natalie! Maybe she and Uzume could make a temporary external sleeve or a box of extremely dense material to hold Natalie's anti-matter shields together? Make a meter or two thick stack of planar graphene sheets all around Natalie's shields? Using added power from their Circle to form them? Maybe? It MIGHT work IF Cash Joseph would hike his sorry butt out of the damn kitchen and just freaking kiss her like she had always deserved!

Well, Riko, she fumed to herself while mentally biting her lower lip and balling her small fists in determination. Over there was kitchen door beside the end of the saloon's long bar. All she had to do was roll up her mental sleeves and march through it into Cash's inner sanctum, and, and, and what?

Demand that he at least meet her? Drag him out of his hiding place and get him into the pub's highly charged atmosphere where he was supposed to be? This whole dream stasis thing had been set up for that, and he HAD agreed to do it? Right? Cash Joseph could at least give her ONE wallflower mercy dance even though she didn't actually know how to sexually saltate to music. Looking with some dismay at the crowded dance floor, it seeming like rudimentary dancing and/or even simple rhythmic saltation to rock and roll music was little more than sexually suggestive gyrations to mutually entice coupling. All she had to do was go into that pub kitchen and ask him, no demand, well, beg if necessary.

Riko mentally shook herself as once again, as always, mind numbing fear swept through her. Here was her major problem in this whole mess. When it came to Cash Joseph, she was still a hopeless basket case of nerves, and her last desperate attempt to confront him had almost killed him, her, and all her Sisters. It was no wonder almost everyone hated her guts, especially Natalie. And she had killed Natalie too by running away. Above everything, hurting her Ashikabi AND her mother was just too, too...

A set of strong fingers grabbed the back of Riko's neck and literally lifted her off the floor while squeezing harder. The grip was so hard Riko couldn't even turn her head to see who was attacking her from behind.

"You," Karasuba hissed menacingly from behind and into Riko's right ear, "will stop over thinking things in your own little private hell and float your tight little ass back up on the bandstand where it belongs! And stay there, dammit! YOUR ass belongs to your Circle of Sisters until WE decide whether to cut you loose! It's belonged to us from the day you went in with me and Miya! Your stupid fucking waffle act with us and Sweetums is OVER! I'm going to hang on as we go! You try anything cute, Reeker, and I'll Norito your crest so damn fast you won't even feel it! And you'll never wake up either! Then we'll find a replacement for our Circle before your cowardly ass hits the dream floor, got it?

"Zoomer, Akitsu, and I have went to the fucking wall for you for the last damn time, you ungrateful little shit! I don't have to love you, or even like you! Never did! Neither does anyone else in our Circle except maybe Zoomer! And nobody but her gives a tinker's damn whether Cash will ever come to love you the fairy tale way you've always wanted either! The rest of us just NEED your damn power and brains to FUNCTION right for our Ashikabi, our Prime Circle, and our other circles! And for trying to save Natalie! That's all!

"You wanting to fuck up your bond sister relationship with Uzume is your own damn choice, but not the other six of your Circle! We can decide to kill both of you if we have to! You're insane screwing around on your own ends right this second, or we will end it! Now we've got this set up. The very least you should have done was just stand with us, but the only thing you have to do now is just drop your damn mind shield for Sweetums when he comes to us. Nothing more. He'll do the rest to mesh you both properly with the rest of us. And he WILL come to us. I'm going to be behind you from now on. If you don't drop your shield for him, I'll kill you, risk Uzume going nuts, and take the heat for it. If she wants to find another bond mate that will be HER choice. If not, she dies too, and we will replace you BOTH! Now, you miserable, little, cowardly shit for brains... ditch that stupid tablecloth, and let's go."

Eyes closed in total mortification as well as justifiable fear, Riko silently did as she was told while a tiny part of her still racing mind kept wondering about what was wrong/interesting with the party's nearly empty punch bowl. She couldn't let Uzume down again! Or risk her bond mate's life!

Wait. The punch bowl! Pouring punch from the dipper into a glass! Of course! Just like pouring one tama and essence from one Sekirei into another! Mutsu had already shown the best answer when he had tried to replace Mother's gestalt with a backup! If, Riko's eyes widened in sudden hope as she floated towards the bandstand, if she was killed by Karasuba, then, then Natalie's gestalt and tama could be poured/downloaded into Riko's dead body and then revived with Himeko's healing help! Mother would be saved even though her anti-matter core in her current ship body would be safely slagged! The Prime Circle could also easily be meshed AND have The One Who Builds' kinetic powers! Uzume would get a sane and loving bond mate in Natalie she could accept for mutual support! Her Ashikabi's troubles would be solved! At least the worst part! And Riko's own death would MEAN something good had finally happened for her at this damn party, despite her current facial expression now mirroring Karasuba's unhappy determination.

***scene break***

"Joe, when you look in a mirror, you have GOT to see a total moron," Juice Pardee groaned as Cash cautiously unlocked the Green Frog Oasis Saloon's swinging kitchen door, pushed it open slightly, and peeked out at the good natured and rhythmic Sekirei pandemonium that was going on. The stasis dream dance floor was crowded with bodies, but the big show was on the raised dais in front of the Saloon's rear wall.

Kazehana was on the bandstand flanked by identically and mostly unclad Akitsu and Uzume; all three belting out an energetic, bouncing version of "Proud Mary" that visually would make old time entertainer Tina Turner and her backup singers look like the Singing Nun with two drab acolytes. Toyotama and Himeko were "playing" guitars behind them and displaying the same high energy as well as the same amount of alluring, and in some countries illegal, amounts of well toned flesh. Miya was moving demurely in half time to the music behind a set of keyboards, if being dressed in stiletto heeled, thigh high black boots, and a narrow, waist length black cape doing nothing to cover her red Brazilian bikini could be construed in any soft porn magazine as even coming close to being demure. Clearly very self conscious, Miya's still smiled at her Sisters' singing efforts even though just trooping it out and enduring on her end for Riko's sake. Except, Cash pushed the door open an eye slit further and craned his neck to look hard, Riko wasn't behind the raised drum set, nor anywhere else in sight. Neither was Karasuba.

"Why, uhhh, am I moron, uhhh, this time Juice?" Cash gulped nervously as he tried to scan the dance floor to find his missing pair of Sekirei. Damn! For a stasis dream, this was pretty freaking real! And intimidating! He had never had any luck in these kinds of parties. Ever. He could already feel his stomach getting queasy at the thought of being thrust out in front of another crowd too. And what if they all made fun of him again? And where was Natalie? She had promised to meet him here for moral support when she had put him to sleep on the floor beside Akitsu! He craned his neck and again peeked both ways. No Natalie anywhere, and that meant that he couldn't lean on her at all, or hide behind her like a coward either. Dammit!

Kazehana's old rock tune came to a rousing, cheering end. She and her Sisters swung into another hard driving oldie with a beat that all the Sekirei must have instantly recognized. Some began waving their arms in circles over their heads while bouncing up and down on the balls of their feet. Others simply revolved their heads, shoulders, and hips around, and others began spinning their whole bodies in place and in time with the music's beat. A few of the more enthusiastic did all the motions simultaneously as the lyrics started on Natalie's stasis supplied karaoke music. Kazehana then began singing along and/or lip syncing the words with her Sisters providing the backup harmony for "Right Round."

"You spin my head right round, right round, when you go down, when you go down, down. You spin my head right round, right round, when you go down, when you go down, down."

Cash blinked in open mouthed awe at the immediate and obvious total enjoyment the bopping, jiggling, and gyrating Sekirei were demonstrating with their Ashikabi in their uninhibited response to the old rock/rap tune. Man, these guys really knew how to party! Although he knew the song and had clumsily danced to it occasionally in the past, the happy and abandoned scene now before him on the Green Frog's dance floor made him feel even more like a total fool for not being able to unlock the potential of his Prime Circle like a simple song was doing, let alone the potential of his other circles. His body shuddered involuntarily as another sudden bad case of nervousness hit him. His mouth went dry, and he swallowed hard. Damn! He was SUCH a freaking loser! The last guy on Earth who should be a prime anything! But Natalie BELIEVED in him, dammit!

"Get out there you damn moron!" Juice groaned in disbelieving disgust. "And relax! They LOVE you! Now go do right by your people! At least TRY!"

"Uhhh, damn, uhhh, I'm a little nervous here, Juice. And, uhhh, a lot actually. I mean, I damn near KILLED my Circle, and, and, geez, I ain't feeling so good all of a sudden. And I don't see Natalie, Karasuba, or Riko, and, uhhh, why does that make me a moron again?"

"Because you are! Quit stalling and go! Forget about trying to use Natalie as a crutch too! Stand up and at least try to ACT like a man! Or hey, here's a thought! An Adult Prime Leader! Jeebus! Hey! If you're worried about TALKING to all of your Sekirei, then just SING something! You've been singing to human crowds out there for over a year! What's the difference?"

"Sing? Ummm, yeah! Maybe, I could, yeah, I, I, maybe could, uhhh, what should I sing, Juice? I mean, geez! I can't think of, of..."

"You've got all kinds of stuff memorized! Pick one and go with it! Just think LOVE, okay? Sekirei are all about love, right? Again, you're their Prime Leader for Pete's sakes! Can't you learn a damn thing in that skull full of mush you call a brain? Man! What a MORON!"

"Awww, Juice, bitching at me like I'm some damn little kid, that, that ain't helping my, my, and dammit! I'm NOT a moron!"

"Sure you are! And I can prove it. This is a STASIS dream, and Juice Pardee CAN'T be here! Besides, Juice doesn't know a damn thing about Sekirei or the situation you're in! That's why! I'm you're subconscious recreating him, you willful fool! And talking to you! Just like in the bathroom mirror earlier! I've only been telling you what you already know, and just don't want to admit any of it because you're still too much of a proud blockhead to face up to the miserable way you've been treating your Sekirei and everyone else for that matter. You're really starting to piss ME off now too! And making ME nauseous!

"Matter of fact, I'm thinking of returning the favor! You're feeling a little queasy now, right? How about I add a self induced vicious migraine from subconscious tension maybe? Combined with, ummm, maybe a giant irritable bowel syndrome alternating between stabbing constipation pains, spastic diarrhea, chronic dizziness, AND total impotency! There! Impotency! That's the ticket! A Prime Circle of incredibly sexy Sekirei and you're hit with a terminal case of limp dick! For years! Serves you right too! You don't wanna go out there and do right by your Circle and Riko, let alone the whole damn world, Joe? Not even TRY? And for sure KILL Natalie in the process? FINE! Stay in here and SUFFER, you cowardly bastard!"

"JEEBUS!" Cash bolted through the kitchen door to at last join the party. His half panicked entrance into the Sekirei party was maybe a wee tad less than a smooth, suave, and debonair attempt by a professional athlete. He took three rushing steps through the swinging door, skidded to a halt by the end of the bar, bumped his right toe against the bar's base, and tumbled headlong to sprawl on the floor amongst the dancers. Red faced, he came to one knee while trying very hard not to nervously puke all over the feet of everyone around him. A strong hand gripped him around his neck and lifted him easily to his feet.

"Arch!" The helpful Haihane grinned in greeting as she resumed her energetic bouncing around in time to the music between him and the similarly grinning, bouncing Seo and Benitsubasa. "This dream party idea was great! Where ya been? Whatcha doin' down there? And why ya looking a little green around the gills, boss man?"

"Ahhh, uhhh, I, uhhh, I just had a little talk with myself, and, and, it was BRUTAL! And then, uhhh, I, I, tripped, and, and," Cash stuttered in dry swallowing embarrassment before just giving up and blurting out, "Fuck! I get so damn nervous in large crowds and dances! I always got shot down trying to, you know, fit in and stuff! Which I never could! It's another phobia I can't shake! Even worse now! Dammit! Especially since I screwed up so bad and almost killed everybody!"

"Ahhh, hell Arch," Haihane shook her head and came to a stop to look at him in wounded seriousness. "That's was more MY fault for disobeying you! If I'd just let you and your Circle handle Riko like you said, if all of us had, then..."

"Nah, stow that," Seo ordered sternly. "We've already had this talk, Babe. You HAD to protect your Prime Leader. You all did. Everything that followed was just natural crap that happens during a fight that was mostly Riko's fault if anybody's. You did your best, and so did you, Big Guy. Besides, without you none of us would even be here. You're the one that showed us how to really find deep and bonded love with our Sekirei. And because of that we found our Circles. And our Circles found each other and Natalie. Even Mutsu's happy. Otherwise we'd all be fighting and killing each other in Minaka's insane Sekirei Plan."

"And you're the one that gave us gals who were already winged, unloved, and miserable a BIG restart," Benitsubasa added happily as she clung to Seo while still rubbing up against him in time with the hot music. "That right there is like heaven for all of us who were forcibly winged by such losers like Natsuo, Higa, and a few other selfish brutes. We all should have been raised like those Petals and formed our Circles when younger so we could have hunted our Ashikabi together and not got mind raped. You're making things right that's went wrong for way too long. And now I've got my Seo AND my Circle!"

"That's right!" Haihane agreed with vigorous nodding in agreement. "And YOU care for all of us too! As our Prime Ashikabi! When you were dying, we all felt how precious our lives were to you and how much you loved us because we need love to live! And it was YOU that gave me great advice to change my look so Seo would see me as his sexy mama! Everybody here OWES you everything! Even if your own Circle is still a crippled wreck! But that's what this party is for right? To fix you guys? Or at least bitch slap a few like Riko, Karasuba, and Miya into shape after we all bust a few happy moves?"

"Yeah, only it ain't my Sekirei that needs fixed, or bitch slapped," Cash shook his head in continued self disgust. "It's me. And I'm just about the lousiest party guy on the planet and a total schmuck when it comes to fixing anything or my Circle's main problem, let alone dancing. Hell, all I've ever done to bust a move is do a really lame Cat Daddy and Bart Simpson mix to everything and just change beat speeds. I get laughed at a lot back home."

"Danced all right the night you took me and Aki-chan to the dinner club," Karasuba drawled in Cash's left ear. This made Cash flinch badly and duck involuntarily to amuse Haihane, Benitsubasa, and Seo even more. "Busted some really nice moves with us on the futon afterward too. And you've certainly fixed my perfect ass since!"

"Geez, Kara," Cash gulped again as he turned to give a wounded look at Karasuba for sneaking up on him. Instead, he found himself face to face with a totally terrified, red faced, gasping, yet vocally mute Riko being held up off the floor by the neck as if she was a chicken about to get her neck wrung for a fast and fresh fricassee dinner.

"All right, Reeker. It's show time. Just like I said earlier by the punch bowl, drop your damn shield now," Karasuba almost snarled her final warning, "or I drop you!"

"Ahhh!" Riko gave a half fearful scream of total mortification mixed with a sudden dichotomous inner turmoil that gripped her. The punch bowl! She had to keep her shield up and let Karasuba kill her! She had to die for Natalie! No! She HAD to live for her Ashikabi! Give him one last try! Cash was looking at her with, with fear? No! She was his! She wanted so desperately to have him love her! And never wanted him hurt! Must trust him like Karasuba had said, and drop her shield! Must! No! Keep her shield up! She HAD to die to give Mother her body!

Riko brought her right hand up to cover her mouth as she started trembling from her tortured mental conflict. She squeezed her wild eyes tightly shut and clenched her fists while fighting her own instinctual rising terror at dying without her Ashikabi's love versus sacrificing herself for Natalie, Cash, and Uzume's sake, but finally by slow degrees, her inner survival instinct won to drop her mental shield. She then silently hung from Karasuba's grip with her head down and teeth clenched, still trying to purposely close her mind again to force Karasuba into killing her. Riko began shaking violently all over for several long seconds while continuing to battle herself, and then mercifully passed out cold from the intense strain of her inner conflict.

Cash stared at the now limp and totally unconscious Riko for a few seconds before looking around him in frowning and unbelieving puzzlement while trying to analyze the emotions he had sensed in her. Her fear of him had almost been totally overwhelming! As well as her desire to somehow die in a punch bowl? He blinked in consternation. He hadn't had a chance to say a thing! And he had been scared of HER? He gave Karasuba a questioning look of amazed uncertainty. What now? The music abruptly stopped, and his six other Sekirei with Kazehana on point were creating a vee towards him through the now standing and crowded dance floor. Everyone was turning to look at him, Riko, and Karasuba.

"Whoa!" Haihane breathed in eyebrow raised awe as she commented to no one in particular while staring at the comatose Riko. "Did you see Riko's mind? She's freaking INSANE!"

"Yeah, and I did it to her," Cash sighed while dropping his head to imitate Riko's except he was shaking his side to side in more self condemnation. "DAMN!"

"But it felt like she wants to die so Natalie can take over her body!" Haihane continued in shocked amazement. "She's, she's suicidal!"

"Sounds like a great idea to me," Benitsubasa sniffed in offhand unconcern. "Never liked Reeker that much anyway."

"Natalie!" Cash called suddenly in chagrin. "Help me here, honey!"

There was no answer nor appearance from Natalie. Now why not? He couldn't even feel her in his mind? What had happened? Geez!

"Natalie?"

"Lover," Kazehana sighed warmly into Cash's right ear to make him flinch anew. Damn he was jumpy! She then grabbed his arm right and pressed her breasts into his bicep and chest. "We're here. We'll help you."

"Rose, I, I can't feel Natalie! And she's not here! Can you feel her?"

"No, but," Kazehana frowned slightly with her head cocked to one side as if she was listening, "I know she's doing all the heavy lifting in this dream to keep the rest of us free to act."

"Joe, worry about that later, help Riko first like we planned!" Uzume looked at him with pleading dark eyes. "Don't let her die like a damn dog even if part of her is suicidal! You saw that she also wanted to live! To love you! You, you can fix her, Joe! You and Himeko! And, and we'll help!"

"But how? If I wake her up, she'll still be nuts and scared to death."

"Cash," Miya began quietly. "I think you need to do for Riko what you did for Karasuba and myself. Start over. Start over with all our help. At least begin there to reach her subconscious. You have the POWER! Believe me, you have it! And you don't need Natalie to use it!"

"I'm not sure we have that kind of time if we tried it by ourselves. Maybe if Natalie helped, but she's gone too," Cash looked about again in worry. "Why can't I feel her in my mind? Something's really not right about that. And, and Miya, you know that power without control is dangerous, or at least worthless. Like the way I've been with you guys almost from the beginning. And my so called power is pretty much limited to just sensing the deepest emotions within all of you Sekirei. I'm a total dud with humans, especially females. Other than the fact my brain has higher bandwidths that can connect with the most psychic Sekirei, I'm really nothing special as a human male, just a stubborn, immature, and dumb ass jock. Screwing up everything worse than my screwed up pitching career."

"Joe, you're so wrong on several levels, but we'll sort all that out later!" Uzume sighed in more frustration. "Riko! Go after Riko! You can do that by licking her crest and then joining her mind with yours! Find where she's hurting inside, call to her, let her come to you, and then we'll join you to heal her! Just like we did for Akitsu!"

"I don't think I should, or even can," Cash searched the eyes of his flock in total uncertainty before turning to stare again at Riko's limp figure. It felt like she had gone totally bye bye. "There's nothing there. She's so scared of me she went into a coma to hide! Hide from all of us really, but especially me."

"I think she wanted to make me kill her more than wanting to hide," Karasuba shook her head in frowning disagreement, "but she wanted to live too. Hard to tell. The little shit's head looked like a mob of pygmy clowns doing their gag routines in really tall grass. I knew there was something funny going on, but damned if I could actually see anything other than waving grass. And she was screaming to herself about the almost empty punch bowl. What was that? And, uhhh, maybe I overdid the whole threat to kill her thing a little."

"Ya think?" Uzume bit off sarcastically and glowered angrily all around her. "Reek's more of a big brain thinker than a fighter. When you all gonna learn and stop looking down on her because she's either pissed off or scared to death of us? After the way some of you bitches pushed her around all the time? You guys don't expect Matsu and Kochou to be gutsy front line warriors, do you? Riko needs all our help! And if there's something in that damn punch bowl that her mind has seen, then we better pay attention!"

"Well, other than maybe or maybe not wanting to die, all I could feel was a lot frustration about the bowl, her not being able to weld Natalie's shields, uhhh, our total failures together, and my lousy pitching," Cash rubbed his still aching forehead uncertainly, "but me going into her mind when she's that nuts, man, I don't know. That could create another really bad backlash that might kill us all, or at least take way too long to recover. Like what happened between Kara and me. It's too risky."

"Hey. Zoomer's right. We need Riko. I think you should go after her anyway, and we'll risk it, Master," Toyotama said bluntly and then closed her eyes and clenched her teeth together in frowning self recrimination. "I mean, Husband."

"Ahhh, shit," Cash groaned as he saw the instant remorse and self loathing on Toyotama's face. More needless crap and suffering he had witlessly caused. He gripped his forehead with his right hand as if he had a sudden headache and a stabbing lower tract pain, which he did. Nuts! He had to be the lousiest excuse for an Ashikabi ever, let alone a Prime Leader, but, on the other hand, this was a perfect opening to begin trying to be a better man for Toyotama and all his Sekirei too. If he could.

"You'd better you miserable, sorry assed screw up!" His Inner Man shouted at him. "Start making things right with your gals this instant, or I'll REALLY cramps your guts to make you constantly wet fart like an elephant that just ate a semi truck load of soup beans and cabbage! For YEARS!"

His butt suddenly clenching involuntarily from that inner shout, Cash took a deep, shaky breath, then another, dropped his hand, and sighed. Okay. Do it. Throw the ball. He turned to tenderly take Toyotama's hands in his while looking at Kazehana.

"Rose, honey, I'm sorry I came late. I, uhhh, had to have a long talk with myself, and, ummm, well," Cash swallowed hard again as he looked at the slightly quizzical yet attentive faces suddenly gathered around him in a giant circle. Man, there was a lot of people around him! He suddenly felt another and stronger gas pain in his lower tract and hastily continued. There was no way he was going to risk having continual and constant flatulence. Nor an impotent dick.

"Uhhh, anyway, I uhhh, I've made it VERY clear to myself that, up until now, I've pretty much been a total boneheaded, stubborn asshole by not trusting you, not taking your advice, not giving you what you needed from me, and, ummm, I really, really need to change all that right away. There's gonna be some changes made with, uhhh, the way I, ummm, relate to you, with all of you, because you deserve so much more happiness than what you've found on this planet, and from MBI, and especially from me. I think that, uhhh, well to begin with."

Cash stopped to take another deep calming breath. That had felt a little low and too slow, but it had been over the plate. His suddenly too vocal subconscious actually felt a little encouragement was going to be helpful as it spoke. "Just get ready to throw the second pitch, dummy, and put your Sekirei in play. Block everything out and just concentrate on what you need to say. Be a man. Stick your frigging ego in your back pocket, and BE Natalie's man. Now. Throw the next ball. Help Toyotama."

"Uhhh, Smitty," Cash tried to smile at Toyotama as reassuringly as he could, but she cringed slightly at what she thought was coming anyway. "Look, don't be scared, Sweetheart. I've, I've decided that from now on, and until YOU tell me different, I AM your Master and husband, and you ARE my love SLAVE wife."

Just like getting his first pitch over for a strike, talking became easier as he plunged ahead and gripped her hands harder. She blinked at him while frowning slightly as if she had misunderstood his words. Cash plunged ahead but with a warmer smile in his eyes and voice as well as on his face.

"As soon as I can, Smitty, I'm going to put a collar on your neck and bands on your wrists as a constant reminder that everything about you belongs to me, including your love, body, AND temper, and that my love belongs to you. I'm in complete control, especially of your temper. If there's any failures with it, they will be my fault, always. Understand, Slave Smitty?"

"OH!" Toyotama jerked her hands away to cover her mouth hanging open in total shock. She stood quivering, looking about her in rising excitement before her widened eyes fastened on Kazehana's, her bond mate. Kazehana gave a small smirking nod in return to make Toyotama swallow hard, drop her hands back into Cash's while falling to her knees, and smiling up at him in almost weeping relief and joy.

"M, m, master! Oh thank you, MASTER!"" she managed to stutter out in obvious loving gratitude while everyone around him except Cash's Sekirei just gawked at her in open surprise. Toyotama then began actual weeping as she clutched his hands to her lips, began a very fervent kissing of his fingers, and murmuring endearments with her eyes squeezed shut in shaking relief. Her Ashikabi REALLY loved her!

Cash raised his eyes to look at Kazehana's again. She had an expression of pleased wonder at what he had done for her bond mate's self tortured psyche. In for a penny, Cash thought inanely as he looked at each of his Sekirei in turn.

"There's, uhhh, there's gonna be some other changes made with, uhhh, with us all too, ummm, from now on, okay? Rose, I want you to drink sake any time you feel you need to. And don't be afraid to tell me when you're really stressed and aren't comfortable with anything I decide. I NEED your help, now more than ever."

"But Lover, booze and me don't always," Kazehana began to protest, but Cash cut her off.

"Doesn't matter. Buzzed or not, I'll love and trust you anyway, so will the rest of us. You've been around, got great instincts, and you know a lot more how your Circles' relationships need to operate than I do. Did I mention we all love you? So, no more unnecessary stress. Take a slug when you need one."

"Ohhh, do you and I need to just GET IT ON as soon as this party is over!" Kazehana breathed warmly as she forcibly and suggestively mashed her whole body into his.

"It's a date," Cash agreed almost in self defense, but he noticed Little CJ instantly stiffened anyway. Okay, that seemed to be good. He immediately thanked his Inner Man for Little CJ's normal response before turning to Karasuba and continue pitching. "Kara honey, keep your sword sharp and use it to kill whenever you think its required to protect me, your Sisters, and yourself. And, and that goes for all the rest of our Circles too. You're our battle commander, Kara. Use them the way you think is best in any conflict that arises, even Mutsu as your group commander. Tell him what you want and then let him make it happen. The only thing I ask of you both is that when possible and time permits, killing is not your first option. Life is still precious, right?"

"Whether you thought about it or not, your shield is up again. Are you sure about this?" Karasuba peered intently into his eyes. Her mental message was clear. He had demanded openness from them, it was only right that they got it from him too. Since now wasn't the time to hold anything back and nodding silently, Cash consciously dropped his mind shield again before continuing.

"Yes, I'm sure. Our Circles' purpose is to protect, and the universe isn't as peaceful as I would want it. I, I mean we, have to face that reality."

"You always surprise me!" Karasuba suddenly grinned up at him in pleased acceptance. "In such great ways too!"

"Hell, we both know I'm no war leader," Cash shrugged apologetically, "and your and Mutsu's instincts, experience, and training are way beyond a dummy like me. I just have to trust you guys to do what you do best. That's all. Besides, a rookie pitcher never tells his All-Star left fielder how to play the position. I'm no brain, but I already learned that."

"Hey, Wolfie, quit putting yourself down so much. When we first met I knew you were no Einstein, nor a Rembrandt. You aren't a rock star either, nor that great of a jock, but none of those qualities really matter to a Sekirei anyway. When I looked in your eyes I KNEW deep down that you loved with your whole heart, giving everything and withholding nothing. Even Riko said the same on the roof that day. I was the dummy that fought myself and you to acknowledge it to myself, but you've still shown me how to love, as well as be totally open and trusting each other. So ditch that "woe is poor dumb me" shit. You're smart enough. You're talented enough, and we don't CARE that you're not a super human. What we KNOW is that you super LOVE like we need! And Little CJ is a really nice big bonus! Now kiss me, Wolfie!"

"Shameless, absolutely shameless," Miya murmured in envy to Uzume as Karasuba brazenly shoved Kazehana sideways, mashed her lips onto Cash's, and let her huge, quivering black wings unfurl, "and got more self confidence in her little pinkie that the rest of us put together."

"It's her gift, along with her shameless bluntness and aggressiveness," Uzume nodded in wishful agreement. "To us AND Joe, but she does piss me off. She's gonna try going ahead of her turn. I just know it. On the other hand, we can all see his mind needs a big assurance boost and encouragement right now. We both should have just moved quicker."

Akitsu's response to all this as well as being rudely jostled aside was a feral growling deep in her throat that rose in threatening decibel strength until it caught her Ashikabi's conscious attention.

"Well, okay, so anyway," Cash took a deep breath when Karasuba finally came up for air and allowed herself to be moved to one side as she saw continuing intent forming in his mind to help her growling bond mate next. "Aki-chan, as I was gonna say, I want you to always wear my wedding ring, and I'll wear one to match it so that you'll always KNOW we will never be separated, ever. Uzi, bitch at me anytime you think I need it. I promise to always listen and address your concerns because you are defending our nest. You need free rein to do that too, just like Karasuba. Silky, from now on, you wear sexy panties ALL the time for me, okay?"

"Oh my Love!" Himeko rudely jostled Kazehana, Karasuba, Toyotama, and a now moving and excited Akitsu aside to wrap her arms around Cash's neck and begin hotly kissing him. Himeko's Norito wings immediately sprang forth in sheer shuddering ecstasy also.

Silent up to now with rapt attention, the Sekirei crowd around them began cheering loudly, laughing in approval, and urging Himeko on with some very lewd and explicit suggestions. Cash heard them, thought maybe this was getting a little too embarrassing, but decided it was more essential to let Himeko publicly demonstrate her joy anyway. Her insecurity bump was ever bit as big as Toyotama's, just expressed differently in its cure. He did notice however, that Miya was standing behind and to one side of her bond mate, silently biting her lower lip and looking down at her feet in kind of a pleased expectancy. What was he going to say to her?

Miya stared at him in perplexed disappointment at what she saw in his mind. He just wanted to TALK to her. That was all? Especially since watching Kazehana, Karasuba, and Himeko get fresh with him and his instant stiff response to them had made that old warm feeling in her loins begin too? What was a dignified yet suddenly horny wife gonna do?

"Joe! Dammit! Enough already! What about Reeker? She WANTS to DIE!" Uzume huffed in frustration at Himeko's blatant display of her natural possessiveness of their Ashikabi, as well as Cash's seemingly misplaced priorities. Especially since Himeko was going to try going out of turn for sex with him like Karasuba and Kazehana too. Dammit. What was gal more worried about her bond mate's survival gonna do?

"Uhhh, yeah," Cash pulled back from Himeko's warm lips and sensually probing tongue enough to form intelligible words. Himeko gracefully took the hint and gave his mouth one last wet smack before releasing her arms' tight grip and letting them more loosely slip under his arms while putting her head on his right shoulder, but that was as far as she moved. Akitsu growled softly in ongoing displeasure at being thwarted in kissing her Ashikabi by Kazehana, Toyotama, Karasuba, and then Himeko's ungracious and self centered possession of Cash's attention. But what was a girl not as smart nor as pushy as her Sisters gonna do?

"Ummm, I want to talk to Miya about, ummm," Cash stumbled from concern at what he was feeling from all his Sekirei, "talk about what I can do for Riko now. And, and Natalie. Is, is it even POSSIBLE to download Natalie's mind and essence into another body? I mean, obviously she was uploaded into the ship's circuits many ages ago, but maybe that can be, ummm, reversed?"

"Yes, I think it might be possible," Miya frowned in concentration, "but the risks are unknown. On Kouten and throughout the Sekirei Empire family traditions and the keeping of ancestral bloodlines would never allow such a thing let alone attempt it. Using a dying Sekirei for their gestalt control of interstellar war and womb vessels was permitted and encouraged to extend their legacies as well as reproduce, but I've never heard of the process being reversed. Yet from what Mutsu almost accomplished in removing Natalie, it seems fairly logical that downloading her into another receptive brain of living flesh would be possible, but just a little bit, ummm, what would be the word? Creepy? As for Riko, you're the only one who can even do a restart meeting to cure her insanity, and she's obviously down to kill or cure as our only non creepy options for her."

"You aren't SERIOUSLY considering using?" Uzume stared at Cash and Miya in wounded horror.

"No, not into Riko," Cash shook his head quickly. "I was thinking maybe into me. I mean, Natalie could just share my brain, right? She's already in there mostly now anyway, and I really love..."

"Hey! No Way!" Several voices shouted at once from different areas of the crowd. "We want you just the way you are! No changes! Find some other creepy brain and body for that!"

"I'm creepy now too?" Cash blinked in surprise. "Geeez, I know I'm a Prime dud, but..."

"YUME!" Miya and Karasuba chorused in sudden inspiration and unison without looking at each other.

"Cash! Minaka has kept Yume's body alive in stasis in MBI's experimental basement labs!" Karasuba continued while nodding vigorously. "That's the way to save Mommy Dearest! Yume's body and brain needs a consciousness with a healthy tama! Natalie's healthy consciousness and tama needs a live brain and body! Why didn't we think of this before?"

"YEAH!" Haihane exclaimed excitedly. "That's a BOSS idea! Whether you can get Riko straightened out or not, we'll still have Natalie! Damn you guys are good!"

"Who is Yume again, Kara? She's an artificially sustained yet brain dead Sekirei? In some kind of stasis limbo for experimental stuff?"

"Sweetums! Yume is Number Eight who gave her tama to a kidnapped and tortured baby Musubi that was dying when we rescued her and Kaho from enemy agents years ago! Wouldn't that be a kick in the ass to have her body become Natalie's? Minaka kept Yume's body alive like he kept all the other Sekirei that had their tamas deactivated. I never really understood why, and didn't care until now! Hell, we can probably even download the ship's backup gestalt into Number 43 Yomi's body or even Number 44 to save and revive that backup Sekirei too, whoever she is!"

"Better leave poor 44 alone," Miya muttered almost to herself. "I don't think her still living bond mate Madoka would be too keen on seeing 44's body walking around with some one else in it."

Cash frowned in slight puzzlement Miya, shrugged and then glanced back at Karasuba still looking enthusiastic about the idea. Now how would this work with risks unknown? Even if successful would Natalie keep all her mental facilities and memory? Especially her bonding to him? If she did, his Prime Circle would be unbalanced, right? Did Sekirei circles have that kind of flexibility? Did his? Or would Natalie start all over even back to newborn stage to grow and eventually bond to a different Ashikabi? And what part of Yume's powers and/or personality still genetically resided in her lifeless body's DNA? None? Some? And if Mutsu could re-arrange Sekirei gestalts, then shouldn't the original Yume be contacted somehow, be given the choice to be taken out of Musubi, and let Yume live her own life again? Then Natalie could become Musubi's symbiont? Or become Yomi and let Musubi share the backup's tama? Man, this was just too weird and way too many unknowns! On the other hand, Natalie's life might be saved no matter how it all turned out. That was really the only thing that mattered. Kinda like the final score in a baseball game he was trying hard to win even though his ninth inning relief pitching had been wild till now. So don't over think things, dummy, and just throw the ball well enough to give your team a chance to win.

"Uhhh, okay, ummm, Rose? Can you get with Mutsu when we wake up and start looking into whether that's possible or not? He did come close to changing Natalie out for the backup gestalt, right? So he must have some clue as to how to maybe do that. It could really be a game changer if he could. That way we could just let a dead ship body melt harmlessly while we sneak off the Island and avoid a war. You guys could get started on all that while, well, look, I know this party was for me and Riko, but, uhhh, I think I'm going going to need to be alone with her when we're both awake so that we can talk some things out. I don't want to risk another bad psychic backlash. We don't have time for that, and, ummm, I think I better get started right away so..."

"Oh no you don't!" A high pitched female's voice called out. A few seconds later a sheepish Sanada followed a very determined Oriha who was elbowing her petite body through the crowd to confront Cash. "Sanada PROMISED that MY Leader would sing a special song just for ME if I came to this party!"

Cash blinked again in renewed surprise as other voices took up her cause in amused anticipation. He glanced quickly at the comatose Riko still dangling like a string-less puppet in Karasuba's grip. Another shot of nervousness went through him before his still active inner voice reminded him that he could sing love songs for ALL his Sekirei. They needed his attention too. His Inner Man also counseled that the best tune for this occasion would be "I'm Yours" by Jason Mraz because it only took four easy guitar chords, he knew the song lyrics well, and that they would not only apply specifically to Oriha, but to his Sekirei Circle, and all of his other Circle's as well.

He nodded at Oriha with a tight smile. Stepping to take Riko and hoist her over his left shoulder, he turned to make his way to the bandstand with his Sekirei and Ashikabi following and arranging themselves in a seated semi-circle to listen. He gently laid Riko face up at his feet and looked around for a guitar. He started slightly as an acoustic suddenly appeared in his hands as well as a tall bar stool behind him to sit upon. Natalie must still be running the dream then, he realized, and that fact made almost all of his remaining crowd tension sort of flow out of him. He smiled again at the faces now gazing up at him in amused anticipation as he began plucking out the song's reggae type introduction and then began to sing.

When he came to the first stanza's ending, his audience started clapping and joining in with, "But I won't... hesitate... no more, no more. It cannot wait... I'm yours!"

Hell, they all knew the tune better than he did! Especially when he came to the "Listen to the music of the moment... people dance and sing. We're just one big family. And it's our God-forsaken right to be loved, loved, loved, loved, loved!"

He finished the last stanza feeling like he finally hit a home run in relating to them all and his bonded Sekirei in particular from all the closed eyed, dreamy smiles he saw before him. He started into a small encore to extend the good feeling moment only to have it interrupted by a third very negative element that can really screw up a good time; the unwelcome party crasher, overly loud, overly rude, overly embarrassing, and basically over here instead of someplace else. In this case, the bad vibes began with two strident female voices angrily screeching at each other somewhere in the air above them all.

"For the LAST TIME! Get OUT of my WAY, you, you, ancient parasite! I HAVE to contact MY SON! HE GOT HURT! I FELT HIM GET BADLY HURT!"

"He's OKAY now! And my Prime Leader is BUSY, you crazy incompetent BITCH! Much too BUSY to deal with your stupid insanity! He'll call you LATER!"

"THIS is an EMERGENCY! NOW GET OUT OF MY WAY! THE RIGELIANS ARE COMING! I HAVE TO CONTACT MY SON!"

"Cash is BUSY! You're self made emergency can WAIT! The Rigelians are only coming because YOU stupidly gave them the opening they needed to invade! My Prime Leader will deal with them LATER!"

"I AM STILL THE NINETEENTH DAUGHTER OF ISHSTAR AND PRIME PILLAR OF THIS PLANET! YOU WILL STOP BLOCKING ME OR... WHAT DO YOU MEAN INCOMPETENT? YOU... YOU... CARELESS HUSSY!"

"CARELESS? WHY YOU... BRAINLESS BITCH! YOU'RE THE ONE THAT STUPIDLY LET FOUR OF YOUR SISTERS AS WELL YOUR HUSBAND, ASHIKABI, AND PRIME CENTER BE LURED INTO YOUR ENEMIES' TRAP AND BE MURDERED! AS WELL AS ALMOST DRIVE YOUR PRIME CENTER'S HEIR INSANE! NOW THE ENEMY IS TAKING ADVANTAGE JUST AS THEY PLANNED LONG AGO! THAT'S NOT ONLY INCOMPETENT OF YOU, IT'S CRIMINAL! AND I'M THE ONE WHO LEADS ON THIS PLANET! YOU WILL WAIT UNTIL MY PRIME LEADER DECIDES TO CONTACT YOU, OR I WILL KICK YOUR ASS FROM SPRINGFIELD TO HONK KONG! WE HAVE MORE IMPORTANT THINGS TO TAKE CARE OF BEFORE WE DEAL WITH THE GALACTIC ENEMIES YOU LET COME! YOU FUCKING... CRIMINAL... INCOMPETENT... BRAINLESS... SILLY BITCH!"

From that point the escalating and ethereal cat fight was really on but without anything readily recognizable as any known language, on Earth or any other planet. The caterwauling, screeching, screaming, and unintelligible cursing even went louder as Natalie became distracted enough to let herself and Cash's mother appear as ghostly apparitions just in front of the punch bowl table in the front of the Green Frog Oasis Saloon, a venue that had seen plenty of its share of similar low dust ups between two fighting females in the past.

Cash could only shake his head in total chagrin as he stood up to get a better view. So that was where Natalie had been, and why she had been wearing her battle uniform in order to hold off his party crashing mother. Stepping up on the bandstand beside him, Seo also stared at the saloon's front wall with his eyebrows raised.

"Mama and wife troubles already, bub? Didn't know Natalie cussed, did you?" Seo asked innocently despite the amused, teasing, and slightly evil glint in his eye. "Say, uh, you gonna go break that up, Big Guy?

"Oh HELL no!" Cash turned to look at Seo as if the man had lost his mind. "I may be a dumb shit, but I ain't that damn dumb. Matter of fact, I've got this sudden yen to talk to Mutsu, you know, man to even bigger guy, hide behind him, and let him take the heat between Natalie and Ma as the world's new Prime Center. Look at 'em go! Geez, Ma and a BUNCH of Petals worldwide have to be linked up somehow to pull this dream invasion thing off. But I'm not too sure I want Muts seeing Ma in that skimpy ceremonial robe outfit. I saw it a couple of times when I was just a little kid and didn't know what it was, but it's kinda traumatizing for me now since Ma got a little hefty after my Dad died, ya know?"

"Yeah. Your mama definitely ain't wearing any bra and panties when she really, really should be," Seo nodded in total understanding and then winced as a now totally solid Natalie's more covered form in her crimson Sekirei uniform landed a big right uppercut to the also solidified jaw of Cash's mother. "Oooh! She probably needs to learn how to stasis dream fight better too."

Another follow up blow from Natalie knocked the suddenly hapless, large, and figure unsupported Prime Center and current Nineteenth Daughter of Ishtar ass over backwards into the punch bowl table. The near end of the table naturally collapsed to flip the punch bowl high in the air and send its remaining liquid contents, melting ice ring, and captive dipper flying forward into the crowd. The ice and dipper were intercepted by a super speedy and openly chortling Karasuba who seemed to be enjoying the entire debacle as much or more than the mutually grinning Haihane and Seo. Matter of fact, the whole crowd was looking way too entertained for Cash's comfort.

The manner in which Karasuba suddenly and seriously began eying the ice and dipper made a totally humiliated Cash belatedly realize that time was just as precious as life now, and just as essential as love. If Natalie was going to have a chance to be poured into this semi alive Yume's body, then he needed to do something here to cut this nonsense short to get that ball in play. After all, Cash Joseph Archer was Natalie's Prime Leader, and all that really had to happen to stop his mother from making another very embarrassing public spectacle was for Natalie to simply shut down the stasis dream.

"NATALIE!" CASH bellowed in his most authoritative tone. "THE PARTY'S OVER!"

"You can sure say THAT again," Kazehana shook her head in disgust while heaving a big sigh, and then her beautiful features lit up in pleased anticipation. "But on the other hand, some real physical fun can now..."

"Start!" Kazehana finished out loud as she physically bolted upright on her bed between the mutually and suddenly awake Uzume and Miya.

The three looked at each other for a few blinking seconds before Kazehana spied a black t-shirt and boxer brief clad Cash groggily coming awake beside Akitsu on the floor beside them. He was obviously sporting his usual morning wood as well and mumbling something repetitively in relief that sounded like, "Not important!" or maybe "Not impotent!"

"Dibs!" Kazehana yelled as she whipped off her pajama top and launched herself towards Cash in the same motion.

"Oh no you don't, we're sharing!" Miya and Uzume chorused together as they both snagged an ankle of their airborne Prime Pillar. That action actually saved Kazehana from painfully smacking face first into Akitsu's instant wall of ice between the three of them in the wide space between their bed and the doorway. Even Karasuba had been suddenly pushed away and frozen out on the wrong side of the thick ice wall made by her bond mate Sister. There was no doubt a similar and impassable cold divider was now standing floor to ceiling at either end of the sleeping rooms' hallway as well as between a roused and mutually aroused Himeko and Toyotama sitting on their bed in the master suite. Matter of fact, since the officer's quarters were fairly spacious, there was more than enough thickly carpeted area in the walled off connecting hallway for the sneaky Akitsu to get some hot loving from her now trapped and about to be tapped Ashikabi before their ice bounded hideaway's oxygen ran low.

"Now that's just fucking unfair Aki-chan!" Karasuba stood to angrily punch the ice wall hard enough to knock a big chunk out, but the ice simply and instantly regenerated in a way that said further attempts to breach the frozen barrier would be totally futile until Akitsu waved it away with a flick of her hand. Karasuba flopped down to sit on the bed with her other three disgruntled and frozen out Sisters, two still covered in their sheer, matching red baby doll pajamas, and a headlight chilled Kazehana only wearing brief panties.

"You STOLE my idea at the end of the party!" Karasuba continued talking loudly in a wounded tone at the unresponsive ice wall. Time to try guilt trip logic. "And what about Riko? I was going to at least wait until Sweetums fixed her and let you in on this gig with me! You're cutting me out and going alone just because you make the ice? Dammit, we're gonna talk about this! You should be sharing! We're bond mates! Remember? Not that any of us know exactly what that all means maybe, but, but dammit! You're just being fucking sneaky and unfair Aki-chan!"

"Yeah! What SHE said! Sneaky and unfair!" The mutually petulant Uzume and Kazehana chorused accusingly.

"And maybe not quite as slow and dumb as anyone thinks either," Miya muttered in frustrated and sour disgust at this demonstration of the vagaries and blatant abuse of Sekirei bond mate and inter Circle relationships. Miya's sentiment was visibly mirrored on her three companion's faces as they all stared impotently at the silent ice wall now beginning to glisten from the bedroom's heat interacting with the wall's cold surface.

***scene break***

Fleeing in complete panic and insane terror, Riko's mind raced back from Kamakura Island to the only place she knew that still had a magic mirror and could offer her a place to hide. And she must hide from the Evil Black Sister who wanted to kill her! There was a small closet with a door mirror in her old MBI cubicle in Tokyo where she had said the magic words, opened the closet door, and then escaped into the many magic kingdoms behind it when she had been growing up. If she could just return to that mirrored door and escape into one of the closet's magic lands to live there forever and ever, then maybe she could also eventually forget that her Dream Prince didn't want and feared her, and that her beautiful Queen Mother hated her even more than her Evil Black Sister.

Suddenly reaching her childhood fantasy entrance, Riko looked around at her barren MBI cubicle one last time. She had escaped from here once, but her long sought freedom to make her dreams of love and happiness come true with her Ashikabi had become a complete, nightmarish disaster. She should have known then that her dreams of forever and ever happiness only came true in the lands of Narnia, Duloc, Snow White, Sleeping Beauty, Rapunzel, and Cinderella. Countless times when bullied, teased, and been made fun of by her schoolmates, she had come here to hide safely and play with all her fairy tale and storybook friends. Now it was all she had.

Oh! Pursuit was coming closer! She could feel it! Quickly she faced her image in the middle of the door mirror's swirling mists of potent magic. She breathlessly whispered the magic words she had invented long ago as a little girl.

"Mirror, mirror open the way, to a land where I can hide and play!"

The mirrored door magically opened, Riko hurled herself into the darkness behind it, and the mystic entrance closed before her relieved and grateful image faded from its swirling mists.


	32. Chapter 32

_**Author's note: I want to really thank Rykoakwine for letting me use his character Madoka Number 37 from his upcoming fanfic "No Game For Old Men" in this chapter to help "poor" Riko. I also want to thank him for being a great sounding board for kicking my outlined ideas and plot points around too. I really haven't had any time to interact much with reviews and personal messages and even emails like other authors. I have to pretty much just let my writing stand on its own when it comes to praise, complaints, likes, dislikes, etc. My hope is that when the last period in the soon to come epilogue appears, that the story has simply been enjoyed for the light hearted piece it has always intended to be as my first fan fiction work.**_

_** Go to ... rickaucoin dot deviantart dot com/art/No-Game-For-Old-Men-1x1-370074554 ... for a peek at Number 37 Madoka ... thanks Ryk!  
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**The Game Changer**

**Chapter 32 – Ninth Inning, Control Problems**

During breakfast and after, Cash had felt like he was now simply existing in the eye of some weird global storm, and just as helpless. The morning meal had started out frostily strange. When sitting down at the mess hall table to eat he immediately noticed that the usual competitive, but light hearted banter and teasing repartee normally around him and his Sekirei were missing. He had then quickly noticed that he was getting a very weird and icy silent treatment from all but Akitsu.

What the hell was wrong? Was everybody insane? Well, yeah, now that he thought about it. From the way they had been raised, used, abused, and not taught their true heritage, all of his Sekirei had some really serious sanity issues. Riko was just flat out NUTS now and driving Uzume over the same cliff. Normally kind hearted Kazehana, like all long time and unstable alcoholics, was pretty much still totally self involved in her own misery and shortcomings; and trying to dry out for him had left her more bitchy, selfishly needy, and short tempered to boot.

Karasuba wasn't all that far removed from her serial killing coldness, neither was Miya through fighting and reconciling with her emotional traumas and total past failures. Toyotama, Akitsu, and Himeko were still battling their own insane inner insecurity hells too, but then again, what was he? A long time, overly inbred offspring of Sekirei/human hybrids that had two opposite emotional and instinctive approaches to living. Was it any wonder he was probably the poster child for dichotomous and maybe even bi-polar behavior and decision making? Or why he had made such little progress in reducing his Sekirei's on going stormy emotional behavior, let alone meshing together.

Nevertheless, Cash had inanely tried to lighten things up as the meal progressed by asking why Japanese teacups had to be so damn small. Hadn't anyone in the country's tea houses and restaurants ever heard of manly sized giant mugs? One where a fella could dump two lousy teaspoons of sugar into his tea and drink it without going into glucose shock? Other than the cerebral Kouji launching into a mild historical and societal diatribe explaining that indeed there were many different and much larger sizes of teacups for a myriad of societal uses in Japan, the response to Cash's rather ham handed attempt at ice breaking humor had been six sets of Sekirei female eyes supernaturally glaring icicle daggers at him and Akitsu. The rest of the meal finished with Cash knowing he was in the middle of some emotionally eldritch Sekirei typhoon in a badly leaking rowboat without a paddle and trying to bail his ass out of trouble with only one lousy and very tiny tea house teacup.

When the required but still cold and aloof communication had resumed and the bulk of his Sekirei, Ashikabi, and Petal forces had been given their separate group assignments by a glowering and stormy faced Kazehana, everyone had all begun bustling about to accomplish them while basically ignoring him and staying way the hell away from HER. The really disconcerting fact was other than Akitsu, everyone still immediately around Cash during and after the quick morning meal remained either coldly aloof, unhappy, fearful, frustrated, and/or just outright angry at him. As usual. Then he had made the dumb mistake of asking why, and cramped indigestion had instantly set in when his gals had told him.

Uzume was unhappy over Riko's situation and his reluctance to just make a retrieval dive into Riko's mind. Natalie was inconsolably unhappy and fearful that she had damaged her relationship with Cash by losing her temper during her fight with his mother, but now she was angry at Cash too. The main problem however, was that his Prime Sekirei were all very disgruntled at Akitsu self appointing herself as the doorkeeper to Cash's bedroom, putting herself in first place on his love making list, and threatening cold wall banishment if any of her Sisters ever again tried going out of turn. And HE had thought it a great idea? Miya, Himeko, Toyotama and particularly Karasuba each strongly felt that he already wasn't paying enough attention to them individually as it was, and each didn't like feeling they were less important than his other Sekirei. Especially Karasuba with her outsized ego still being way too sensitive, but Cash suspected that even supposed all wise Solomon in his prime hadn't solved that problem with his multiple female crew.

Kazehana, in addition to feeling VERY under valued too, was also particularly frustrated to find out her ability to give out tama pain just didn't work through a thick block of Akitsu's ice, especially when really needing some Ashikabi comfort/snuggle time after once again failing to mesh her circle. The stresses of that while facing an impending war, saving her mother and Ashikabi, and struggling to overcome a steep learning curve on how to be the true loving leader of a Prime Pillar she really wanted to be were really getting to her. Some morning booze in a teacup wasn't helping at all, and man could she be BITCHY when really stressed out.

As could his whole flock, Cash's upset stomach confirmed, which, now that he thought about it, was probably more of a major and total indictment against him as an Ashikabi and Prime Leader. After all, Seo, Kouji, Sanada, and even the weenie Mikogami weren't having these internal jealousy, emotional, and constant competitive problems within their circles, only Cash and his unmeshed gals and of course the hapless Minato, the poster child for immature and indecisive waffling over every situation. Which, Cash grimaced in self castigation, was still better than what he had been as Kazehana's Prime Leader. No wonder she was such a total mess this morning.

As a Prime Leader, Cash knew he had to get each of his Sekirei to feel comfortable with each others unique love story with him, and celebrate them as equals, even work together to enhance them, as well as be loving examples and helpful leaders to the rest of his circles. Wasn't this the main reason for ancient, emotionally challenged, aggressive, competitive, territorial, and raptor like avian evolved Sekirei coming to Earth and breeding with the more "loving and supporting family group" humans in the first place? And here he was the end product of that interbreeding program and supposedly exactly the kind of Ashikabi that could help both species be accepted into the higher realms of more interstellar civilized behavior.

Yet he was a total epic bust in getting just seven of Natalie's mostly feral, sometimes fairly heartless, and even at times vicious brood to simply feel genuinely loved, equally valued, and loving each other? Mainly, Cash suspected, well, almost certainly really, because he had once again failed to get the final piece properly in place for solving most of Kazehana and his dilemmas; a piece named Riko. After all, Sekirei would always instinctively operate in alien "eight as one" cohesive circles no mater what social interbreeding they underwent. No wonder his morning udon noodles were feeling more like gut lumps than comfortable warm nourishment.

Cue Cash's Mother. His bridge repairing pre-breakfast phone call to his Ma had gone rather badly, even by his standards, and was suffered mostly in morose silence while enduring her angry and accusatory screeching. It hadn't helped that a still fuming yet fearful of alienating/angering him more Natalie had been mentally shouting at him to stand up to his usurping Mother and then weeping in angry frustration when he hadn't during the call. When Cash had finally been able to get in a few words, he had conceded that his Mother must definitely come to Tokyo right away with her Crown and Staff of Ishtar in order for the new Son of Anu and Daughter of Ishtar to unlock what she had called the Moon's Veils of Purity.

Asking what those those items were other than sounding like some dorky kind of artifacts from antiquity had also been rather fruitless for Cash. His mother's obscure reference to the Statute of Liberty in New York Harbor as a copy of the ancient weapons hadn't made much sense when she had tried to explain what the crown and staff actually were and meant to do either. In the end he had simply shrugged and thought what the hell? Weapons? Fine. Bring ten pairs of them if it made her happy, and quite frankly he and his Sekirei were probably gonna need all the help they could get, even from his Mother. But for Pete's sakes bring and always wear her supportive underwear and a lot more modest clothing. Her exposed torso and gut flabs as well as cellulite riddled thighs had really embarrassed him last night. Naturally that last hadn't went over well at all either. Man, was his Mom WAY too touchy about her flabby gut, drooping boobs, and saddle bag thighs, or what? Damn, it wasn't easy being her kid!

While finally able to soothe over THAT last totally insensitive son-to-mother gaffe and then placate his Ma with more than a few soothing words of reassurance that he welcomed her arrival at the call's finale, Cash had very carefully omitted the fact that he had absolutely no intention of actually BEING the new Son of Anu himself, but he figured THAT fight could happen if and after the coming human invasion of Kamakura Island had been successfully fended off. Calming and placating Natalie who refused to even appear before him as her simulacrum after he had hung up had basically been rather fruitless too.

_"Cash Joseph Archer!"_ Natalie began, and Cash immediately knew this wasn't going to go well either. The old use of the full formal name instead of usual endearments was a prime clue to obtuse males from 2 to 92 the world over from the dawn of time that their mother, sister, lover, wife, or any significant and pissed off female in a guy's life was about to UNLOAD. And said male better hang onto his sorry ass when the storm in a giant teacup hit.

_"Why didn't you tell your mother that she is NOT in charge anymore? That is NOT acceptable! And you better call her back right this instant and make that clear!" _

"Natalie..."

_"Why didn't you put her in her place and support me? You CAN'T let her talk and scream at you like that! She ruined our party to help Riko! She has been a total failure as.."_

"Natalie..."

_"A Pillar as well as a mother! She hurt you! She hurt US! And she's been hurting you all your life! And she IS a FAT, lousy... If I ever get the chance to actually get my hands around her throat, I am going to..."_

"DO NOTHING!" Cash shouted at the mess hall's ceiling as he leaped to his feet and almost knocked over his half empty breakfast bowl of hot noodles. "NOW you will damn well listen to ME, Natalie! My mother is my MOTHER! I know she's NUTS, and got her damn problems, but she's STILL my Mother, always will be! And I love her! Just like I love you! And each of my Sekirei! Don't you even dare try to hurt her! Sure she hurt me and has hurt my feelings a lot ever since I was a kid, but dammit! What am I? Joe Smooth?

"No love comes easy! Just like that dumb shit Ringo Starr's song lyrics which were actually right for once! I may be an epic, dumb ass, immature, social failure as a man, Ashikabi, and Prime Leader, but even I'm Forest Gump smart enough to know that no love, even immediate alien Sekirei bonding love is NOT all kisses and cream for a happy forever and ever after until a lot damn hard work, hard knocks, disappointments, and mutually achieved triumphs happen along the way! With a lot of just good old fashion and simple forgiveness used by both parties for greasing the bumps along the way in all of it! True love is a growth PROCESS and GIFT, not an INSTANT PRODUCT! And sometimes along the way in growing together you just have to put everything aside that ain't important and especially your ego and pride and just LOVE!

"Now you knock off the threats to my Ma right now Natalie! Don't EVER make another! Do you understand what I'm saying? Natalie! Dammit! Answer me! I know your worried about what's coming at us, Honey! And what we're gonna try to do to save you! I am too, but you just can't hold a bad grudge against my Ma! Not ever! You two are gonna have to work your differences out and forgive each other! Natalie! Natalie? Dammit! Natalie I know I don't bring much to being your Prime Leader, but I know what love is, and I damn well know what it ain't! And kicking my Ma around to make you feel good about yourself ain't it! Natalie!"

The old silence was deafening adage then kicked in to leave Cash standing, shaking his right fist, then shaking both in pleading, and finally looking up at the ceiling like some modern day Perseus foolishly bitching at an ethereal goddess who was giving out the silent, cold shoulder treatment. Finally giving up and looking around, he could see that his mini tirade had definitely left his Prime Circle less than impressed as they each had basically refused to look at him while they ate in stony silence. He had no idea each had felt his words stabbing deep into their own emotional shortcomings in their love for him and the shallowness towards each other. The other Sekirei still eating in the mess hall had simply turned their faces away in silent embarrassment. Cash sighed and sat back down. Not only was he feeling more nauseous, even his udon noodles had went cold. Man, what a lousy morning.

On those continuing sour notes after the call home had ended, Mutsu had quite loudly and publicly voiced his anger and frustration with Cash and his Prime Circle over their careless and lackadaisical approach and planning for the island's porous defense and afterward. As well as stupidly failing to accomplish what last night's shared dream craziness had been intended for in the first place. That had gone almost as badly as Cash's conversations with his Mother and Natalie, especially when Mutsu had been rudely and quickly brought to his knees by a scowling Kazehana's extending her fist and twisting his tama. Mutsu had run into another old adage of "when mama ain't happy, ain't nobody happy", and Kazehana was definitely NOT in a happy mood this morning, nor especially thrilled at being publicly zinged about her miserable failures.

This had resulted in silently worried, sheepishly agreeing with out of line Mutsu, and very resentful disapproval from all Sekirei at Kazehana's heavy handed and emotionally disturbed power display. True, Kazehana had never suffered publicly belittling talk from anyone except Miya and Minaka in the past, but she was their Prime Pillar now, and should be above such pettiness. None of the subsequent expressions and eyeballs being cast at Cash and his unmeshed Circle by the other Ashikabi and their Lead Sekirei had looked very happy at all either. The morning's deteriorating "esprit de corps" had then taken another downturn.

Undaunted at the unusual frowns and scowls she was now getting in return, and perhaps even a little more uncharacteristically challenging anyone else to vocally test her unskilled leadership authority, the totally stressed out Kazehana had glared them all down before she swept up and away in a whirlwind with her Tokyo raid team on MBI's underground labs. After she, Miya, Himeko, and Seo's Circle had left, an also unhappy Karasuba had unceremoniously jerked Mutsu to his feet by his right ear, ordered everyone to either stay out of sight or stay cloaked in their Karasu suits from now on, and then callously booted Mutsu's ass towards Natalie's hull with the admonition that they had work to do and no more of his "I know more than anybody else" bullshit.

This of course Cash instantly recognized as the old trickle down misery of the "Mom who spanked the boy who then kicked the dog who then chased the cat" variety. Mutsu had turned to give Cash a very sour and open "feeling betrayed by a brother" look to let everyone know that somehow there would be plenty of dissension in the ranks manifested later. Cash had been left to scratch his head ruefully, and then shrug in eye rolling and sighing acceptance. What the hell else could he do other than just love and support his trouble making females? Especially his one and two leaders Kazehana and Karasuba? Other than fix Riko maybe and possibly get his circle and Natalie on a more even emotional keel. As it was right now, his Prime Circle were his entire battle group's leaders, and everyone was just going to have to adjust to them even if they weren't meshed yet and maybe a wee tad inexperienced in the finer points of group leadership, morale building, and high camaraderie, let alone any kind of decent military style command, control, and communication. But what the hell? Cash knew he had none either, and his Sekirei were all he had.

The whole tense, waiting for the MBI raid team to return since, especially the fact that he might soon have to actually perform as a Prime Leader again if and when actual to the death fighting started, felt exactly like sitting in the bullpen waiting to be called into the ninth inning of a close game. There was the same nervous excitement mixed with something close to his natural competitiveness and avid love of playing baseball coming from the prospect of him going out and pitching well to save and win the game, even dominating as he had occasionally. There was also the nervous gut butterflies of being called upon and then pitching so lousy his team would lose and perhaps lose badly, which had happened too frequently in this past year. That along with his failed female relationships, most notably Agnes Mortenson, Riko, and yes, even his Mother as well as his ongoing inability to mesh his Prime Circle, had ultimately gotten him the boot out of American baseball and landed him in Tokyo and now Kamakura Island with the whole world wanting him dead. It was actually a wonder he hadn't assumed Earth's ambient temperature already.

Well, to be fair, other than being an epic female relationship and previous pitching failure, the yearning "to our Ashikabi" mental calls from Akitsu and probably Riko too had also played a part in his decision to leave the States, as had little Jeremy's sad cancer death, but mostly it had just been Cash's stubborn desire to play baseball again that had gotten him here.

And like a bad cliché from some cheesy old war movie, here he was, on Kamakura Island, and waiting for all hell to break loose and come down upon him while sitting on a bed with a comatose Riko laying across his lap. Well, he was actually waiting for some unknown, lone Ashikabi's Sekirei with healing and coercion powers to arrive, one Miya and Toyotama had recommended. However, even if the unknown Sekirei healer could help Riko, that didn't really mitigate the worries that he, Cash Joseph Archer, Doofus Screw Up, Emotional Waffle Guy, and Lousy Pitcher/Leader Extraordinaire, would definitely soon be called to play a big part in trying to defeat/defuse the imminent combined armed invasions from human military and now alien space fleets that could kill them all. And just guess, Cash swallowed hard as he thought about it, who would surely be a very prime target that was way, WAY high on the enemy's kill list? Here he sat.

It was enough to make a fella all ass puckered nervous, but at least his obligatory and gut wrenching phone call to his Mother was behind him. That had been almost as bad to endure. Now if he could just get a still pissed off Natalie a little calmer, but thankfully she had been silent as she was shunting most of her resources to track Kazehana and her team's progress as well as her ongoing researching of the alien invaders. That silence of hers was also heavily tinged with severe disappointment and emotional female volatility on a scale that had Cash on tenterhooks for when she finally did start yammering in his head again. And she would, but what the hell, he loved her and was very worried about the upcoming attempt of her gestalt's transfer. Maybe he shouldn't have yelled at her at breakfast? Maybe?

Cash was also nervous as hell that he wouldn't be able not only help revive Riko, and that his beloved but very pissed at him Natalie was going to be separated from him one way or another, but that he was also going to be a total Prime Flop as his Sekirei's leader when the game was on the line. Could he actually pull it off? He had done his best over breakfast to state his main overall objectives, but his other seven Circles and his very disgruntled/seemingly distracted Prime Circle had not seemed all that receptive. Six of his Sekirei had simply and continually kept sending sharp dagger looks at poor Akitsu who hadn't helped at all by simply smiling smugly in a somewhat "cat that got the cream" manner back at all of them.

Akitsu had then verbally and very uncharacteristically announced in a forceful tone that from now on, Akitsu's LIST for future sex with their Ashikabi would be followed EXACTLY, or she would summarily freeze any attempt not to, and that every line jumping Sister would be going to the bottom of HER list. Keep it fair and share equally, or ELSE. She had even turned to look at Cash with an unusually stern expression that said she meant business starting right NOW; even if her soft, warm lips and similar valley of her impressive and sensitive chest had made her very happy through her psychic sharing with Little CJ earlier. That stern look from usually laid back and submissive Akitsu had made him pretty nervous too. It meant Cash had better participate whole heartedly and help them all adhere in her fair sharing crusade to instill a little Prime Circle bedroom discipline, or else little CJ risked becoming a frozen Popsicle between his two similarly frozen extra large eggs.

The thought and shuddering visual/anticipation of THAT had made Cash's butt pucker involuntarily too, but what the hell? It was better than irritable bowel syndrome combined with long term impotence. It also might take some pressure off of his future performance expectations in the bedroom too. He had simply nodded and mumbled something about "every frosted cloud had a silver lining in a Shinto Dawn" and fled to his bedroom to get started on fixing Riko.

Now, while Uzume paced back and forth in the bedroom like a caged tigress and he too was fighting an ongoing case of heightened nerves, Cash turned to contemplate Riko as she was laying face down and still comatose on the bed beside him. Uzume had stripped Riko of her stasis tank binding, soaped and showered the blue goo stink from Riko's body and hair, and then dressed her in the soft, shiny black, Lycra body stocking that all the Sekirei were now choosing to wear under their Karasu battle suits. Funny. He had never realized what a perfect "round as a peach" butt Riko possessed. He briefly wandered if that had anything to do with her possible spanking fetish. Her virtuoso female caboose was certainly spank-able if a fella was into that kind of low fetish kink, and at least VERY eyeball stimulating to any normal healthy male, as was the rest of her too.

Riko's physical beauty had never been the issue, Cash grimaced, since she was probably the poster child for sheer perfection in the symmetry of her face's aquiline features as well as the rest of her slim, yet nicely curved, petite body. Even totally egotistical Karasuba conceded Riko was near or at the pinnacle of Sekirei beauty, but man, the inside of Riko's head had always been and still was a veritable closed off and definitely un-sexy maelstrom of illogical emotions somehow combined with ultra logical thought processing of all the high order hard sciences. Cash couldn't understand either parts of her female mental hijinks, never had, and probably never would. Yet, Sekirei somehow emotionally conformed themselves in a lot of ways to their Ashikabi, right? Would Riko conform a little and enough for the two of them to develop a close and mutually understanding relationship if he made a deeper bond with her? Make that if he COULD make a deeper bond. There were no guarantees of success or happy endings in this world. He knew that from the bitter experience of poor Jeremy's cancer death in the Children's Hospital of Buffalo, New York.

"Dammit, Joe! Quit daydreaming!" Uzume stopped pacing and stomped a foot petulantly before reaching for the body suit zipper at the base of Riko's neck. She jerked it halfway down Riko's back to expose Riko's light pink Sekirei crest. "Why can't you just put your head on her crest and go get her? You've touched all the rest of us, meshed us, and even healed Akitsu! Do it to Reeker!"

Cash silently looked up at Uzume in worried consternation. He KNEW, but he didn't know how he knew, that doing what Uzume was asking would be a total disaster far beyond Karasuba's attempted meshing and resultant psychic backlash. Riko was a VERY powerful psychic, on or even slightly above a level with Miya and Karasuba in some ways, particularly in her kinetic talents. Cash was absolutely certain that if HE went into Riko's current insanity, he would be trapped there with no ability to get out, and eventually driving himself and every bonded Circle Sekirei nuts with him. Riko's instincts to be WITH her Ashikabi forever and ever, and yet the direct conflict of her insane longing to flee, hide, and/or die away FROM him would cast them both into a psychic typhoon from which there would be no escape. Riko HAD to come out of her self imposed mental prison on her own, or at least without confronting and entrapping him. But how to get her to do that?

His left hand idly reached out to zip Riko's body suit back up, but when his hand casually touched her naked back's smooth alabaster skin, somehow his palm started to drift down and over her rounded derriere instead. Then, despite Akitsu's oral and mammary ministrations draining him thoroughly before breakfast, Little CJ became instantly interested.

"Awww, Joe!" Uzume sighed in peeved frustration as she saw his caressing interest. "Reek doesn't need spanked or buggered now! Her brain needs fixed! Doesn't your dick have any conscience at all?"

"Uhhh," Cash sheepishly jerked his wayward hand back while shrugging apologetically. "I don't think it ever has, but since last night, I'm just happy it still works. Look, Uzi, I KNOW I can't just dive into Riko's head to get her and bring her awake. Please believe me. According to Toyotama, the Sekirei healer she and Miya both know and asked to help us is supposed to not only have healing powers, but has some kind of mental coercion or persuasion abilities too. We just have to wait for her to get here. Rushing will only kill or drive Riko more deeply insane, and probably the rest of us totally crackers too."

"Okay, OKAY!" Uzume shook the open fingers of both hands in nervous tension as she resumed her back and forth pacing impression of a caged tigress. "But then what? What are we gonna do when the healer gets here, Joe?"

"Well, I'm not sure," Cash shrugged again while giving her another one of his worried and uncertain looks. This elicited another grunt of peeved frustration towards the bedroom's ceiling from Uzume while she began pacing faster.

Cash just shook his head at her too keyed up activity. Normally, Uzume was one of his more laid back Sekirei even if she did have occasional anger management and maybe even minor misandrist issues, mostly with him. It was Toyotama, Miya, Karasuba, and Riko who were his usual and constant emotional high wire acts compared to their more laid back bond mates Kazehana, Himeko, Akitsu, and Uzume. Heh, he almost chuckled out loud at his next thought. It was as if Sekirei instinctively sought out bond mates in a way that also had some elements of human couples unconsciously seeking emotional opposites to marry. It was a long held supposition that most folks wanted partners with complimentary emotional, behavioral, and talent strengths to shore up each others individual weaknesses, and thus the pair becomes stronger as a united whole than as separate entities.

He could also appreciate that same fact in the way all eight of his Sekirei contributed some unique individual qualities to their Circle Sisterhood. Almost unbelievably, Akitsu had just proved to be the groups' provider of fair sharing self discipline. Karasuba definitely supplied aggressive self confidence, Toyotama had analyzing and situational alertness, Himeko the constant tender compassion and care, Uzume the determined and protective passion, Miya the more mature contemplative calm and now introspective humility, Kazehana the group leadership through her binding depth and belief in romantic love, and Riko, who should actually be the logical, "every alternative weighed and sorted" brains of the outfit. The meshed whole of his Prime Circle should be orders of power stronger than its individual parts, just like their four internal bonded pairs.

Wait. Bonded pairs. Hmmm. HE couldn't go into Riko's mind and ask her to come back to reality, but what about her bond mate? With the soon to arrive healing Sekirei's help in locating and then applying gentle coercion to their mutual pleas, Uzume and the healer might much more easily and readily urge Riko to come awake and get things straightened out with her Ashikabi. Could the bonded Uzume and an unknown Sekirei pull that off without getting permanently caught in Riko's whirlwind of insanity? It FELT like they could to him, but he was a minor and dubious empath, not a mind reader, but from a high mental overview of the maelstrom he MIGHT be able to provide a small eye in Riko's emotional/mental storm for Uzume and the healer to operate. Still risky from above, but not as much as actually being down in Riko's mental tempest himself. Did he dare hazard everyone's sanity by being in and on the upper fringes of Riko's mind like that? Damn. Another difficult and potentially game changing Prime Leader call only he could make.

Nevertheless, Cash scratched his head in a small expression of self congratulation as he felt like he might have a winner of an idea here. On the other hand, there was so damn much he didn't know about Sekirei relationships as well as their mental and physical powers. Hell, he could fill a book on all he didn't know about them, especially about their deepest instincts, emotional make up, social structure, and culture. They were ALIENS for Pete's sakes! He was a native son of Springfield, Illinois who couldn't walk around Tokyo for ten minutes without insulting and/or pissing somebody off with what the Japanese thought was his ignorant, uncivilized, and clod behavior, but he was just another normal guy at home. Or maybe pretty under socialized there too, but having Sekirei help one another? That was one hell of lot better than everyone depending on an ignorant human like him.

Matter of fact, now that he had thought it through, here was yet another situation where he would just have to put the ball in play as Prime Leader and simply trust his Sekirei to do the heavy lifting. One bond mate would be saving the other as she instinctively needed to do while enlisting the requisite aid from another Sekirei under Cash's leadership. It was the very definition of team play, Cash reminded himself, even of using his bench strength in the form of a Sekirei not in any of his Circles. A minor league player temporarily called up to help the main team as it were. An almost timid knock on the open bedroom door jamb broke his reverie and made him turn his head.

A trim, short, but incredibly pretty Sekirei with a thick blonde mane of hair and light blue eyes stood in the bedroom door with an overall expression of shyness and/or uncertain timidity. She was dressed simply in a plain, tight, white, wide strapped, u-necked, tank style T-shirt that showcased an impressive Akitsu like chest, form fitting blue jeans, and dark sneakers. She entered the bedroom but stopped just inside and then frowned in slight disbelief at Cash's stroking left hand. Cash blankly blinked at her and then followed her gaze. Embarrassed, he jerked his wandering appendage away from its resumed and unconscious caressing of Riko's rounded rear end.

"Ara... hello? I am Number 37 Madoka?" The blonde Sekirei's forehead was now furrowed slightly in confusion as she looked at the bedroom scene before her. She was also greatly troubled in some very deep fashion. Why? Cash felt the giant swirl of very mixed emotions coming from her, but simply blinked back at her in silent expectation until she finally continued.

"Toyotama asked me to come here and help with something since your Himeko is busy trying to save our Mother. My Ashikabi gave me a Norito to help me fill in for whatever needs to be done, but, ummm, I am not really up for joining any kind of group grope, especially with Riko."

Cash then did a quick double take of even more embarrassment. Damn. This Madoka thought she might have been called here for a four way orgy? Now? Geez! Not exactly getting off on the right social foot here at all! The newcomer's low and almost husky voice did have a tint of amusement, but for some reason, and even though he KNEW she was already bonded to one of his solo Ashikabi, Cash could now feel this Sekirei's deeper emotions were filled with great sorrow and loss as well as what? Righteous anger, dislike, disapproval, loneliness, and even bitter disappointment? Another bi-product of an already lousy morning?

He could also now feel that Madoka was a really strong psychic powerhouse similar to Himeko but with some unknown kind of differences he found hard to describe. Maybe like the difference between a major league pitcher's two seam and four seam fastballs. Both types of power pitches came in fast and hard but moved differently around home plate. Would her definitely NOT minor league Sekirei mental powers be the type to help Uzume draw Riko out? And could this Madoka set aside her own profound emotional troubles/personal dislikes to even have the desire to help him and his Sekirei? That last speculation became immediately moot when Uzume spoke.

"You're, you're the one both Miya and Toyotama said could help me, I mean us? Number 37, right? This is my bond mate Riko! We've GOT to save her!" Uzume half jumped, half stumbled to the smaller newcomer's side and urgently grabbed Madoka's hands, tugging her gently towards the bed.

The pleading and desperation in Uzume's expression instantly swept Madoka's darker and more self-centered thoughts aside. The shorter, more softly built, and petite blonde healer looked up into the taller and more muscular Uzume's fearful face.

"Your bond mate is dying?" Madoka asked in a small voice. When Uzume nodded with tears welling in her brown eyes, the psychic pressure from Madoka's mind increased to almost the same levels Cash always felt around little Kusano. Saving a dying bond mate obviously resonated very, very deeply with Madoka.

The curvy blonde healer gave Cash a rather strange look before she knelt beside the bed and took a close look at Riko, biting her lower lip as she noted Riko's straight black hair, perfect cheekbones, and almond shaped eyes. Eye lashes glittering wetly for no readily apparent reason Cash could identify other than some sense of great loss, Madoka tentatively reached out to touch Riko's pale pink Sekirei Crest.

"Riko's crest is even paler than mine," Madoka murmured sadly while slightly shaking her head in what? Did Cash now sense pity, commiseration, or maybe even some kind of condemnation? Maybe all three? Due to her increased psychic pressure, Madoka's emotions were much harder for him to read, as were her facial expressions and the look in her eyes as she turned to give him another enigmatic stare.

He realized she was at least looking at him like he and Uzume should both know her and her Ashikabi, but his nerved wracked mind was drawing a blank. When had they met? And where? Flustered, Cash kind of winced apologetically in return. Man, he NEVER knew how to handle awkward social shit like this! Especially when he was the moron who had caused their current problem here in the first place. Apologies for lack of expected recognition had always seemed so inane too, and most folks had usually been in short supply of forgiveness for any of his social missteps and many faults. Wait. Should he tell this upset Madoka she had really nice tits and a great looking face, ass, and hair to calm her whirling emotions down? Most females being met for the first time liked being praised about their physical features, right? But man did they get pissed when they were told some outfit made them look too hippy and big in the butt. His blunt honesty had always been more of an explosive mine field during the usual social amenities than any kind of help, and usually brought down swift and terrible retribution upon him too. So, no, no, Madoka's unknown Ashikabi was in charge of calming his Sekirei's disturbed emotional state, not her Prime Leader. Besides, Cash couldn't even phone call his own Mother without getting into social deep shit and really PISSING her off.

On the other hand, this Madoka had some serious internal issues, Cash could feel them. It almost seemed that all of his Sekirei had some. Why? And would that hinder her efforts here? Still, this petite blonde Madoka seemed to be willing to at least try helping Riko from the way the healer was still lightly rubbing Riko's crest. Should he ask her Ashikabi's name and where they had met, or would she be offended that he hadn't bothered enough to inquire or remember them? Nor remember ever seeing a beauty like her before? Oh well, how about using the ever dependable blank apology for whatever "current dumb and unknown male clod obtuseness just committed" ploy? It had usually worked about thirty per cent of the times before he had gotten bitch slapped, bopped, punched, shin kicked, and/or beaned with a heavy hand bag during the other seventy in the past.

"Uhhh, hi? Miss Madoka, uhhh, I'm Cash Archer, and maybe you already know that, and I'm SORRY for what I did or didn't do to upset you and for why I don't recall meeting or knowing or remembering or even hearing about you folks, and, uhhh, anyway, uhhh, look. Riko and I sorta had, HAVE, ummm, some real serious bonding issues, and, uhhh, well, WAY beyond serious really, and so, uhhh, the bottom line is, it's driven Riko nuts. What I was hoping, if you and Uzume could, ummm convince Riko to wake up so I could try to consciously fix things in her mind without putting all my other Sekirei in any danger? Maybe?"

"Ooooh, well, it almost feels like Riko's lost, or maybe hiding inside some kind of black swirling storm, behind some kind of ultra strong barrier, or maybe even a big thick door," the blonde Sekirei healer frowned with her eyes now closed and obviously ignoring him completely. "I can faintly feel she's in there, but I don't sense any will to come out. I don't know what I can do to..."

"NO!" Uzume burst out savagely, her hands clenched into tight fists at her sides then reaching down to tightly grip the smaller blonde Sekirei's shoulders. "Reeker wants to LIVE! And LOVE! I know it! Don't you DARE give up so fast!"

"But I don't know what to..." Madoka stopped in complete surprise from the sudden and totally unexpected bolt of physical desire that shot through her whole body from Uzume's psychic and vocal outburst and fierce physical hold upon her! It was an instant reminder of how much Madoka truly missed the protective, passionate, and possessive loving of her dead bond mate! And how ALONE she had felt since! And the strong emotions literally coming in hot waves from the beautiful, tom boy dominant Uzume felt exactly the same as Madoka's bond/bed mate's had been in the throws of their shared passion! Of course they would! Uzume was The One Who Defends in her Circle, the natural bond mate to Riko as The One Who Builds, the same Sekirei type as the introverted, submissive, but now bond bereft Madoka!

A preoccupied with his own thoughts Cash, totally oblivious to Madoka's sudden intense physical and emotional reaction to Uzume's outburst, cleared his throat. Okay, if he HAD to be the Prime Leader putting the ball in play, then here was definitely a time where he must throw another pitch.

"Uhhh, Miss? Madoka? What if I can mentally get you and Uzume in behind that barrier from above, and maybe, ummm, give you two a common and safe reference point that you could use for calling to Riko without her actually meeting me and hiding again?"

"Me? You want ME to?" The still highly agitated Uzume turned to Cash and blinked in genuine surprise. She gave him a narrowed eyed look. "But Joe! You just said that you can't dive... And we've been waiting for... I don't have the mind juice to... so I'm to link up with... with Blondie here to go in and?.. you mean you're gonna quit just stroking Reeker's ASS?… And actually HELP us? Inside Reek's head?"

The blonde healer looked away from Uzume and back to Archer's roving hand on Riko's nicely rounded rump.

"Well, sure!" Cash jerked his wayward left hand away again while giving the now slightly smirking Madoka another sheepish double take. Riko really did have a sexy feeling and interesting backside.

"Actually, no, keep doing that, Cash-san. Uzume, think about it please. Riko would appreciate any such show of interest from her Ashikabi. We all do. Stop interfering with his instincts, he is doing the right thing." Madoka gave Cash a small quirky smile. "Even if he does not know it, or know why."

"Really? Well, uhhh, okay? I think," Cash began and paused as he used his left hand to rub his jaw before tentatively easing it back down to rest on Riko's right buttock. "Uhhh, I think I can kinda make a calm spot in Riko's mind from above by using some common experience or setting that Riko and I shared in the past, but one where we weren't face to face. I mean, there have to be some, and I'd probably have to look around in her memories a little to find a place for making a lucid memory bubble. That will be real tricky with no reference place to start. Okay with you Uzi?"

"Well, hell... yeah... cool, I guess... and I'm in! Okay, then ummm, let's see. Hey! I know, maybe. Joe, Riko did tell me about the first time she'd found you," Uzume frowned pensively while biting a thumb. "Something about how you were dreaming of pitching very badly in the Tokyo Dome and all the fans were booing you a lot and especially after the coach replaced you. You walked off the field and disappeared down into the dugout, but then she couldn't find you in that first shared dream after that. Does that kinda help ya as a place to start?"

"Yeah... uh yeah, I think so," Cash nodded thoughtfully. "I'll be darned. That has to be one of my recurring nightmares I had for almost six weeks before I actually met Riko on my apartment roof the morning she ruined my "Shinto Dawn" painting. So she tapped into those nightmares without me knowing, and we never met in them? Interesting. And I certainly remember all the details of that continuous dream fiasco. At least it's a starting place if you two are willing to try to merge into Riko's mind and can operate in there together."

"I'm certainly willing, and, ummm, I can WORK with Uzume! THAT isn't a problem!" Madoka smiled charmingly up at Uzume. The petite blonde Sekirei then used a little stimulating coercion in an attempt to calm the taller and very desirable looking Sekirei as well as catch Uzume's physical interest. The normally shy Madoka was very lonely for female companionship and satisfying skinship since her own beloved bond/bed mate had been killed. Maybe a future, casual, futon hook up with Uzume could benefit both of them if their two Ashikabi and Riko wouldn't mind. However, the emergent prurient interest in Madoka's warm voice was completely missed by Riko's still worried bond mate, or at least totally ignored.

But why? Madoka blinked in more surprise and instant puzzlement. Her obvious signal of snuggling interest should have had been blatantly apparent to Uzume, so why hadn't the "known to prefer female love" Uzume shown any response to Madoka's inviting signals at all? After all, Madoka KNEW she was desirable as her dead bond mate had always and sometimes jealously insisted. And it was no secret that Number 10 had first been winged by a female Ashikabi, but obviously something had changed after Uzume had been re-winged by this seemingly horny goof of a gaijin man. What had he done? And how? And how had Uzume gotten such a dark red, almost black Sekirei crest signifying incredibly deep and strong bonding love with her Ashikabi? Like the ones displayed by once totally dominating Toyotama and even that terrifying bitch Karasuba and much worse Miya? That crest color on Uzume was MOST interesting and very much to be envied by one as lightly bonded as Madoka, but done by THIS gaijin goofball? He didn't seem capable. What was Madoka missing here? And why?

Madoka then turned her bright blue eyes up at Cash again as he was trying to stuff his unruly left hand into his jeans pocket. Madoka paused, tilted her head slightly as she studied Cash more intently, and squinted just a little as if to see him better before continuing.

"I have often wondered what kind of tough, hard boiled, but super hot man could re-wing my onee-sama Toyotama, much less a total horror like Karasuba. But I have never imagined you would just simply be a likable, slightly corny, and horny goof. However, from their changed actions and attitudes and especially their dark crests, I can tell you somehow really love your Sekirei far beyond what most of those Ashikabi out there do. And it really changes them too?"

Madoka continued to stare up into Cash's deep blue eyes while her smile faded into yet another very surprised, contemplative frown. The pulsing psychic pressure from her mind dramatically increased yet again.

"Wait! You are Earth human, but you are, ahhh, Operant? An active Empath?" The pretty blonde Sekirei's mouth dropped open in surprise in sensing the intensity in his feelings of how precious life and love really were to him, but he had a mind shield too? She tried to look past it, failed, and tried again.

Meanwhile, Cash immediately tried to figure out what being specified "Earth human" actually meant. Was this just a continuation of his breakfast weirdness, or were there some other kinds of humans? Mongrels other than those descended from the Sekirei/human interbreeding program begun several hundred thousand years ago? Other alien races interbreeding too? Pointy ear Vulcan hybrids maybe? He didn't really feel like he was all that much of an active empath either, let alone an Operant type, whatever that meant. It didn't sound too manly though, just like drinking out of those damn tiny teacups instead of a decent mug, and especially after just being labeled a simple and likable horny goof. Maybe he wasn't some tough, hard boiled, and super hot guy, but he WAS a professional athlete and not some opera loving pansy, dammit!

Besides, he had never been to an opera in his life, well, unless a very bad, live stage re-enactment of "Dr. Horrible's Sing-A-Long Blog" could be discounted. Cash shook his head to clear an involuntarily evoked old memory of Bad Horse's lame "Death Whinny" from the show as well as the image of the puny, lisping actor who had been hired to play the he-man Captain Hammer. Now there had been a rail skinny guy who hadn't looked "Earth human" at all, even in his padded muscle suit. Well, for that matter, neither had the cadaverous looking guy who had played Dr. Horrible. Nope, being an opera type of guy, he definitely wasn't.

"Uhhh, Miss?" Cash began another nonplussed reply, uncertain as to why she seemed so suddenly impressed with his Earth human status. After all, no Earth female ever had been. Had his blanket apology ploy actually worked for once? "I'm not sure I'm all that much of an active, ummm, anything, you see..."

"Yes! You Are! And you're a powerful one too! What my Ashikabi calls Masterclass or maybe even Grand Master Operant?"

Oh, being an operant had nothing to do with being an opera lover? Cash flushed at his lack of sophistication in both areas. What was an operant? He had no clue, but he could now feel Madoka's healing and some kind of mental coercion abilities begin to vigorously poke at his mind shields and then sliding off repeatedly.

"And your mind shields are incredible! How? There are no humans on Earth who... Wow! No wonder you... you could re-wing..."

"Oh honey!" Uzume shook her head impatiently at the stymied and astonished Madoka. "Joe has got WAY more than just THAT going for him! I mean, you just don't KNOW! And he saved my LIFE even though we were total strangers! But forget it, and let's get started saving my bond mate Riko!"

This time it was Number 37 Madoka doing a nonplussed double take between Uzume and Cash while still trying to understand exactly what had made Cash her Mother's Prime Leader as well as the Prime Ashikabi of Natalie's undeniably most emotionally difficult, powerful, and actually unstable offspring. Let alone several of them being vicious former enemies. And especially the former female lover Uzume who had bonded so enviably and deeply with him now. Madoka slowly lifted a hand towards Cash as if trying to sense something more and yet at the same time ward it away from her mind. Her light blue eyes widened in further genuine surprise at what she could finally see glimmering from behind his tight mind shield.

"You, you, really are THE Prime Leader! Wow! How did you do it? What training did you get? My Ashikabi is going to want to talk to you! He investigates and analyzes everything about Sekirei powers and stuff! And he'll probably fill up pages in his notebook about you too! Did you plan all this and call your Sekirei? After those bastards at MBI released all of us?"

"Well, no, uhhh, actually, my Sekirei mostly found me, Miss, uhhh, Madoka, and, there really hasn't been much planning on my part, none actually, and no training at all, or help." Cash winced from more self accusatory chagrin. The highly impressed tone of her voice in pointing out his total inadequacy, inexperience, and ignorance as a rather too indecisive Prime Leader was more damning than any faint praise he hadn't earned or deserved. He had to make her understand why those inadequacies of his had poor comatose Riko's sexy ass in his lap in the first place. And why they needed Madoka's help so badly.

"Look. I'm just a baseball player, see? And, uhhh, I'm no master, active or even grand at anything, other than maybe being a total social doofus and grand screw up since I was a kid. Mostly, ever since I got to Japan at least, it's just more like me constantly being a corny and horny goof like you said. That's why we're here now. Because, I'm really just a big ignorant ballplayer in a leaky rowboat, bailing water with a dinky teacup during a giant Sekirei typhoon, and needing all the help I can get to just hang onto my mitt and my sorry ass."

***scene break***

A still inwardly seething Mutsu bolted out from under Natalie's hull, ran a hundred meters or so out onto the southern plain, and stopped roughly in the center of the circling small drone's path. He switched the black Karasu suit he had borrowed from Cash into visible mode and mentally quashed his ongoing inner anger enough to prepare for sending and receiving old time Morse code. He experimentally blipped his flashlight's on/off button a few times in the drone's nominal direction and then watched as it quickly veered towards him with a tighter radius. Soon the blinking light atop its tailplane began a coherent yet baffling message.

"L..i..f..e.. I..s.. P..r..e..c..i..o..u..s," Mutsu's flat and somewhat tinny sounding voice came through Natalie's control console's speakers. His black Karasu suit image in the console's viewer rotated slowly as he continued to read the circling drone airplane's blinking code out loud. "L..o..v..e.. E..s..s..e..n..t..i..a..l.."

"What is THAT?" Mutsu finally asked angrily after a long pause while watching the drone make another circuit around him and repeating its transmission. "Some kind of sneaky Yankee code? From a military drone? Why didn't they ask for a truce to negotiate, or at least identify who they are? Why did they first keep circling the base and blinking.. S..O..S..? Are they playing us for fools and spying on us? They've got to be spying! But how in the hell am I supposed to reply to that?"

"It's in plain English. Doubt if its code," Kouji replied in mild distraction as his fingers rapidly typed console commands to display the ship's technical files on other monitors. "Maybe it's a call sign, or some kind of identifier?"

"Could just be an attempt to establish peaceful dialogue," Matsu added while shrugging and shaking her head. Her hands were also busy downloading all the ship's technical data Kouji was displaying into a LOT of scrounged portable storage drives. "Sorta like a diplomat presenting their bona fides before negotiations begin? Or maybe one worried naval commander trying to find a way to save his ship and crew? Maybe they're sinking or something and just need help from whoever is closest? I mean, the drone IS unarmed, and it kept sending s..o..s until we answered, so its communication attempt has to be for peaceful reasons, right?"

"Yes!" Karasuba snapped impatiently. "Has to be. That message though. Why would...? I know! Whoever is manning that drone's controls felt Sweetums' last thoughts just before he passed out in the gym! Just like we all did. How much he loved us and all life. These guys are just putting what Cash felt into slightly different words and trying to say they agree with our Prime Leader's deepest sentiments. So this is definitely an olive branch chat of some kind."

"Well, fine, so what do I blink back at them, dammit?" Mutsu demanded angrily while preparing to blip the on/off button of his cheap, four D cell battery flashlight that had been hastily sought and found in the base P X's outdated supplies. "And you can still bet these bastards are viewing AND recording every damn thing they can see from infrared, ultraviolet, and visual cameras! Letting this thing get this close was a bad idea. And DUMB! Sis! You're giving real time battle area intel to the enemy!"

"My call, and DON'T start on ME again, Muts!" Karasuba snorted derisively. "Or I'll come out there and kick your ass again! Or at least have Windy tweak your tama hard enough to make you piss yourself for a week! Enemies don't send miniature drones blinking S..O..S.., even sneaky Yankees or spies. Besides, all they can see is MBI's base, and you, the Black Robot Terrorist of Tokyo. Both of which everybody and their brother have already seen and recorded before. Just send YES back at them, then repeat their life and love words, and see what happens. Use your brains, ya big moron!"

"All right, all RIGHT!" Mutsu answered grumpily while clearly not being very happy about being demoted to second in command under his snarky mouthed twin sister. And the fact that she was immune to his psi trance attack as well as able to physically kick the shit out of him any time she wanted to thanks to her super speed. The first chance he got, he was SO out of Archer's chickenshit Circle group!

"A..r..e.. Y..o..u.. P..r..o..t..e..c..t..i..n..g.. E..a..r..t..h.. L..i..f..e.. stop," Kouji read quickly before Mutsu could say anything. "Why do they want us to stop?"

"Ehhh,"Matsu waved her right hand dismissively. "That's just Morse code for a sentence break or topic end."

"HEY! I'm doing this! Just shut up in there, and let me concentrate!" Mutsu irritably griped. "And punching this flashlight's button is hard to do in a battle suit!"

"Muts! Return... YES...PROTECTORS..." Karasuba ordered while totally ignoring her twin brother's complaining.

Still dividing his attention between data retrieval and watching the circling drone on the video screen, Kouji verbally translated the drone's blinking response to Mutsu's blinking while also ignoring the big male Sekirei's ire.

"N..u..c..l..e..a..r.. L..a..u..n..c..h.. O..r..d..e..r.. I..m..m..i..n..e..n..t.. stop.. A..t..t..a..c..k.. M..a..k..e..s.. N..o.. S..e..n..s..e.. stop.. C..a..n.. D..e..l..a..y.. L..a..u..n..c..h.. T..h..r..e..e.. H..o..u..r..s.. stop.. I..f.. M..i..s..s..l..e..s.. E..x..p..l..o..d..e.. M..a..n..y.. D..i..e.. stop.. I..f.. M..i..s..s..l..e..s.. F..a..i..l.. A..l..l.. F..l..e..e..t..s.. W..i..l..l.. L..a..u..n..c..h.. A..l..l.. O..U..T.. B..a..r..r..a..g..e.. A..n..d.. T..r..o..o..p.. A..s..s..a..u..l..t.. stop.. M..a..n..y.. D..i..e.. stop.. C..a..n.. Y..o..u.. S..t..o..p.. T..h..i..s.. M..a..d..n..e..s..s.. stop.. S..a..v..e.. L..i..v..e..s.. A..n..d.. Y..o..u..r..s..e..l..f.. stop."

"Okay, good enough, now we've got a firm time for our defensive preparations," Karasuba announced somewhat cheerfully to make Kouji and Matsu simultaneously glance at her as if she had lost her mind. "MUTS! Send..YES.. EARTH UNDER ALIEN ATTACK... ENEMY OF US ALL... THEN LEAVING AFTER DEFENSE.. WILL SIGNAL WHEN GONE.. ISLAND YOURS THEN.. LIFE IS PRECIOUS... LOVE ESSENTIAL. Then get your sorry ass back in here. We've got to get organized."

"No SHIT!" Mutsu grumbled in disgust, but he dutifully sent Karasuba's message rather than risk another sharp tama pain lesson from Kazehana when she returned from Tokyo. He stood watching the drone that seemed to be mulling things over before signaling they understood his reply. As he watched, Mutsu reviewed his current situation in Kazehana's battle group also.

At the group's breakfast in the base cafeteria, a normally laid back Kazehana had been in a real bitchy morning mood for some reason. She had nailed him with a sharp tweak after he had loudly griped about Archer and his Sekirei's careless attitude towards their lousy situation on the island AND their stupid resource and time wasting stasis dream party. Kazehana had simply clenched a fist in his direction, Mutsu had instantly doubled over in tama pain, and she had finished by sternly advising him to "learn his place or else, and never belittle her Ashikabi, her, her decisions, or her Sisters in public again."

On the other hand, the Sekirei battle group's indecisive and somewhat fluid chain of command had now been firmly established since it was obvious that Archer had now placed a "determined to lead better" Kazehana in authoritative and disciplinary control of her eight Sekirei Circles. An indignant and gasping for breath Mutsu had quickly found out Kazehana was going to be just as determined to back her other Prime Circle Sisters' authority too, especially Karasuba's.

When Karasuba had been announced as commanding the island's immediate defense, Mutsu hadn't even gotten his breath back to squawk about that either, but he had certainly wanted to. After all, HE was supposed to be Archer's second in command for battle, not Karasuba, but Kazehana had simply clenched a warning fist in his direction and THAT discussion was over immediately. Mutsu was not a total fool to tempt a bitchy female with tama twisting power over him twice, at least, not until he had changed his underwear. Having that done to him on a regular basis was NOT something he was going to endure much longer either, he vowed to himself while monitoring the drone's still circling progress.

Once Karasuba's message had been acknowledged, the drone turned off its blinking taillight, veered northeast, and headed straight out to sea apparently as if its human military senders had now been mollified and/or relieved to some extant. Mutsu watched the drone until it disappeared over the northern peaks and then turned to stride back to Natalie's hull, but he was still irritably complaining to Karasuba as he walked.

"How in the hell are we gonna stop nuclear missiles from exploding all over or upon this island? We've got one, count it, ONE pulse cannon outside Mother's hull. It has no power, and Mother's lasers and tractor beams are offline too. Even if we could fire that pulse cannon, we've got no way to aim it! I've war gamed every scenario available on Mother's computers, and we eventually get creamed in every one! And there's no way we can stop any combined fleet assault landings either, because we can't effectively cover the island's blind coasts behind the northern peaks! Same reasons, plus, we're way outgunned and take heavy casualties since we can't kill the humans! And we need RIKO! But YOU guys and Archer have even screwed THAT up! Again!"

"Ye of little faith," Karasuba sighed dramatically while shaking her head in disgust. "Did you forget that only five of us held this damn island off limits for how long? Without Riko?"

"Sure! By killing the invaders in mass droves!" Mutsu spat back bitterly. "As well as Miya sinking all their damn ships! Now we can't even use Mother's weapons let alone our own best meshing powers as mass weaponry! We NEED three powered up pulse cannons to control the coastlines and our horizon! Even then it's less than fifty fifty! I've ran every freaking scenario that..."

"Yeah, yeah, we know, Mutsy. You're such a freaking genius!" Karasuba rudely cut him off. "But really a moron! Your damn scenarios were only as good as the parameters you used. The problem is you got the creativity of retarded ox! We don't need pulse cannons to control the coasts or stop a combine fleet landing force!"

"Oh yeah? Then what we gonna use? Slingshots filled with marshmallows?"

"Look, all we need to do now is buy a little more time until Mum's mind gets rescued and her hull's interior gets slagged. Then we can just leave, and let the humans go nuts here. We can put up another heat dome over the island, right? That takes care of any airborne invasions and aircraft threats." Karasuba paused to throw a very sour look at a still glowing, silent, and contented Akitsu seated on the floor and patiently watching events from a control room corner before continuing.

"So, did your scenarios use the fact that Tsukuimi could gather a LOT of water up, and that Akitsu and I could shape and freeze it into a giant, punch bowl ice ring and impassable barrier around the island? Make it with a sharp wall drop inward and steeply slope outward to be too slick to climb while it sits down upon the offshore tidal shelf to keep out submarines? And way too thick for shaped explosives and even explosive shells to easily breach? We're inside. The fleets are outside and can't get in while we screw around here until we're ready to leave. Thick ice walls can be damned effective for keeping people out of a space. I know. Was any of that used in your brilliant war gaming?"

"Well, no," Mutsu stopped walking to frown in annoyance. Damn! He hated to concede anything to his sister! Let alone the fact that she HAD come up with a damn smart idea! "I didn't use THOSE parameters. But that still doesn't stop heavy shit dropping out of the sky on us!"

"Geez, for a self touted genius you're such an idiot!" Karasuba rolled her eyes at the control room's ceiling in disbelief. "Meshed and using her Norito, Matsu can screw up any incoming missile and smart bombs' detonating systems as well as their guidance computers. The ones with conventional warheads can simply be dumped offshore, and she can steer the nuclear armed shit out and down into the Mariana's Trench. Dumb bombs can be picked off and deflected by Miya. She has enough telekinetic power for that even if we can't get Riko operational.

"Also, Seo's group can use the Lightning Twins to power up your precious pulse cannon and Kochou can aim it to help pick off anything we miss incoming. Meanwhile Toyotama's assigned Sekirei can invisibly man the island perimeter in their cloaked Karasu suits to capture any infiltrators while you get invisibly flown around to trance all the invading fleets' command officers AND steal all their damn jinkis while you're at it. If we get Riko sane and working, she'll hustle your butt around while keeping a shield over us. You could also take Hibiki and Hikari along to fry their ships' command and control computers with a big EMP burst from the inside too. All of which without killing anybody, AND it buys us the time we need. BUT, Sweetum's has given the go ahead to kill IF we have to. Just try to limit casualties if possible. Did you program any of that into your war gaming, dummy?"

"Uhhh, no," Mutsu winced while shaking his head in further disgust. Why HADN'T he thought of any of that? After all, he was just as smart as Karasuba AND better educated, especially in the arts of war. And he hadn't known Archer had backed off his total pacifism attitude either, but, since that painful breakfast this morning, Karasuba HAD come up with a better and more creative temporary defense plan almost off the cuff. He, on the other hand, had sat and stewed and futilely analyzed for hours while she had slept and dream partied the night away. It wasn't fair, dammit! And why was she in such a more than usually bitchy mood now too? He was the one that had lost sleep! Females! He HAD to get out from under their thumb somehow!

"Okay, okay," Mutsu finally conceded with a sigh. After all, Kazehana had made it quite painfully clear that Karasuba was the Prime Circle's battle commander, and as such, his too when it came to group strategy and tactics. From now on Archer would simply set his Prime Circle's overall objectives. Kazehana would then develop her strategy to meet them all and allocate her eight Sekirei Circles' for implementation. Her Prime Circle Sisters would then be in tactical charge of the other Circle's separate assignments. Ipso facto, Karasuba was now Mutsu's boss whether he liked it or not, for the time being. Now how could he break free?

Mutsu mentally reviewed what Archer had almost humbly set out as his overall objectives at breakfast. Defend Kamakura Island with as little loss of life as possible. Monitor and research alien enemy for as long as possible in order to prepare for and fend off the extraterrestrial invasion. Research the feasibility of trying to save Natalie and her backup's gestalts. Protect, care for, and utilize the un-circled Sekirei and Dryas Petals more effectively in his group objectives. Build Kusano's hot bath shrine for her Mommy. Evacuate the Island after Natalie's cracked anti-matter engines were rendered harmless. Hide in Tokyo until the Order of Dryas Octopetala got their main Circles there and could hopefully activate the Sekirei lunar defensive perimeter. Confront alien invaders as best they could. Whether victorious or defeated, afterward hide and survive in the Earth's human population as quietly as possible until the Fourth Sekirei fleet arrived from Kouten. None of that was as hawkish and aggressive as Mutsu would like, but it wasn't all that bad as general guidelines either.

Kazehana had then assigned Natalie to keep researching the approaching alien enemy while helping with the lab raid. Karasuba would be in overall charge of Island defense. Seo's Circle along with herself, Himeko, and Miya would raid MBI's labs in Tokyo and return with Yume and Yomi's bodies in stasis. Toyotama was assigned Island perimeter security using Sanada's Circle and all un-circled Sekirei. Minato and Kouji's circles would begin stripping what technology and equipment could be handily salvaged out of Natalie's hull. Mikogami's Circle would prepare to evacuate the base while leaving nothing behind that could personally identify any Sekirei and Ashikabi, especially fingerprints and DNA. Shiina and Mutsu's Circles would rest until over their morning sickness. Cash and Uzume would try to save Riko after he called his Mother. Akitsu the crummy SNEAK and CHEATER could just go sit in some damn corner and gloat until needed.

So, Mutsu thought resentfully as he walked, Akitsu had somehow earlier pissed the rest of her Sisters off, but why did he have to suffer for it? Matter of fact, why did...? Wait. Archer had said he had wanted to UTILIZE the uncircled Sekirei AND the Dryas Petals more effectively. What if Archer could form a whole, new, eight circle battle group of Dryas Petals with Mutsu as their Prime Center? They still had five uncircled and male capable Sekirei as well as male Amebane winged to a human female on Kamakura Island. So six potential Petal Circles could be joined with Shiina and Mutsu's for a new eight circle battle group of Petals with Mutsu in charge. Of course, Archer and Kazehana would need two replacement Sekirei circles to be formed and joined to them, but why not?

Only 28 Sekirei had actually been re-winged, including him. So, out of the original 108 Sekirei, 50 were currently in Archer's circles, perhaps 10 were lifeless in MBI's lab stasis tanks. At last count there were 38 uncircled Sekirei females on the island along with their solo Ashikabi. Surely two of those solo guys and 14 uncircled females would be ambitious enough to get psychic aid for forming two new circles. That would very nicely get Mutsu's "sorry ass" out from under Kazehana's AND Karasuba's immediate thumb. That would also give Archer more firepower to face the alien invasion if and when they get free of Kamakura Island. Matter of fact, after those moves and with the 24 remaining uncircled Sekirei females and a judicious mixing of unwinged Dryas Petals willing to join new circles, maybe even a THIRD battle group could be formed, weaker to be sure, but still effective for peripheral operations.

What if there were enough Dryas Petal circles around the world to form a complete 64 Sekirei/Petal Circle battalion that would be capable of meshing/enhancing their offensive and defensive firepower? Would they alone be powerful enough to defeat an enemy alien invasion if the Sekirei Lunar defense perimeter could not be activated? Of course, Archer and his mutual Prime screw ups would still be in charge of all of it, but a full battalion, even mixed, would at least have some really bad assed psychic power to use against the invading aliens. IF they survived/escaped the humans invading Kamakura island, Mutsu grimaced, but this avenue of thinking did provide a way to get him away from Archer and his Prime Circle's daily insanity and STILL conform to Archer's goals for utilizing extra Sekirei and Petals. Mutsu nodded to himself. He liked THAT part. A lot. All he had to do was suggest his great ideas carefully to a too touchy Kazehana. Now how could he do that?

"Muts! Dammit!" Karasuba's aggravated voice broke into his wishful thinking. "Quit daydreaming and get your ass back here! Kazehana has just called! They're returning with Yume and Yomi's stasis tanks! But they had to fight their way out, and Seo's Circle took damage! Get in here and get ready to transfer Mum and her backup while we round up all our healers to help Himeko with Seo's gals!"

His mind now stormily whirling with the ramifications of Seo's misfortunes and the new possibilities that might open to approach Kazehana with his ideas because of them, Mutsu tossed his cheap flashlight aside and bolted into a run back towards Natalie's hull.

***scene break***

Despite the far off emotional storm clouds swirling all around the huge metropolis in Riko's comatose mind, Uzume and Madoka landed lightly together atop the surprisingly sun warmed and dry Tokyo Dome. They moved hand in hand toward a distracted and seated Riko who was intently watching the tall pitcher on the field far below.

"Okay," Uzume murmured to her psychic helper. "Let me talk first and be angry at her like she would expect. Then you be sympathetic and encouraging. Use your coercion stuff too, but don't let her feel it. She's an independent, short tempered little shit, and no pushover when she gets pissed."

"Got it," Madoka nodded slightly while looking askance at Uzume's white battle veils wave around her. The Veiled Sekirei's very short skirt and brief strap top emphasized rather than covered her long muscular thighs, muscle defined stomach and arms, and large, high set, full breasts. If there ever was a body made for hard fighting and hot passionate sex, and full sensuous lips for kissing, Uzume possessed them. Madoka's deceased bond mate had been a little shorter, slimmer maybe, smaller breasted too, but just as desirable and kissable. Another warm thrill went through Madoka as she pictured Uzume making love to her, and then making love to her as a new bond mate. Only that would mean replacing her Ashikabi's light pink crest with a dark red one from Uzume's gaijin goof, but he WAS a very strong empath. No, no, she could never be disloyal to her Ashikabi! But it was, so, so, tempting, and then she wouldn't always feel so all ALONE!

"Reek, what are you DOING?" Uzume demanded in a peeved tone. "You're running away and hiding from ME? Dammit! I'm your bond mate! And we've been best pals since we were little kids!"

"I, I HAVE to die, Zoomer!" Riko twisted to look up at Uzume without getting up, and missing Madoka standing behind and to one side. "Mother needs my body! And then Cash Joseph can have her to mesh Onee-chan's circle! And you, you can get a better bond mate!"

"Bullshit!" Uzume almost barked in reply. "We've got Yume's body for Natalie! I don't need or want another bond mate! And Joe wants YOU for his circle! Stop being a freaking damn drama queen! Get up off your ass and come with me! We'll get everything fixed between you and him right now!"

"He doesn't WANT me!" Riko's face clouded up into very wounded bitterness. "Over and over Cash Joseph has pushed me away! He just doesn't WANT me!"

"Not true! Not this last time anyway! We had it all set up to help you! He was willing! And you went into a fear funk? When did you become such a damn weak weenie?"

"Cash, Cash Joseph scares me! And I know he doesn't really want me!"

"Oh PISS! How in the HELL do you think we got into to your mind and down here to talk to you, you silly shit! HE did it! He sent us to get you for him!"

"We? Us?" Riko twisted further, finally spotted Madoka, and gave her an angry glare of recognition before turning accusingly back to Uzume. "She's one of Toys' little toadies from school! In that whole gang of bullies! How could you?"

"Because I needed her kind of power and help to even get down here, and when she gets back, Himeko's gonna be busy with Natalie! Joe couldn't risk being trapped in here with you and driving all his other Sekirei nuts! And we're all out of time! The word is we're going to be attacked very soon, and we'll all have to fight or be destroyed! Joe, Natalie, and maybe even the whole Earth too! You've got to come awake, fight with me, and then let Joe show you he really wants you! Not just for fighting or your kinetic powers, but just you, as his Sekirei! And my bond mate! But if you don't come awake, he'll be FORCED to cut you loose for good! And I'm NOT going to leave him, Reeker! I'm not going to let him down! Or refuse to fight for him! Or my Sisters! Never! Do you hear me? Joe is everything to me! Just like he can be everything to you! Like we always dreamed! You've GOT to help me protect him and our Circle! Wake up!"

"You're better off without me! All of you! And, and Mother HATES me!"

"Well dammit! You've been making some damn bad moves, and the last one almost killed Joe AND Natalie! What did you expect? But Joe forgives you! So will Natalie if she survives the transfer to Yume! And knock off that pity me bullshit! Damn you, Reeker! You better wake up, and face Joe! And smell the coffee! You want to just uselessly throw away your Ashikabi, your circle, and ME? Then there's plenty of uncircled Sekirei on this island who would be ecstatic to have Joe re-wing them! And do just fine in it for meshing all our circles too! But Joe sent us in here for YOU! He wants you! I want you! So what's the big damn problem?"

With that last tirade, Uzume turned to give Madoka a slightly raised right eyebrow as a small signal to jump in on the positive coercion side as they had planned. On her end, Madoka was continuing to be very impressed and even more attracted to Uzume's strength, fighting spirit, beauty, and tom boy sexiness. Madoka turned to smile down at Riko with all the encouragement she could muster. The petite blonde healer was focusing to lightly cast some positive vibes, but didn't realize Riko was also reading some other outlying strands of Madoka's mixed emotions. Those were threads of a little old childhood and now very current jealousy of Riko as well as slight anger at Riko still being such a prima donna and stuck up snob like she had always been. And being unforgivably disloyal to her bond mate Uzume.

"Riko, from the little time I have spent with Cash Archer, I could clearly sense he really, really wants YOU to forgive HIM, and let him have an eventual chance to deeply love you the way you desire. And I'm sure he desires you physically too, very much."

"So YOU say! You, you, you THIEF!" Riko bounced to her feet and put angry fists on her hips while glaring accusingly at Madoka. "YOU aren't fooling ME with that phony smile, you little blonde bitch! You're only here just to steal Uzume and have her as a bond mate and lover by getting re-winged by Cash Joseph! You, you THIEF!"

"THIEF? BITCH? Me? You're the one screwing everybody over! Besides, how can I be a thief for maybe thinking a little of how nice it could be to have a place in the Prime Circle with a dark crest, a most powerful and loving Ashikabi, and a beautiful, caring, and protective bond mate? All that YOU have just carelessly thrown away?" Madoka's face clouded in severely wounded ire as she moved closer to Uzume and took a light hold of an arm at the elbow.

"There's over forty uncircled and very lightly bonded Sekirei on this island, and I'm not the only one who would think the same way! None of us are thieves either! You're just the same closed off, self centered, stuck up snob, and disloyal FOOL you've always been! Throwing all that matters away! And Uzume and Cash DO deserve a lot better! So there! And just DIE! BITCH!"

Before Riko could make an angrier retort and Uzume could complete a totally surprised double take at the irate Madoka going WAY off plan and a little out of control, the distant dark storm clouds swirling around the city suddenly started moving like a closing iris over the Tokyo Dome. Uzume and Madoka clinging to her arm were both suddenly yanked skyward up through the eye of the storm towards a dimming yellow sun. Riko gasped in total jealous dismay and ire at her bond mate being so obviously vamped on by that smirking blond hussy using her big tits to rub Uzume's arm! Without conscious thought, Riko also launched herself upwards to escape the emotional typhoon of her comatose mind.

***scene break***

The emotions of the U.S.S. Mandrake's Chief of the Boat Jankowitz were in a highly unusual circular state between total disbelief to almost panicked fear to sickening repulsion to instinctive snarling rage to mind numbed shock and back again. His eyes kept shifting back and forth between the long and heavy open end wrench in his hand to the heap of empty clothing on the submarine's mess room deck. Maybe he had been hitting the torpedo juice a little too hard lately? There had been a human/not human body standing in those clothes thirty seconds ago.

Incredibly, one of Crazy Boy Minaka's geek/nerd scientific team had somehow evaded/overwhelmed his security guard, suddenly burst into the crew's mess with an upraised steak knife, tried to lunge past the Chief, and stab the now dull and vacant eyed Minaka. The Chief had instinctively bopped the attacker with the flat side of his "persuasion" wrench, but the guy/thing's skull unbelievably hadn't been made of expected hard bone and only rendered temporarily unconscious as the Chief had intended. The nerd attacker's head had simply squished inward with an inhuman sickening, squelching sound. The guy/thing had froze, fell to the mess room deck, and his seemingly normal human form had turned into some kind of repulsive and instantly loathed, gold colored, and humanoid looking lizard thingy. Seconds later it had glowed orange and disappeared into a brighter flash of light leaving the Chief to shakily stare in stupefied, mixed emotion amazement at the now empty clothes.

He finally glanced at Minaka who was now staring into some far distance and faintly mumbling in a sing song tone what sounded like the theme lyrics from "Pinky and the Brain", a long archived cartoon show that had been a childhood TV favorite of Jankowitz.

"To prove their mousy worth, they'll take over the Earth. They're dinky … NARF!"

The Chief shook himself from staring at the empty clothing and glared fiercely at the now totally crazed and rambling egghead from MBI.

"You traitorous, crazy son of a BITCH!" Jankowitz bellowed while reaching for the intercom button. "Captain! Captain to the crew's mess! Security breach! This is Chief Jankowitz to the boat! Lock down all those MBI bastards now! Don't let them anywhere near the con! Those rotten fuckers have sold out the entire damn planet!"

Minutes later, the total chaos in the submarine caused by his open intercom transmission had died down to a dull roar. A still shaken Chief Jankowitz was seated beside the serenely singing Minaka and across from a frowning and obviously very unhappy, stressed out, Captain Nelson.

"You take your left hand out and then you shake it all about," Minaka gleefully performed the motion as he sang. "You do the hokey pokey and turn yourself around... NARF!… zort!… Troz!… NARF!"

"The fucker's went way nuts, Cap'n," Jankowitz shrugged while wincing apologetically.

"I kinda guessed that, Chief," Nelson returned rather dryly and then fixed his crewman with an arched right eyebrow combined with a stony stare from two rather bleak looking eyes. "Now let's find out why the Chief of MY boat has declared a security breach emergency and lock down when to all reports from every frigging section not a damn thing has happened!"

The Chief's features registered slight puzzlement at the fact that he was now the one going to be interrogated instead of being the interrogator. Nevertheless, he began answering his Captain's crisp, clipped, and concise questions in straightforward brevity and watched Nelson take brief notes, arranging them in a rough time line of germane events as he did so. In the end, maybe less than ten minutes, Nelson leaned back and quietly perused what the Chief had gleaned, spanked, beaten, and twisted from Minaka as well as the Chief's account of the nerd alien lizard guy's death and surreal disappearance. In stark contrast to the boat's recent chaos, the Captain's bullet point summation notes were way more organized. According to madman Minaka:

The Earth was at the center of an ages long colonization struggle between two competing Alien alliances, Sekirei of the Kouten Empire allied with immortal energy beings called Arcturians versus The Rigelian Conglomerate and their cloned/sterile subordinates, the skinny little gray skinned, bug eyed Zeta Reticuli first observed at the Roswell crash site

Bird evolved Sekirei operating in interlocking groups of eight females around one male had been historically dominant while interbreeding with native human/simian population

Sekirei were very psychic talented as well as having advanced technology. Their view of Earth and its native fauna was one of proprietary care, mutual integration to better both species, and loving nurture

Salamander evolved Rigelians were not as psychic but were shape shifters. They relied on heavy number propagation of warriors to offset their foes technology advantages, and wanted water covered Earth for a warrior breeding nursery. They were intent on greatly reducing all hominid life on Earth to eliminate competition for resources needed for maturation of amphibious Rigelian offspring

Sekirei/human hybrids in antiquity had formed a caretaker society called the Order of Dryas Octopetala to protect precious life on Earth and were using an ages old inbreeding program to strengthen their offspring's psychic talents

Hiroto Minaka was a scientific genius product of that inbreeding program. However he had been judged by a Dryas Council chaired by his mother as too insane and unstable to be the center of an eight female circle of Petals, especially one of the Order's ruling class, thus spawning his intense hatred of his mother and her Council and an even more intense desire for revenge

After he was banished from the Order, Minaka somehow discovers a sea-quake has brought an ancient, crashed, Sekirei colonization ship to the surface on Kamakura Island. His psychic ability resonates/bonds with the ships' psychic controlling but very crippled gestalt. It opens for him. Inside in stasis are 1 live adult female and 107 viable ova/embryos of ancient pure blood Sekirei meant for the original human interbreeding program of long past ages

While exploiting the technology of the ship, Minaka intended to grow rich while growing/studying the pure blood Sekirei, the ship, and its crystal control rods called jinkis. His aim had been to use his control over the ship, its tech, and maturing cargo to force/blackmail the Dryas Order into making him a center of a ruling circle and gain his revenge over the Council and his loathed mother

However, early in the incubation process, the alarmed adult Sekirei female named Miya suddenly locked the ship and sent its crippled gestalt back into healing stasis. The ship resisted being alone again by trying to hang onto Minaka's psychic mind. It gave Minaka a very severe migraine that lasted for days. Later Minaka discovered the upper bandwidths of his mental talents had been burnt out by the ship's desperation for shared mental contact, leaving him unable to bond with any psychic female, Sekirei or hybrid Petal. Yet Minaka's still sensitive lower bandwidths are yet vulnerable to the ship's control rods more lethal effects. Hence the protective helmets that had been brought aboard the Mandrake with the eight harmonized rod jinki device attached to the Mandrakes nuclear plant

One of the growing female Sekirei, Number 03, instinctively tried to bond with the lead male in her life, but Minaka couldn't reciprocate nor bond with her or any of the others. Now knowing something was very wrong, Minaka continually tries to discover some way to heal his mind and be able to re-bond with the ship when it awakens, but fails

At approximately the same time the Sekirei ship was discovered, a small cadre of advance operative Rigelians made a secret Earth landing to weaken Dryas Octopetala opposition to a coming massive invasion attempt to wrest Earth from the Kouten Empire's control. Their first objective was to make sure the Sekirei Lunar Defense Ring would not be activated by damaging the Dryas Order's main Prime Circle

Succeeding by assassinating the hybrid Prime Center and crippling his Circle, the Rigelian operatives then learn of Kamakura Island and its the Sekirei ship, and move to secretly monitor/maneuver Minaka's research in hopes of eventually stealing the Sekirei's advanced technology secrets as well as somehow terminate the ship's Sekirei enemy young

Months pass until psychically crippled Minaka realizes maybe his fixated goals of Dryas Council revenge, destruction, and becoming Drays Octopetala world ruler are beyond him and decides to hedge his efforts

Minaka accepts the main Rigelian operative's offer to ally himself with the alien Rigelian Conglomerate that is coming to conquer the Earth. They will let him be the new "Zeus" god ruling over what pitifully few human stock will survive their invasion

In exchange, Minaka will share his ongoing research into Sekirei technology and is ordered to begin brainwashing the powerful and growing young Sekirei into eventually killing each other to forestall them from forming their natural battle circles.

Minaka belatedly discovers that the ship's eight resonating crystal control rods are not only "keys" to open the ship, and interstellar headgear to focus Sekirei ship to ship communication in hyperspace and perhaps even galaxy to galaxy, but they can also be used by a Sekirei leader to psychic mercy kill his crew when facing certain long term doom after suffering irreparable damage during the many hazards of interstellar travel. Those tuned psychic rods can also kill Sekirei/simian hybrids, not just Sekirei

However those tuned rods or jinkis need a lot of power to be ranged effective. The main Rigelian operative and his subordinates had then used all their persuasive psychic powers and political influence to bring several sets of jinkis powered by nuclear reactors in human military fleets to wipe out the pure blooded Sekirei that had somehow eluded Minaka's brainwashing scheme and were now gathered upon Kamakura Island. Eventually all Sekirei/simian hybrids would be terminated on Earth to make the Rigelian invasion an easy forgone conclusion, particularly if they could capture the wounded Sekirei ship, get it into orbit, and use its alien engines to power those jinkis during orbital sweeps covering the whole planet, killing at least 40% of human population

Each set of jinkis now approaching Kamakura Island had at least one of the Rigelian shape shifting operatives shepherding their destructive use as well as the launching of every weapon/force available on all the attacking fleets in an effort to make sure all the pure blood Sekirei died before the Rigelian invasion began. One operative had been the geek/nerd alien lizard the Chief had beaned. How the alien's body had almost instantly disappeared upon death was unknown by Minaka but he suspected molecular psychic implosion. The body's chemicals would be collapsed down into inert helium gas which could be tested by measuring any elevated helium levels in the boat, particularly the crew's mess.

There was one MBI scientific team member now missing and an empty set of civilian clothing on the crew's mess deck. The team's security guards had seen or experienced nothing out of the ordinary prior to the Chief's howl into the boat's com system. As weird and nuts as it might sound, a shape shifting alien COULD at least be a possibility to explain the missing MBI nerd.

Nelson set his list aside while rubbing his jaw in speculation.

"Are you thinking what I'm thinking?" Minaka stopped singing to himself to give Jankowitz an almost weeping look of childish bewilderment and deep concern. "We're going to need them, but where are we going to find rubber lederhosen for Mama's dancing chickens on a submarine?"

Chief Jankowitz turned to give his captain another small apologetic shrug. Suddenly, basing his entire career's credibility on the ravings of a truly whacked out and physically tortured head case wasn't looking all that sound from the expression on his captain's face.

"The screwy fucker IS nuts, I know?" Jankowitz presented two open palms to Nelson in a pleading gesture of understanding, or at least, mercy. "But it all fits what we know, Cap'n, and explains that dead and disappeared alien lizard thing's clothes down there, even if it all did come from a madman?"

Madman indeed, Nelson reflected as he stared at Minaka. Or was he? Man, this all sounded like some very ham handed premises for a very bad comic book plot, except the energy weapons previously fired from Kamakura Island as well as that accompanying giant heat dome had been real. So were all the destroyed orbital satellites and downed observation planes as well as his whole boat getting put to sleep and turned away. He mulled over the sight of Minaka still off in his own clearly insane little La La Land. Nelson shook his head in disgust before picking up another piece of paper that he had stuck into the back of his notebook. The Morse code readout from the Mandrake's drone operator detailing the black robot looking thing's response to Nelson's questions were on the table in front of the Chief. Nelson slowly shook his head and wondered at its brevity also.

"Protectors. Leaving soon. Will signal when gone. Island yours then. Life is precious. Love Essential."

Well, that last was a confirming match to what he had felt, surely? And it seemed that the Black Robot guy was pretty damn confident in his ability to fend off or just defeat the considerable combined mass destruction and firepower headed his way. But where were the live, pure blood Sekirei? The drone hadn't seen any other sign of life on the island in any spectrum. Hadn't seen anything resembling an alien space ship either, let alone any advanced weaponry. Just a wide plain in the south where the old MBI base was still intact and nothing but a lot of big damn volcanic rock formations and mountains to the north.

All Nelson really had other than video of a light blinking robot responding to his drone's question, were a scenario of his ship somehow being put to sleep and sent back out to sea, a bad headache from some painful dream message, a set of empty human lab clothes on the mess room deck, the testimony of Chief Jankowitz about beaning a disappeared dead alien lizard guy only the Chief had seen, and a troubling list of what the Chief had coerced out of the now broken Minaka. Mighty thin evidence in front of a naval review board during a hearing for dereliction of duty in not firing his missiles when ordered. And the Mandrake's reasonable time to be running submerged deep was almost up.

Well, hell, they would have to at least go up and take a look, and hope the Black Robot guy really did have the entire situation under control. Perhaps firing the Mandrake's nuclear and cruise missiles was the move to make after all. The Black Robot could either neutralize them or send them into the other approaching fleets to kill the other alien lizard guys. Sort of a morbid win-win that would keep a certain submarine captain from eventually being court marshaled, if they survived. On the other hand, that still had to be weighed against causing a totally mad nuclear holocaust and resulting life killing winter. Either way he would have to make that decision on the surface of the ocean, not below it, and he wanted to get a closer look at Kamakura Island from what the Mandrake's long ranged scanning equipment could give him anyway.

Nelson reached up to flip the intercom button.

"Exec, this is the Captain. Tom, take her up slow. Surface." Nelson gave Chief Jankowitz a squinted look of puzzlement while slowly shaking his notes on Minaka's interrogation. "You're sure this crap is all Screwy Louie here had to say?"

"Well, yeah?" Jankowitz slowly scratched the back of his head with his right hand. "I mean, it is pretty wild stuff, but, Cap'n, he was really singing like an eager little bird every time I asked him something. I'm pretty sure the red assed bastard didn't want to get spanked any more too. There was something about his Sekirei Plan that I couldn't quite follow. How they had to fight, fight, fight to ascend up into the new age of the gods when Kouten arrives. I figure it must have been something in the brainwashing techniques he had been using to make the pure blood Sekirei kill each other without turning on him in rebellion.

"Then he kept ordering Kazehana, Karasuba, Mutsu, Miya, and Matsu to destroy them, destroy them all. Not sure what that was all about either, or who they were supposed to destroy. Earlier he had called all five of those names his worst enemies. Then he started cackling about some damn lucky gaijin fool named Archer and his stupid forkball. That didn't fit with anything he had said earlier either. And Captain, I went through the same questions several times and got the same answers every time. Some minor points here and there I might have missed, maybe, but yeah, that's about all he had to say. I don't think he was holding anything back. And then that creepy fucking lizard guy tried to kill him. So I'm thinking that was to stop him from ever getting off my boat and telling any big wigs of the world about a coming alien invasion."

"So you believe there's peaceful, protecting, human loving, bird aliens we can't see on that Kamakura Island? And human hating, alien, Rigelian lizard guys are really invading Earth soon?"

"Yessir, Cap'n. And this crazy piece of shit here sold the whole Earth out to 'em thinking they were going to make him a new god," Jankowitz nodded with an expression that was almost resigned to the fact that he was forever going to be judged as being just as nuts as the beaten Minaka now singing "Domo arrigato, Mister Roboto, domo... domo," in dull repetition.

"Tie him up and lock him down with the rest of his MBI turds, Chief," Nelson finally sighed as he stood up. "Make sure those damn crystal rods and connecting electronic shit of theirs are locked away where they can't get at them. I'll be in my cabin. Tell Sparks to relay all communication to me as soon as we surface. We'll be heading to Kamakura at flank speed when we do."

"Aye, aye, Cap'n," Jankowitz sent his commander a quick salute. "Uhhh, sir? Should I at least thump all those MBI guys' gourds hard enough to see if they're human or nor?"

"Oh HELL yes!" Nelson cast loudly back over his shoulder as he was walking away. "And don't worry Chief. Our little chat here was completely off the record, and it will stay that way."

Nodding in pleased agreement and satisfaction, the big chief then snagged the back of Minaka's neck in his huge left paw.

"Still got my back! Damn straight! Best mother fucking Captain ever. C'mon Brain. You're gonna get some more time to plan on taking over the world tomorrow night. Courtesy of a huge fucking headache."

"Okay. That sounds nice. I'm all better and being a good boy now, right Pinky?" Minaka asked in agreeable and plaintive innocence. "So could I please have my pretty cape back?"

"Yeah, sure, why the hell not?"

"I'm not a hero! Not a savior! I'm just a man who's... circumstances... went beyond his control!" Minaka sang happily in return as they both stumbled out of the crew's mess, leaving the weirdly empty clothes still rumpled on the deck. "We all need control... oooooo!"

The Chief sighed in long suffering as Minaka started another chorus of "Mister Roboto" while doing the Hokey Pokey at the same time down the hall. Jankowitz shook his head at the sight, and took one backward glance at the crumpled clothing on the deck while momentarily reliving the uncharacteristically wild storm of conflicting emotions the repulsive alien lizard freak and its too spooky death had caused in him. He glanced up at the hallway's ceiling as if trying to see or at least wonder whether invading alien lizard spaceships were actually going to fill Earth's night sky soon or not. He shook himself again. The whole damn episode and its spooky whirlwind of events had been enough to almost make a fella swear off torpedo juice forever and ever... or maybe not.

***scene break***

This solar system's Asteroid Belt almost resembled a moving parabolic storm of wildly tumbling and rotating rocks, the Rigelian commander of the invading fleet's mother ship mused to himself. It was certainly thick enough to slow and hamper his fleet's passage as they picked, jinked, and juked their way through them towards the watery jewel of the system's third planet, a natural prize of no equal in this whole sector of the Galaxy.

His long, prehensile, amphibian tongue involuntarily emerged as he hissed in long awaited anticipation of finally gaining the naturally occurring H2O richness held too long by the cursed bird clans of the Kouten Empire and their Arcturian allies. But now was not the time to squander this hard won and very rare window of opportunity with any daydreaming carelessness. The interbred descendents of Kouten's bird clans with the planet's original simian like natives had proved formidable foes in ages past. Enough so that in the multiple millennial struggle for total mastery and control of the planet, less than one in six of the planet's present inhabitants had recognizable Rigelian DNA while the bird clan hybrids numbered almost eleven out of every twenty five. It was his mission to make that last ratio zero out of a hundred. The Rigelian commander turned his amber eyes with black slitted pupils away from gazing out at this solar system's asteroid field and focused once again upon his command ship's captain seated calmly with his small, gray skinned, large eyed, Zeta Reticuli subordinates in front of their situational console. He hissed and gargled at them in their universal Conglomerate language.

"Signs of pursuit from the Arcturians?"

"Negative." All the little gray clones answered in weirdly echoing and sibilant unison. Their small, lip-less mouths had difficulty in forming certain glottal stops but they were understandable enough to their very experienced superior.

No pursuit? This was worrisome. It obviously meant that the almost immortal Arcturian General Newryt commanding the system's outer defense ring had full confidence in believing that the bird clans' off line orbital defenses about the planet were still intact and functional. It also meant that Newryt had automatically messaged the bird clan's supposedly weakened planetary leadership to activate their defenses. If so and assuming the worst, that meant his combined Rigelian and Zeta Reticuli forces would lose at least eight out of every ten of their twenty three hundred auxiliary battle squadron to sufficiently weaken the bird clans' orbital defense ring enough to where his mother ship could safely breach it. Then he could attack the planet's approximately three thousand four hundred major population centers with relative impunity. General Newryt must be very confidant if he hadn't sent any pursuit.

On the other hand, eight out of ten of the Rigelian commander's smaller battle auxiliaries would be very stiff losses. Still the risk was well worth them. After all, one couldn't birth any new newts without first laying an egg sack, and egg sacks needed precious water for protection and development of the hatched larvae. A planet such as what he was going to conquer could be the Rigelians best inter-galactic hatchery, and it had enough land mass for developing efts to emerge from the waters and grow into untold numbers of new Rigelian warriors needed to finally conquer the cursed Kouten Empire once and for all.

The stakes on this invasion were very, very high, and so the risk of steep losses were more than acceptable. After all, the Arcturians and one damnable eight ship formation of the Kouten Empire had already destroyed the bulk of the Rigelian Conglomerate forces just to get his small invasion fleet this far. Although defeating the lunar orbital defense ring would only leave perhaps four hundred sixty auxiliaries remaining to assist him in that task of near total population devastation, they should be more than enough. Perhaps some optimism over finally wresting the cursed bird clans' stranglehold on the Galaxy's most water rich planet was finally warranted.

"Has the enemy's inner orbital defense ring been activated?"

"Negative."

"Are there any updates in status from our main operative's latest communications?"

"Affirmative. As of the last three planetary rotations, the bird clan's hybrid prime leader has been dead for almost twenty planetary orbits around this system's sun. His prime battle circle was also broken by at least four deaths with no replacement of him or his circle by the bird clans' other descendents. This should render their planetary orbital defense ring inoperative as planned. The crashed bird clan womb ship that was discovered around the time of the prime leader's death is also inoperative other than one of its most primitive repair robots being occasionally seen, but it has not been doing anything that would resemble repair activity. The ship's feral and untrained brood are in the process of being destroyed by a bribed incubation team that brain washed them to use their natural avian instincts to kill each other.

"Our main operative advised there has been some small attempt to rally the ship's brood together by a hybrid baseball pitcher, but there have been zero overt signs of any bird clan meshed circle activity, nor a battle group being formed and made operational. He also advised that he and his subordinate operatives have maneuvered the planet's more simian population into using their crude and rudimentary military weapons to attack and destroy a hasty gathering of the womb ship's feral brood. It is our operative's opinion that the bird clans' planetary forces are still in total disarray and weakened to the point of negligible resistance."

"Baseball pitcher?" The Rigelian commander hissed in alarm at the unknown term. He did NOT like unknown terms. There was too much at stake on this rare and golden opportunity to not only make the Rigelian Conglomerate rich beyond all dreams, but himself as well. "What is THAT? What fluid does it hold?"

"No fluids held. This is an example of the planet's confusing simian languages where the same word/sound has completely different meanings. In proper context, this pitcher is a planetary native that launches a high speed small spheroid at his stick wielding enemy during a mock battle between two small opposing forces. Apparently the number of times the attacker's spheroid is successfully struck by the defender's stick counts as battle wounds that add up until one side or the other succumbs at the end of a specified number of ritual assaults upon each other. The identification of these kinds of mock battle is baseball."

Totally mystified as to what all that exactly meant in the grand scheme of things, the Rigelian commander hissed again in unease. He did NOT like the sound of a womb ship's repair robot being active in any fashion, primitive or otherwise. One fully operational womb ship and its weapons were a bigger threat than the inner orbital defense ring and able to potentially turn his smaller invasion ships into little more than burnt cinders to add to the solar system's asteroid population. His mother ship would take severe damage with little ability to successfully accomplish his mission of conquest. A fully meshed and trained bird clan battle group would be able to simply vaporize all of his whole fleet, mother ship included. Both possible worst case scenarios were totally unacceptable and well worthy of his unease.

Just as why the slowest, one leg missing salamander in any foot race was assigned long-shot odds, there were REASONS why the cursed Kouten Empire had spread and lasted as long as it had. Like the pure energy beings called Arcturians, the bird clans could fight and even fight effectively without mechanical/artificially generated energy weapons the other space faring races were forced to use. The damned newt eaters fighting as combined meshed units of eight were psychic weapons in and of themselves. And now they had these baseball pitchers to rally them? Did that mean the sneaky bird clan hybrids had evolved a new secret, psychic kinetic ability to hurl some kind of potentially deadly spheroids to strike his ships at high speed? Like running into an uncharted meteor storm during hyper drive? Enhanced rail gun weaponry maybe? Another way to use the almost completely impervious material that formed their cursed rock ships? He wouldn't put it past the cursed yet long lived Kouten Empire.

The Rigelian turned back to lapse once again into an uneasy silence as he now more darkly contemplated the tumbling parabolic storm of thickly packed asteroids that was delaying his fleet's planetary invasion.

***scene break***

With her battle suit helmet held in her left hand, Karasuba stood in the midst of the bumbling, stumbling, and colliding whirlpool of totally unorganized Sekirei/Ashikabi chaos around her. Some were still struggling to get their Karasu battle suits on while dropping weapons, helmets, and other suit components. Others acted like they had never seen each other before, let alone know their left hands from their right. The rest just seemed totally confused as to just what was going on. Shouting and cursing at them all to form up while laying about with the flat of her sheathed sword to make hollow cracking sounds on the battle suits, Karasuba resembled a demonic female version of Henry the V verbally and physically pummeling her army into some loose "once more into the breach" formation on Kamakura Island's central plain. In the distance, a sharp peaked wall of ice perhaps as high as a ten story building and ringing the island could now be seen glistening in the noon sun about two kilometers offshore. Kazehana and Akitsu calmly stood just to one side of Karasuba while Seo, Kochou, and the Lightning Twins helped Miya float Natalie's one outside pulse cannon to rest beside Karasuba's central position of the Sekirei activity.

Karasuba's organizational efforts were not by any means being suffered nor obeyed silently by the troops. There were bitter accusations, angry objections, scowling looks, and just overall surliness at the high handed way they were being treated. The largely disliked and even hated Karasuba was being, well, freaking Karasuba, but better had been expected from their beloved Onee-chan Kazehana. Ignoring the bad vibes she was causing by her abrupt, forceful, and even superior sounding orders, Karasuba started using her sheathed sword to point out individuals and then using her weapon to indicate where she wanted them positioned.

"Dammit Ikki! I told you to get you and your circle's butts on our right flank! Homura's gang goes on our left! Namiji! Your circle goes between us and the base, not behind us! Our circle will be on this side closest to the ship! Yahan! Nina! Niwa! Kaie! You four solo bonded gals form up behind here with the Prime Circle! All close combat types on the outside rims of your circles! Ranged fighters on the inside! The rest of you solo bonded gals stand with Seo's gals in the center and help the Lightning Twins power up the pulse cannon! If circle takes a loss, step out, fill in, and mesh as best you can! Everybody! Keep four circles of eight around Matsu, Miya, and our pulse cannon center at all times! Get Noritos and stand close to mesh as much as we can now! We have to surround, support, and push our mind power to Matsu and Miya as well as the Twins and Kochou on the cannon! What Miya and Matsu can't deflect, the cannon will have to destroy! We're gonna have a shit load of nuclear missiles incoming! Just one hit will wipe us all out! We have to deflect and repulse all regular warheads, bombs, and artillery as well their beach assault armies too! Set you helmet's com units to listen for Kazehana's orders! Now MOVE!"

"How come Oriha and those snarky Petals aren't out here to mesh with us?" Ikki, never a big fan of Karasuba's, ever, snarled back bitchily. "Their assholes too precious or something? And why we only got three of Haihane's gals?"

"Because the rest got blasted saving Yume and Yomi's stasis tanks and are still getting healed! Oriha and Sanada's gals are defending the island's northern perimeter with the other half of our solo chicks, and the Petals are all pregnant and still puking their guts out with morning sickness! They're down in Mum's stasis tank for protection! We don't want them out here anyway! They're the future of this planet and have to be protected, you damn fool!"

"Hey fuck you, you mouthy bitch! It's you and your shitty circle that's been causing all the troubles here, not the rest of us! If you guys had done your parts like you should have, we wouldn't even still be here, let alone fighting! You guys even fucked up your own damn dream party, and you've been total tama twisting shits to everybody all morning! So whose the real double damn fool here? YOU ARE!"

Kazehana clenched her fists and squeezed her eyes shut in humiliation as Akitsu instantly froze Karasuba in a giant block of ice from the neck down to save Ikki's life. The inhuman howl of instant out of control rage from Karasuba made everyone flinch badly, but Akitsu kept renewing the restraining block ice in place and completely daunting Karasuba's super strong efforts to get free and slice Ikki to pieces. Jerking a quick right hand down and away and holding her suit helmet in her left, Kazehana used the quick wind pressure to rise into the air and hover perhaps two body lengths above the Sekirei still milling about and now angrily agreeing with Ikki's sentiments. Their Prime Pillar stretched out her arms in a pleading gesture while she rotated slowly in place. She missed the sight of Seo suddenly clutching his head with both hands and silently falling to his knees in great pain. Kochou and the Lightning Twins also dropped beside him in sudden agony, but all other eyes were raised to look up at Kazehana.

"Sisters! I'm SO sorry I am not the Prime Pillar I should be! And neither have I made my Circle what it should be either! Our Prime Leader is working on fixing us as intensely as he can even now! No one wants to keep us all alive more than he! You all KNOW that! And no one LOVES us more than him either! He brought us all here to peacefully protect and save our Mother! None of us could foresee any massed attack his loving care for her would cause, and we will be facing that attack in a few minutes! We all know we are not the battle group we should be, and I take the full blame for that too! But right now, right here, just as we are, this is ALL WE HAVE! Each other! Sisters! Let us mesh our hearts, our minds, and powers together as best we can in order to save our Mother, our Prime Leader, and our pregnant Petal Sisters! All Ashikabi give Norito's to your Sekirei! Then get into Mother's hull as quickly as possible, and stay there! We NEED you all protected as we fight! Sisters! Close up your suits! Helmets on! Then will you all PLEASE fight with me, mesh together as best we can, and protect all we hold dear and LOVE?"

Kazehana bit her lip as she looked down for her plea's response. There were several long seconds of a rather eerie silence before heads finally began to nod and bodies began to move. Norito wings began sprouting in the midst of the movement. The Sekirei began rapidly looking like black robot clones arranged as four clover leafs around a central, ominous looking alien pistil; a long, black, and bulbous ended tube sitting on a circular pedestal. Seo and his three Sekirei were struggling upright holding onto the tube for support while weakly clutching to one another. Why? Was something wrong? It had to wait. Cash's Prime Pillar turned to give a still red faced, struggling, and snarling Karasuba a very jaundiced eye. Shaking her head slightly in acceptance, Kazehana then spoke quietly to Akitsu.

"Release her, Aki-chan. Close your suit. Then go get our Husband out of his bedroom to give us our Noritos. Bring Uzume and Riko here in their battle suits too. I don't care if Riko's awake or not. If she does come awake, then she fights. Take Husband to the ship, and make SURE he is safe down in Mother's stasis tanks. Have Mutsu, and Shiina get Noritos, suit up, and come out here to fight. Himeko too. We'll probably need all our healers. Call Toys and Oriha's circle. Tell them they all need Noritos right away. Miya, help me hold Blackie and calm her down. We're gonna NEED her too."

Before Akitsu could twitch her restraining ice block away, a blubbering Haihane with her battle suit's helmet off and gray hair and face streaked with dried blood landed beside Seo, wrapped her arms around him, buried her bloody face in his chest, and began bawling in total heartbreak.

"Saki's dead! Saki's dead! We tried and tried to help Himeko save her, but we couldn't! Oh Honey! What are we gonna do? Saki's dead, and Itchy says she's doesn't wanna live without her bond mate! What are we gonna DO?"

At Haihane's words of agonized and weeping distress, it was almost as if an internal switch had been thrown in Karasuba as she suddenly regained control of herself and snapped back into war mode.

"You guys are gonna suit back up, get your asses out here, and operate that damn pulse cannon, Claws!" The still ice encased Karasuba abruptly snarled at them. "Get your Noritos and fight, dammit! We're probably gonna take more casualties today! We'll grieve those afterward too! But we've got plenty of uncircled replacements to maybe refill our Circles later! We're gonna replace those two pregnant Petal circles tonight anyway! They don't have the juice we need to make us the powered battle group we need to be to whip a space invasion! And Cash WILL fix our Prime Circle AND our group by tonight! We'll worry about all that other stuff later, and Itchy! But first we've got to fucking survive!

"Taki! After you get your Noritos, take the Whip Twins! Jump to the base PX! Get sheets and blankets! Load up all the fast food, power bars, and anything edible as well as all the bottled water, soft drinks, and liquid power ades you can carry! Then get your asses back here quick! Pile the food and drinks behind the pulse cannon!"

"What for?" Mitsuha demanded angrily. "We just ate!"

"Because we'll get hungry and thirsty real fast when fighting!" Karasuba literally snapped back. "And we WILL be fighting here for a while! Don't stand there and bitch! MOVE!"

Karasuba stumbled as Akitsu suddenly dispersed her binding ice. The Black Sekirei whirled around and immediately pointed her still sheathed sword at Homura and Kusano.

"Get your Noritos! And then get your heat dome over us now! We'll get Shiina out here to boost its power as soon as we can! Matsu! Mesh with as many uncircled gals as you can! Power up! Rip the incoming missiles' electronics as far out as you can reach! Don't forget to scan the horizon for the low flying cruise types! Miya! Team up and mesh with Windy, Tsukuimi, Akitsu, and Musubi to knock aside any that get past Mats! Use wind, water, ice, your sonic cones and kinetic powers! C'mon! C'mon! Everybody else get in place and mesh with those closest to boost our center's powers! If enemy units manage to land on the island then we'll have switch on our suits' cloaking. For now keep it off to better see and mesh with each other! Form UP! We ain't a flock of brainless chickens, dammit! We're Sekirei! Let's GO!"

Moving in super speed to Ikki's side, Karasuba shrugged at the badly flinching Sekirei.

"Sorry Ikk. You were right. Lost my temper, again. But uhhh, help me out here, will ya? Mesh with me and Aki-chan when the shit hits us? We may need a last second, big, and damn thick ice dome over us if everything goes south."

With a sour, eye rolling expression, Ikki finally nodded as Akitsu bounded away to get her Husband. With that, the muddled whirlpool of activity and preparation to fight the last Battle of Kamakura Island quickly snapped into a short handed but Norito powered Sekirei battle group. They were grimly standing together in an unusual, four clover leaf formation around a closely packed black center, but like many other battle groups of long dead Sekirei many generations before them, instinctively determined to fight with all they had to save their Mother, Prime Leader, and the future of Earth.

***scene break***

Riko came blearily awake to the sounds of a what sounded like a mini whirlwind of activity around her. She could clearly hear two deep and long, drawn out moans of pure pleasure, heavy rustling movement as if large wings were flapping over her, and the sounds of hard plastic being slapped and snapped together too. Footsteps leaving, running, and then familiar voices spoke nearby.

"Uzume! Your Norito wings are so huge! And I still don't understand how you guys have gotten such dark crests from Cash-san. How does he do it?"

"Well, the best I can say, Blondie, other than Joe being one helluva nice ass stroker, other parts too actually, and a great kisser as well as, you know, just hung and willing to please any way he, ummm, it's kinda hard to explain because it goes way deeper than, wait... hey! Do you remember those hotter than hell wolf dreams that rocked everybody's freaking world for a few days before the Tokyo Dome riot and even before Riko used Toys and Itchy to mop the bath house?"

"Oh do I! Those wolf dreams were, were, they were incredible! You mean Cash-san?"

"Yep. Him and Aki-chan. With Blackie meshing in and kicking things up a huge notch all over Tokyo. Now you put THAT intensity into a winging kiss and what do you get? A dark red crest that really kicks your ass when he even looks at you and then ruins your panties all the damn time. And then Joe, well, he's just Joe. The way he loves and just, just treasures us, ya know? Yeah, treasures. That's the word. Nothing is more important to him than we are, not even baseball and his mother, and kid, he LOVES them both. If you ever get a chance to have Onee-chan or Aki-chan let you read their minds, that'll help you understand what Joe is all about a lot better than I can with words."

"So even with his intensity and power, Riko can't connect."

"Just don't freaking know why. Never understood it. Still don't."

"Well, I'm pretty sure I know why, now. But it is very upsetting to me. Wait. Your left leg cover is unsnapped. Here. Let me."

A hard clack followed. Who was Zoomer talking to? And why were they discussing Cash Joseph so intimately? Then Riko heard more diminishing heavy running footsteps further away, soon followed with doors slamming in the distance. Riko strained to listen and figure out what was going on because it felt like her eyes were glued shut, but then she realized that she had a VERY full bladder that had to be relieved at once! She could feel that she was lying on a soft mattress or very thick futon and struggled to swing her legs sideways to gain momentum for rolling off. That's when she realized she was very weak and HUNGRY! Forget figuring about what was happening, she decided. She had to GO! And EAT!

"Reeker! You're awake!" Uzume's voice almost bellowed loudly from nearby. Riko flinched badly and then gasped as two strong hands grabbed her shoulders and yanked her upright.

"Zoom," Riko's dry throat rasped out in a small coarse whisper as she struggled mightily to get her eyes open. Her body felt totally boneless and her neck too weak to keep her head up. "I have to PEE! And I'm hungry! And thirsty!"

"Well, sure!" Uzume's excited yet sympathetic voice readily answered as one hand held Riko up by the neck while the other started roughly jerking her Lycra body suit down. "Here, stand still! I'll get your suit and panties down and then help you sit on the pot! Miya sent some food in here earlier just in case! There's two bento boxes of fried rice, veggies, and fresh sushi along with a big bag of onigiri stuffed with shrimp tempura! There's a two liter bottle of green tea too! C'mon! We ain't got any time! Everybody's forming up to fight! We gotta get you suited up! Damn! Joe's plan actually worked! Sonofabitch! It actually WORKED! Here! Take a piss!"

Riko then felt her body being lifted and then dragged face down like a stuffed rag doll across a carpeted floor to suddenly be twisted and thumped into a sitting position on a toilet seat. Leaning over but still held in place by Uzume's neck grip, Riko couldn't help but give a long groaning sigh of pure, warm relief. She panted slightly when she had finished urinating. Then her head was tossed upright as Uzume let go with one hand and used the other to toss a small wad of toilet paper onto Riko's lap.

"Wipe your crotch, and let's get going! I've got to finish suiting up too! C'mon! The fight's gonna start any second! Onee-chan NEEDS us out there! If we hurry, we can get Joe to give you a Norito before Aki-chan takes him to safety inside Natalie's hull! Akitsu and I already got ours, but he just left with her to give our other Sisters theirs!"

"Will, will," Riko swallowed hard as she struggled to wipe and then tug her panties up. Her eyes suddenly opened during her efforts. "Will Cash Joseph want to, want to kiss me?"

"Hell yes! Why do you even think we were in here screwing around trying to get you awake when the shit's about to hit the fan? Now pull up you body suit, dammit! I'll zip it! Your Karasu battle armor is beside the bed! Get in it! We've got to stand with our Sisters and FIGHT!"

"Zoom, I'm, I'm too hungry! And thirsty!" Riko staggered out into the bedroom only to flop in a heap on the floor.

"You're killing me here, Reek! You're not even trying!" Uzume yelped with closed fists thrust down by her sides in aggravation and dismay. "All right! All RIGHT! You eat and drink fast while I snap your battle suit on!"

"Why don't you just leave the self centered little bitch stay in here and rot?" A suddenly angry female voice came from somewhere to Riko's left. "Uzume, I wanted not to tell you now, but it just makes me so mad! Riko has always been a closed off and bond crippled little freak. Still is. Never wanted to be in a normal group like the rest of us. Still doesn't. You can FEEL she doesn't even WANT to know how to be a proper and meshed bond mate for you and your Sisters. Or even bond, fight, and protect your Ashikabi. Nor fight to save our Mother. Better to let her go and die ALONE! We don't need her, or anything so disgusting like her anyway. I'll FIGHT at your side you until our Prime Leader can get you a better bond mate!"

Riko turned her head with a snarling expression to look up at that now identified voice. She saw the blonde Madoka snapping her slim, curvaceous body into her black, petite sized, Karasu battle suit while looking at Riko in frowning revulsion and disgust. Something had definitely snapped inside the usually sweet, caring, and very considerate Madoka at what she was seeing and feeling in Riko's abnormal behavior, self centered emotions, and closed off psyche that was literally throwing away what every normal Sekirei would consider fantastic dreams come true in a bond mate, Ashikabi, and Circle.

"YOU!" Riko croaked accusingly. "What are you doing here? You, you LIAR! I am NOT a crippled freak!"

"LIAR? I'm no liar, but I KNOW what I have seen, and I'm now still seeing in you! I know what it means to have and treasure a beloved bond mate and mesh with her! And I know what it still feels like after she died and left me ALONE!" Madoka stepped over and reached down to grab Riko's head with both hands in a hard grip that Riko was too weak to wrest away from. The heels of Madoka's hands covered Riko's eyes so that Riko couldn't see to kinetically push her attacker away either."And now you twisted little freak! You're going to FEEL it too!"

A soundless scream of pure agony came out of Riko's suddenly open mouth. Her weak body thrashed side to side as Madoka poured the almost overwhelming grief, pain, and aching loss she was still experiencing down into Riko's twisted and undersized tama. Along with those emotions, Madoka also shared the beautiful and golden memories of her dead bond mate's love and their tight bonds that she still held so dear. Riko's tama and then brain were inundated with a searing power she had never felt before. After a few long moments, Madoka finally relented and almost carelessly let Riko fall.

"There," Madoka grimaced in flat toned disgust and turned away to finish snapping her battle suit in place and grabbing her helmet. "Now you know what you should have been, you totally self centered little bitch. You're not a normal Sekirei. You're just a weird abomination. And to think I was always jealous of how smart and beautiful I thought you were. And even felt sorry for you when you always got bullied so badly by the other kids. Now I see that you really deserved every bit of it."

Uzume stood stock still while blinking in total shock at Madoka's actions and words. She glanced down at Riko now cowering in a little fetal ball before them.

"We've wasted our time here, Uzume," Madoka added calmly while lifting her helmet over her head and tucking her long blonde hair up in order to fit it on and clamp it. "She only thinks about herself. Our Sisters and Prime Leader NEED us. So does our Mother. Let's go fight for them together."

"Ahhh," Uzume frowned in deep disappointment and despair, but she numbly gripped her battle helmet, tucked in her long chestnut colored hair, and then snapped the helmet in place. Despite Kazehana's order, there was obviously no reason to take any more precious time to suit Riko up, wait until she ate, and then rush to join the others. Akitsu had said time was very, very short, and Karasuba almost had the battle group in position. Madoka was right. Uzume could feel there was no normal Sekirei fighting spirit in Riko. It was time to go.

"Yeah, I can tell you're right. Okay then, dammit, let's go fight," Uzume said softly, and then spun on her heel to leave. Madoka wordlessly followed her and a few seconds a door closed.

"Zoomer, come back," Riko whispered pitifully into the plush carpet of the empty room. "I'm not a freak."

There was no answer. Total despair and self loathing swept through Riko. Madoka's searing psychic power had been incredibly painful, and feeling what Madoka had beautifully shared so briefly with her dead bond mate and lost had been even more so. Riko began to sob quietly. No wonder Uzume had finally given up on her, but Cash Joseph had tried to save her! He had tried to save her? Must get up. Must fight. Must not give up! She had to get to Cash Joseph! But her body was too weak to move! She didn't even have enough strength to push herself up with her powers! Riko groaned in effort, her fingers scrabbling at the carpet. She needed help! Squeezing her eyes hard shut, she mentally called to Cash Joseph for help.

Suddenly, warm hands tenderly grasped Riko's underarms, lifted her up, and tugged her onto a soft female lap. Riko turned her head to look up into the big, soft dark eyes of Natalie's simulacrum that were partially shaded by her crimson Sekirei battle mask. One of Natalie's hands put the bottle of green tea to Riko's lips. After Riko had taken several deep gulps, a large chunk of sticky rice gouged from an onigiri was put between Riko's lips and forced past her teeth. It hit the back of her throat and choked her.

"Chew and swallow, Child," Natalie admonished softly with a warm smile of understanding while caressing Riko's forehead with a free hand. A feeling of renewing power and strength seemed to start from Natalie and infuse into Riko's brain to flow down and through her body. "I will help you."

"Mother? You, you don't hate me?" Riko couldn't believe what she was seeing and feeling.

"I absolutely hate things you have done and become," Natalie replied while pressing another chunk of rice to Riko's lips. "But this morning, our Cash Joseph taught me something new about love, something that I suspect is the original reason why we Sekirei came to Earth and began bonding to humans as our Ashikabi in the first place. It's called forgiveness. His mother has hurt him time and time again throughout his life. She hurt and interfered with him last night. Yet he showed such love, patience, and forgiveness for her this morning that it made me so angry at him. And I wanted to KILL her! Then an enemy drone repeated what I've always felt from my Cash Darling, even from the first I became aware of him and made me want him so badly for my Ashikabi. Life is precious. Love Essential.

"The more I've thought about it since, I realized that a loving son would always forgive a mother that truly loves him, and she does despite her silly insanity. Then I also realized what mother who truly loves her wayward daughter would not forgive her as well? Then my daughter Saki was killed in trying to help me! And Madoka shared her pain and loss with you of another daughter that hadn't been connected to me! When I felt that, I, I just couldn't bear feeling another one of my children dying for any reason! And I do love you, Child. Your problems were never really your fault from the beginning. So I think instead of simply ostracizing and killing our badly hurt and even insane children for all these eons, like vicious and heartless predatory birds, we have to learn to love and heal them instead. Loving care, patience, and redeeming forgiveness for our children and each other is the much, much better way for us to live. And Cash's thinking on this was right too. It IS what we came to Earth seeking to get from human Ashikabi all those ages ago. Your life is precious to me, Child, and it is essential that we love each other. Otherwise, our lives are truly fruitless and actually meaningless."

"You love me? My name won't be reported to your Ancestors? And, and Cash Joseph tried to save me? Really? He, he forgives me too? Even if I'm a freak?"

"Yes, I love you. Maybe the log to my Ancestors will get accidentally slagged with my engines, and child, our Cash is truly an amazing man. The more I get angry and yell at him, the more love and forgiveness he caresses me with, and yet he stands firm when love and loyalty demand it. He is no warrior, and probably never will be, but he loves SO deeply. I am sure with everything my mind can feel, that he will be your loving Ashikabi, if he survives this battle. And you are not a freak, Child, but one of the more very badly treated victims of my and Miya's failures. A lot like Karasuba and Kazehana actually. If anything, I need to beg your forgiveness and theirs as well."

"I don't want to be a victim or anything," Riko choked again only this time more from emotion than eating the onigiri too rapidly. "I just want Cash Joseph to love me! And be Uzume's bond mate! In our Circle! I feel sorry for Madoka, but she will NOT take my place! I know I'm not normal, Mother, but if Cash Joseph will WANT me, I WILL fight!"

"Yes, good. I could feel that you wanted to when you called for help. And what is normal these days anyway?" Natalie grimaced while shrugging. "The Kouten Empire I knew is long ages in the past. Who can tell how much our species has changed since? Especially if sweet and loving Ashikabi like ours have been interbreeding with us for all that time? Perhaps I am the abnormal one now. But we still have the same enemy trying to kill us, our mixed children, and then possess and devastate this planet for their own selfish gain. Here. Eat this, while I help put your battle suit on. And Child, whether you fight or not, I will always love you. And Cash will want you as his Sekirei. And from this day on, as long as I live, I will always treat my children and their Ashikabi with the same tender love and forgiveness my Cash Darling gives to me. THAT is going to be our new normal!"

"I don't that LIKE that Madoka at all, Mother," Riko mumbled around a mouth full of rice before taking another big swig of tea. She staggered to her feet at Natalie's motion to stand up.

"Now that IS normal!" Natalie chuckled softly while snapping the battle suit's chest plate in place. "Nowhere since the dawn of time has every Sister completely liked each other in their circle and definitely not an entire battle group. Sometimes even bond mates don't get along very well, but they will ALWAYS mesh and fight despite their individual personalities. And each Sekirei is very much their own person. It's very hard for my sweet Cash to understand how we are as a separate but united people in our nests … and form an integrated society that has a rigid but flexible..."

Natalie paused as if listening, then began to work faster on suiting Riko up into her Karasu battle armor. The global storm attempting to annihilate all life on Kamakura Island had just begun around them.


	33. Chapter 33

_Author's note: I decided to split this chapter up due to length. It will take a few weeks to get Chapter 35 up because I'll be back traveling a lot for my job. Thanks so much for all the encouraging messages and emails. They really help to keep my enthusiasm up as we head to TGC's big finale. Enjoy!_

**The Game Changer**

**Chapter 33 – Ninth Inning, Murphy's At Bat**

Cash Joseph Archer knew all about Murphy's First law when it came to playing baseball. It had applied to him so often that Murphy's credo was almost automatically in action on every pitch he had thrown. Now however, fully aware that he was perhaps the most woeful commander of any defending Sekirei force in history, he did NOT know that there are many facets to Murphy's First Law as it applies to warfare, nor that he was still squarely in Murphy's cross hairs.

"If anything can go wrong, it will," could be expressed in a myriad of ways on the battlefield. Friendly fire isn't. Suppressing fire ain't. No battle plan survives initial enemy contact. Anything you do can get you killed, including nothing. Fortify your front and you'll get shot in the ass. Military intelligence is a contradiction. Weapons are made by the lowest bidder. And ad nausea down to the most succinct, "Murphy was a grunt"; the lowliest, bullet seeking poor sod and/or cannon fodder fighting as the most exposed and least protected mortal on the battle field. A grunt can typically be found trying not to share a foxhole with anyone braver than him.

Subconsciously, Cash was also aware that making war, just like playing baseball, depended greatly on team spirit, esprit de corps, or more simply the will to win, or at least the will to try. After kissing Kazehana and a short time later thinking about it in Natalie's control room, Cash realized a Sekirei Norito was a funny/odd and now troubling thing. The kissing/DNA exchange with their Ashikabi did give each of the bonded Sekirei a huge psychic power boost generated from their tama core by some kind of electrolytic-organic and/or hormonal response from their Ashikabi's DNA, but additional emotional effects were highly varied in different individuals. These varied odd effects had left Cash greatly troubled while being hustled to safety inside the ship by Akitsu.

"Still tracking the multiple missile launches Natalie reported earlier from inland China, Russia, and America," Kouji announced in a dismayed flat tone as he stared anxiously at Natalie's long range sensor readouts. "Total of 114 radioactive warheads are close to their apogee. There are 23 American unmanned hypersonic drones also incoming and carrying nuclear payloads. Speeds and flight paths indicate they must be suborbital ramjets delivering smart bombs. First missiles to strike us estimated in 5.232 minutes. Secondary bombing to begin in 7.137 minutes."

Cash's attention briefly flicked towards the wall of readout screens in front of Kouji, but the rapidly coursing symbols, lines, and numbers flashing on them were too quick for his untrained eyes and brain to follow. It just looked damned ominous yet totally meaningless.

Cash's worried mind returned to the mixed emotional results he had received from his Sekirei after giving them their Norito kisses. He had expected a great unified surge in self confidence, but no. That hadn't exactly happened. To be sure, Karasuba's confidence remained at her usual high level when her brief kiss from Cash flared her large black wings behind her back and her instinctive pledge to fight for him was given; the only difference was maybe a higher degree of feral intensity and gleaming anticipation in her obsidian eyes along with a large overlay of her constant, intense sexual desire for him. Toyotama's eyes had also brightened and hardened in determination once her apple green wings and pledge were evoked. Then she had gripped Cash's shoulders hard and almost glared at him while declaring she would fight her VERY best for her Master.

"All three combined fleets are launching aircraft and forming them up for a massed airstrike," Seo scowled at a different set of screens. "AND deploying small landing craft! That's just totally insane! If the any of the nukes hit, all those guys, ships, and planes would just become glowing blue toast! What they could ever find of 'em afterward anyway! Morons! Insane IDIOTS! This makes no SENSE! No military leader would EVER hazard his forces like this!"

"They are all being influenced by a great evil, at least their more important commanders are," Cash sighed absently, more worried about his people's state of mind than inexplicable moves by the enemy. "I can feel it. So can Akitsu. It's like a thick black cloud in the back of my mind. Much worse than Minaka's too."

Sanada simply glared at Cash for this seemingly useless information and began pacing back and forth while cursing with some rather very inventive and low suggestions as to what some amorphous great evil could perform anatomically with Minaka.

Cash shook his head in helplessness and returned to mulling over the oddities of his Sekirei's Norito reactions. Specifically, Himeko's post Norito response had been a mixed message kind of thing with her giving him a tender caress of his left cheek combined with a fairly blunt and hard edged command for him to stay safe for her. Uzume had followed suit. Miya too had been rather enigmatic after receiving her Norito kiss and giving her pledge; her facial features going totally stoic as she drew her sword and held it low to one side. She did turn back to give him a tight smile and a quick hug that half crushed him against her Karasu battle suit before half closing her eyes in concentration. Cash had read varying surges of self assurance in all five after his Norito kiss with each. However, it was Kazehana and Akitsu's lack of an emotional boost in their confidence and their unsettling reactions from their Noritos that was really bothering Cash now.

Akitsu had clung to him after he had kissed her, and she had recited her Norito vow almost simultaneously to her wings appearing. Then she had looked up into his eyes with a small, mixed smile of adoration and sadness before thanking him for taking her as his Sekirei and fixing her damaged brain. Meanwhile he was reading the certainty in her emotions that she did not expect to survive the battle at all, and this was her farewell to him.

Kazehana's urgent whisper in his right ear after her Norito kiss and pledge was to tell him how scared she was of letting him and all their Sekirei down. Also, Natalie's sensor readouts were too much information for her to handle while she was trying to concentrate on directing her Circle's battle efforts. She was feeling greatly overwhelmed. Her internal emotional turmoil was centered around badly needing his help, but what in the name of Mickey Mantle could he do to give her any? And, man, she wanted self confidence from him? The undisputed Waffle King when it came to dealing with people and especially Sekirei? Let alone the most untrained, sad sack war commander ever? Flummoxed, Cash had simply kissed her again, and with as much love and confidence as he could project, told her she would do fine, stay clam, just trust her team and her instincts, and that he had complete faith in her.

As Akitsu snagged him under his arms and leaped them both towards his safety within Natalie's hull, he could feel that his words of encouragement hadn't helped Kazehana much, and he had no idea how to reassure Akitsu at all. She didn't give him a chance as she simply said "Stay safe, my Husband", literally pushed him into the hull's entrance, and bounded away to rejoin her Sisters. Cash had then rushed up the gangway into Natalie's control room. What greeted him there from the gathered Ashikabi hadn't inspired a lot of confidence either, nor could it be emotionally inspiring their psychic sensitive Sekirei. Then they all began their tense and nerve heightened wait until the incoming missiles came into Matsu's deflective range while Cash had begun desperately trying to think of something he could do to bolster his people's very low morale.

"First incoming missiles veering off course," Kouji intoned unhappily, "but more multiple launches recorded from China and Russia. Kazehana and Akitsu have started a high altitude whirlwind of ice that is slowing the incoming aircraft, but closing fleets are also launching smaller, non nuclear missiles coming in low. A lot of them. Probably cruise types going to act as a pre-landing barrage because massed numbers of small surface ships are now inbound at high speed from three directions, north, southeast, and southwest."

"And we're stuck in here like we're watching Takeshi's Castle reruns! DAMN!" Seo growled loudly in total frustration. The other Ashikabi were also giving various loud voices to their ineffectual unhappiness, the Petals squealing and crying their helpless dismay.

Cash shook his head. The control room was too crowded and WAY too full of defeatism. No team ever won thinking they were beaten before the umpire said to play ball. Troubled greatly at what he was and was not feeling from his Sekirei as well as their Ashikabi, he was also wondering where in the hell was his still silent Natalie? He needed her presence here to boost his own shaky confidence as well as any advice she could give. What was she doing at a crucial time like this? He let his mind go down his mental connection to Kazehana to find that she was still highly agitated, unfocused, and almost ready to emotionally break from the pressure of feeling inadequate.

"Under four minutes to first impact of unaffected ICBM missiles and counting," Kouji intoned somewhat ghoulishly. Mikogami was now mewling. It seemed to have jumped to Minato as had Sanada's low cursing now being mimicked by Seo. Cash cocked his head and stared around him in even greater concern. Man, what kind of leadership and Ashikabi support was this?

Minato was crouched in a corner staring up at a video screen of the gathered Circles and worriedly moaning, "Ku-chan, Ku-chan," over and over. This was despite the fact that no one in their right mind would attempt to keep the young girl in her half size battle suit from joining her Circle to fight, not even Homura. Besides they needed her very strong psychic and healing powers as the Sekirei of Life, badly.

Sanada was still pacing angrily back and forth while cursing the fact that he was helpless to defend his lovelies and actually throwing punches at invisible opponents as if he was in some alley fight with a bunch of hostile thugs. Seo, still visibly shaken and hurt over the death of Number 55 Saki, was sitting in half shock, staring at his crippled Circle around the pulse cannon, and also now cursing the results of Minaka's narcissistic madness.

Mikogami was literally crying and pleading in low sobbing tones for Ikki to be careful. Kouji was totally riveted in his seat at the center readout console shaking his head in total dismay as he eyeballed Natalie's long ranged scanners. He looked somewhat like an experienced gamer that was being confronted by a 3D video game that might be way beyond his ability to master. Then Kouji's worried eyes kept sliding sideways to watch Namiji and her Sisters before swiveling back to more consternation at what he was seeing on the screens before him.

This was when Murphy's First Law struck Natalie's control room. An odd comparison hit Cash as his own worried eyes and mind swept through the entire group of Ashikabi in various states of funk over the impending possibility of doom threatening their bonded aliens. They all looked pretty much like a too nervous cross section of a parental crowd of spectators on opening night at some Little League ball field. That was where their baggy pants, over-sized hat down over their ears, mitts too big to use, and woefully under skilled kids were going to play their first official baseball game ever. Even odder than his feelings from his Sekirei's mixed reactions to his Norito kisses, a rather weird epiphany of sorts hit a highly anxious and really feeling inadequate Cash.

He had coached Little League. Yeah, the little guys and gals threw the ball around for errors way too much. They missed signs way more often than not. Ground balls to the infielders were as apt to be booted as routine fly balls to the outfield where mitts were stuck out in the general direction of a moving baseball more in self defense than intending to actually make a play. Hitting the ball was less likely to occur as any pitched ball actually finding the strike zone, and every parent knew the umpires were blind idiots. If it weren't for a ten run rule cutting the kids' debacles short, some games would never end, but the little kids didn't really care. All that mattered was that even defeated badly, one kid had actually made a play on the ball or successfully got on base or even scored and where was the ice cream treat for simply showing up and playing?

The fact was, despite their parents emotional turmoil in the stands, the kids on the field had fiercely competed as best they could, and they trusted their coaches to guide them to a win if possible. So, Cash wondered at silent Murphy's behest, why couldn't some sound coaching principles and organization apply to him, his badly demoralized Ashikabi, and their likewise Sekirei all facing a deadly battle for the first time together?

After all, being the Prime Circle's Ashikabi as well as Natalie's Prime Leader was probably like Cash now being the general manager and head coach of a baseball team. He couldn't actually be out on the ball field in a game or here on Kamakura's battle field, but a good coaching staff could mean all the difference in winning and losing while they helped a raw rookie team compete. Coaches knew the players' individual skills and placed them in the best positions to play successfully, moving the infielders and outfielders around for each batter and even for each pitch. Strategic signs from the dugout alerted players to make moves favoring fielding and scoring success, advancing runners, and getting them into position to score as well as using statistical odds to take advantage of the team's strengths and the opponent's weaknesses.

Above all, a calm, game serious coaching staff always exuded patience and confidence in their players as well as their abilities. A lot of times this was really key for a team's winning attitude. And Kazehana obviously needed a confident coach and some in-game guidance, badly. So did the other Sekirei.

"Under three minutes to undeflected impacts."

"C'mon! C'mon! C'MON!" Seo yelled at the screen. "Fire the damn cannon!"

A split second later the pulse cannon began firing rapidly and incoming blips on Natalie's main screen began disappearing only to be replaced by many more much further out.

"Natalie!" Cash said forcefully to the video screen in front of him. Dammit! Her angry ignoring of him had to stop! He was seeing that Karasuba had finally had formed a recognizable and cohesive, four leaf Sekirei battle unit around a pulse cannon center, and they were all grimly awaiting/dealing with whatever was coming at them as Matsu, Miya, and Kochou tried to keep up with the vast number of incoming multiple launches.

Another screen to his right showed real time video scanning slowly left to right of the northern coasts coming from Oriha's battle suit along with her Sekirei force moving into defensive circles. That group looked pitifully small, and all of them felt underpowered as well as very unsure of themselves, especially Oriha. Cash could also feel something huge, alien, and ominous lurking off the northern coasts. Something had to be done at once, or at least before the assault landings began up there, or they all would be simply overwhelmed by sheer force of numbers.

"Natalie! You need to knock off the cold shoulder, passive aggressive bullshit over my Mother coming to Tokyo right now! I know you're still pissed off at me, but we just don't have any more time for it! Kazehana needs our help!"

_"Cash Darling!"_ Natalie instantly replied with intense urgency in his mind but did not show herself._"I'm so sorry! I'm not angry any more! You were right! About forgiveness and love and, and everything! And I, I, I've been helping Riko because of what you've taught me! Still am! She's awake, getting in her suit, eating, and drinking from being so weak from stasis confinement, but she desperately wants to fight for us and her Sisters! We NEED her powers! And I was so wrong about her too! She's my daughter! How could I not forgive her the way you forgive your Mother, and me! Her greatest concern is you won't want to kiss her so that she can fight with her Norito and accept her as your Sekirei if we survive!"_

"Send her to me as quickly as she can get here," Cash said a little impatiently. Damn! What a time for Natalie to be screwing around with his biggest drama queen! On the other hand, damn! Their "sanity" intervention had actually worked? Riko had come awake and would fight? But she was the biggest screw up on the island. It was kinda like when Agnes Mortenson had told him they had to get married right away, she was pregnant, but the child wasn't his all in the same sentence. Definitely mixed emotions. And now that he thought about it, maybe Riko being available to rumble wasn't that much of a giant boost to Kazehana's confidence either. Okay. Sort that out later. He had to help Kazehana now!

"Look, Honey, what's going on here ain't gonna work! We need to get your sensors' information to Kazehana and her main defenders as best we can, but in ways she and they can handle and use! As well as to Matsu, Miya, and Seo's Kochou! There's too much stuff for them to sort through and handle right! I know you can speak to her mind directly, but I also want your simulacrum beside Kazehana for some physical moral support. She needs to see and feel that you and I are right there with her. Talk to her through her suit com. Calm her down. Get her focus back. I will do the same, just like a head coach would do when he visits the pitching mound."

_"I, I don't understand,"_ Natalie returned uncertainly. _"Shouldn't I be with you?"_

"No need. Just stay with me in my mind, and don't go silent again for Pete's sakes! Uhhh. Look, I'm gonna be your head coach and the guys in here will be my coaching staff. We're gonna break things down to help Rose as if we're playing baseball. Like, ummm, each coach will be responsible for watching and helping one area of the field, you know, pitching, catching, infield, outfield, bullpen, base coaches, and trainers. It'll give our Ashikabi something to do and help as well as send more positive vibes to our Sekirei."

_"Oh, okay, but how?_ Natalie's hesitant assent felt very doubtful in Cash's mind. He could tell this concept sounded really stupid to her, but what else did he know? Coaching his Sekirei as if he was back on a baseball field was all the "combat" experience he had. Cash didn't know that Murphy's First Law was also working on him even here in the form of battlefield experience is something you don't get until after you need it.

"Natalie. Just listen and direct your sensors' information to Ashikabi microphones and Sekirei helmet hookups as I assign things. And give me a direct mike to Kazehana's helmet so I can talk to her. Give me another one for talking directly to Karasuba, Uzume, Akitsu, Himeko, Toyotama, and Miya. Oh, and Riko too."

With that Cash turned to his Ashikabi and spoke as forcibly as he could.

"Listen up! Our Sekirei are suffering information overload! We're gonna simply things for them!"

Cash leveled a pointing finger and then shifted it as he went down the line actually giving orders for once.

"Kouji! You're going to relay all of Natalie's incoming long range missile data to Matsu. Jam any target lock ons you can from in here too. Seo! You relay all the short range threats to Miya and Kochou. Sanada! You monitor the north end of the island and your Circle's problems. You're also going to keep Karasuba informed of where the assault landings are taking place up there and some BIG ones are coming. Minato! Gather our healers around Kusano. Direct them to our exhausted and then our wounded if and when close combat starts. Mikogami! You monitor the southern coasts for landings. They're coming too. I can feel them. You also keep track of our Sekirei on the outside edges of our Circles. Tell Ikki and Namiji where any weaknesses are occurring when close range combat starts."

Heads began nodding in silent acknowledgment as Cash turned to the crowd behind his lead Ashikabi.

"Yukari! Sayomi! Take your Petals down to the stasis tank. Link up and push as much psychic power as you can to Mutsu and Shiina. Natalie, link the tank's com system to those two guy's helmets for them. Now, the rest of you solo Ashikabi pick the spot where your Sekirei are fighting and watch over them. We've got plenty of headsets. One of you guys start passing them out. Talk to your Sekirei. Encourage them. Be another pair of eyes for the Circle Ashikabi. Everybody make yourself useful! C'mon! Get together! Be a team! Stay positive! Let's go!"

As the Ashikabi began scrambling to obey, Cash could feel a palpable surge of more positive emotion from all of them, and especially the Petals. This upsurge then flooded through all the Sekirei and boosted their confidence. He especially felt Kazehana's relief when he spoke calmly to her and asked her to send Mutsu and Shiina up north to give Oriha two strong ranged fighters as well as Mutsu's experience. Something up there was really bothering Cash, something big, and maybe extra defenses of some kind were needed. Taking deep breaths, Kazehana calmed down, and Cash could feel her fears receding to allow more rational thinking. Naturally, Cash had no idea his impromptu, baseball oriented, take charge, leadership moves had just confirmed another quirky aspect of Murphy's First Law during a battle, "If it's stupid, but it works, it ain't stupid."

***scene break***

Intellectually, Riko believed in the pure numbers and provable equations that rule the laws of chance, but she had read and superficially knew about the supernatural Murphy's Law. She just hadn't really considered it ever applying to her specifically, nor realized that it could be a very capricious and eerie axiom. She did know it could be stated in an almost infinite number of ways depending only upon immediate circumstances, and if it could be numerically proven as a reliable working theorem, then the "If anything can go wrong, it will" would actually be time unlimited in its effect.

By extension, if she had really thought it through, then Murphy's pessimistic prediction would also apply across the entire spectrum of existence from the lowly amoeba being unluckily bumped by its neighbor into the mouth of a feeding zoo-plankton all the way up to a massive star's celestial orbit being affected just enough by a neighboring dwarf to make it drift into the outer pull of an even more massive black hole. To the mathematically oriented Riko, these events would be governed by the mere laws of probabilities with no supernatural element to them at all. However, under current circumstances, she was starting to feel that perhaps events in her recent life had suffered from something a lot more than just some statistically anomalous run of bad luck.

Of course, not only had techno geek Riko not envisioned Murphy's credo specifically applying to her, nor that it played favorites, but somewhere in the unconscious depths of her technically oriented brain, she WAS willing to reconsider the possibility of being supernaturally targeted and snake bit. After all, since she had met Cash Joseph, nothing had went right for her, not even her dirty spork winging.

On the other hand Akitsu and Himeko hadn't really suffered one negative hit in their bonding to their shared Ashikabi. The rest of Cash's Circle had had their ups and downs as to be statistically expected, but the laws of chance should have dictated that at least one or two things should have broken Riko's way by now. It was as if Cash Joseph had been the walking, talking, breathing embodiment of Murphy's supernatural influence as far as she had been concerned, maybe even a personal Jonah. It had left her a beaten down, nervous, fearful, scorned, hesitant, woefully under confident, and now physically weak wreck that was now mostly being emotionally propped up by Natalie's turn about forgiveness and care.

All Riko knew at this moment was that somehow, some way in the coming battle, she just had to redeem herself in the eyes of her Ashikabi, her bond mate Uzume, and her Circle of Sisters, but how? Except for the bad moves in the gym that had almost killed Cash Joseph, she had little experience and training with her full powers in fighting as a teammate. She was willing to fight even if it killed her though, but would it be enough? Or would her constant run of bad luck continue? What could she do to offset it if it did? Especially in battle?

The irony of Riko's self questioning was that any lowly combat veteran could have told her the vagaries and even opportunities presented by the influence of Murphy's Law are most noticeably glaring or more demonstrable during war. They could also tell her that the quirky axiom could occur during minor, non outcome affecting events as well as crucial and even critical junctures of battle, particularly if there was a Jonah amongst them drawing way more of their share of incoming enemy and even friendly fire down upon them.

At other times Murphy's Law could act in multiple ways to cancel its own effects out or even completely mirror reverse itself. Sometimes it could compound itself for good and/or bad exponentially beyond belief. What Riko didn't know and could never logically understand nor foresee was that in the Last Battle Of Kamakura Island, Murphy's Law was about to go nuts in several ways and every one would affect her as well as her Ashikabi, her Sisters, all the island's current occupants, and their attackers too.

Actually, just before the battle started, Murphy's First Law began to subtly operate upon both sides. For the attackers, the Chinese, Russian, and Indian scientists trying to use their artificially manufactured and powered up jinki octets found that the crystal rods had all somehow developed cracks and flaws so that they didn't resonate together at all, nor were they made from EXACTLY the right molecules. These rods had isomers having different subatomic particle spin. Neither did the jinki weapons produce any measurable harmonic activity in the zeta wavelengths, let alone adversely affect anyone without the specially built and bulky psychic protective helmets.

The scientists had no idea that Cash's near death and powerful psychic broadcast had totally ruined the manufactured jinkis by subjecting them to a zeta frequency slightly higher and in an opposing subatomic resonance than where Miya had operated the original rods in the past. After exchanging hurried communications, the baffled scientists from the three different countries finally became convinced that the sneaky genius Minaka had managed to thwart their stealing of his control rod secrets by somehow feeding them false data in their construction. The highly agitated agents controlled by the main operative of the Rigelian invasion could only report their complete failure in eliminating the feral newt eaters and their hybrid mates on Kamakura Island the easy way. They angrily blamed the insane Minaka welshing on his deal, not Murphy's supernatural influence deviously working against them.

On the other hand Murphy's First law, which had been relentlessly kicking Riko's ass ever since she had escaped MBI's compound, suddenly and without noticeable evidence turned upon itself. A few minutes before two, Rigelian controlled, spying seagulls up north were wheeling away to report, Murphy's creed became its mirrored opposite as Yhprum's First Law where "Anything that can go right, will," and began operating in Riko's favor.

Of course, a still very weakened and onigiri munching Riko stumbling and staggering out of the base's officer quarters had no clue she was now in Yhprum's power. Short-winded from the exertion of just trying to walk upright, all she knew was that she could barely move without panting. She felt very knee shaking weak from her extended stasis imprisonment, so how was she going to fight effectively now? She could barely carry her suit helmet let alone lift it into place and snap it on. How was she going to help protect Cash Joseph and Natalie like this? She needed Himeko's healing and definitely Cash Joseph's Norito kiss. And a LOT more food. This was when Yhprum's influence struck.

"RIKO!" Taki yelled sharply from Riko's left and caused the very shaky Riko to flinch badly enough that she dropped her Karasu helmet. "The Whip Twins and I have got as much snack food and drinks from the PX warehouse in these big blankets as we can carry! We're gonna take them to Karasuba! There's two big boxes of trail mix power bars here! Pick them up and follow us! Don't drop them! One is open!"

"Oh, uh, okay!" Riko nodded in return while relieved that for once she wasn't being the object of scorn, anger, and disgust but actually viewed as a helpful, albeit menial task performing resource. She sank back against the command quarter's walls to brace herself and tried to finish her first meal in days. "Gimme a minute to eat this, then I'll do it! I'm starving!"

Yhprum's influence continued as Riko watched Taki pick up a couple of power boost candy bars from one of the opened boxes, throw them at her, nod curtly, heft two tied blankets, and leap away to north behind the similarly laden Whip Twins. Riko crammed the last of her onigiri into her mouth while mentally catching the power bars. Both were stripped out of their wrappers and the first gulped down when Homura and Kusano's heat dome crackled into life above her. This caused Riko to flinch badly again and then duck while looking up into the suddenly bright, very warm, and orange-red sky.

She immediately saw nine armed, helmeted, and gear laden figures in woodland patterned, green and brown camouflage, combat uniforms dropping out of the sky right above her with their just opened parachutes bursting into flames from the dome's heat. They all tried to ditch their front carried combat packs and in the same movement deploy their spare chutes, but there wasn't enough time or altitude. A tenth figure screaming in agony tumbled through the fiery dome a second later with not only his parachute and combat pack in flames, but his uniform too.

Any sane onlooker would have sworn one of the more negative aspects of Murphy's First Laws of War and not the totally positive effects of Yhprum's had just applied to the hapless falling men, especially the last one. A clip of spare ammo on his belt had exploded from the dome's heat and one exploding round had somehow found a crack in his body armor. Not only was he on fire, he now had a nasty, sucking chest wound also, and was losing blood rapidly.

Without thinking, Riko reached out with her mind and caught all ten doomed men and began to gently lower them to the ground in front of her while causing a brief vacuum around the flaming guy to douse his fires. Their ditched combat packs smashed to the ground with dull thuds about ten meters to the north of her. She had no idea that this was a platoon of United States Recon Marines that had made a HALO jump targeting Kamakura Island's MBI base to set up a clandestine rooftop observation post. Their real mission was to scout the island and try to steal and/or destroy what alien technology they could before the Russians, Chinese, and Indians could get their mitts on it.

The now almost serenely floating Marines ripped their bailout oxygen and masks away. Seven who were able to see Riko in her helmet-less battle suit hastily grabbed their M22 assault rifles dangling on a strap across their chest and started to aim them at her. She just as hastily bent all their gun barrels 90 degrees and directed their landing onto a nearby, flat roofed block building that was half submerged below ground.

The tenth, badly burnt, shot, and bleeding man still screaming hoarsely in pain into his oxygen mask Riko brought to rest on the ground in front of her. One quick look told her that he obviously needed immediate healing. Again without thinking, Riko snatched him up with her mind along with the two boxes Taki had indicated. Munching her second power bar and mustering her remaining strength, she launched herself and her mixed cargo towards where she could feel Himeko was located.

Meanwhile, Murphy's law also affected the mission of those two passively spying seagulls that had been drifting on the strong wind currents above the northern peaks of Kamakura Island. A small controlling device embedded in their brains had made the birds' eyes and enhanced energy recording neurons scan and focus on bipedal figures moving below as well as action farther south near the central plain. Then both birds had eyed and scanned the badly canted Sekirei womb ship trapped in hardened lava. The one farthest inland slowly circled the forming Sekirei battle formation.

After almost a minute of staying nearly stationary in updrafts and "recording only" for fear of discovery, the birds' embedded controllers pulsed once to send them both wheeling around and soaring out over the island's northern coasts. Luckily, the closest one to the ocean made it past the newly formed thick and high ice shelf sitting almost two kilometers offshore just before a thick, searing heat dome crackled into existence not only over the island, but as far out as the ice shelf as well. Murphy's Law dictated that the second bird wouldn't be so fortunate.

Wings flapping hard, the first controlled gull flew unmolested for a few minutes more before diving down and landing on the ocean surface beside a large, aqua colored, gelatinous, Rigelian communications sack rippling on top of the waves. The controlled bird once again begin drifting, but now on fairly mild ocean swells. Via the thin wire connected gel sack acting as an antenna to the spaceship on the sea floor below, the recorder in the seagull's alien controlling device transmitted all of its gathered visual and energy scans to the Rigelian top operative's command screens. The recorded information obtained over Kamakura Island was received in crystal clarity.

However, the seagull's second flying and passive spying companion with more relevant and closer views of the Sekirei battle formations and their preparations had literally been roasted to death by the Sekirei heat dome's sudden creation. Thanks to Murphy's timeless credo, the first bird's information aided the hidden Rigelians, but the dead second bird's destroyed scans of Karasuba's food and drink re-supply along with the Marine platoon now present at the MBI base would become a crucial loss to the Rigelian top operative's battle plans.

While the two seagulls met their separate fates, the nine remaining and unharmed Recon Marines on the flat roofed building of MBI's base watched helplessly as their badly wounded lieutenant flew off northward toward the island's central plain. His transport between two big cardboard boxes was obviously being caused by the unknown, power bar munching, and flying Asian female wearing some kind of hard, articulated, but helmet-less black battle armor. Shaking themselves out of the weirdness of it all, two of the platoon's three man teams discarded their bent weapons, pulled their long vision scanners from neck strapped cases, and began moving to opposite corners of the roof in order to set up their initial O.P. and tech spying positions.

The third team, two shorter, dark, hawk faced, and wiry corporals and their much larger, barrel chested, blonde, lighter skinned gunnery sergeant, stood still and watched a little longer. If described in actual devil dog terminology, the three Marines looked like two lean, hungry doberman pinchers flanking a much bigger, angry, bull mastiff. One corporal's head was swiveling rapidly in astonishment. He was looking up at the alien heat dome, the burnt line remains of his chute, his bent rifle barrel, their broken and smashed combat packs, then at the dwindling Riko, and back again. With rapidly blinking eyes and open mouthed amazement he then just had to make a few needless comments.

"She was a woman! A beautiful Asian woman inside a black armored suit! And she caught us and saved our butts when our chutes flamed! Didja see that Buzz?" The now prattling corporal nudged his equally nonplussed, stationary, and gawking teammate. "She was a fine looking WOMAN! From the shape of it, I bet she's got a sweet lookin' butt under that there suit of hers! And, and then she just took off with the Lieutenant!"

His nodding and blinking in disbelief teammate whose last name was Buzzard made a quick cross sign over his face and chest to ward off evil spirits, or at least invoke a good one's help. HALO jumps, no problem, yet scared shitless from going free fall with a burning chute around a thousand feet but then getting snatched in mid air and lowered slowly to safety by some unseen force used by some weird yet very beautiful Asian female? That went way beyond any normal belief system in the accepted laws of physics, past everyday unexplainable but plausible mysteries, and crossed WAY over into devil spawned spookiness on the order of high demon activity. Naturally, he had to nod in wide eyed agreement as his fellow Corporal Jack Wilson turned to repeat their mutual observations to their team and now de facto platoon leader.

"Gunny! That there was a spooky Asian female! And she flies! We were gonna go splat like rotten tomatoes, and she saved us! And then she took the Lieutenant with her!"

"No shit Corporal Obvious!" A scowling Gunnery Sergeant Beaumont Tupelo Sledge turned to give his two subordinate teammates a jaundiced, one eyebrow raised, and disgusted look. "Dammit! The question is why and where that alien freak took him! Not the damn shape of her ass! Ya know, Ah WORRY about mah Marine Corps, Wilson. Ah purely do. The recruits we been getting' lately, especially you two sex hounds. How could a couple of total Moe Rons like you all get through basic training, let alone Recon? And then the Looey assigns you two hopeless and mouthy Yankee fuckups to me? It's a miracle for the ages both of ya wasn't too busy lookin' at porno pics to even remember how to open your chutes before they flamed. And now you just stand here thinking with your dicks instead of our mission?

"So we got our butts saved somehow! Why and how Ah don't know. We was told we was gonna be fightin' super powered aliens and most of 'em females. That freaky thing that flew off with the Looey is most probably the enemy gonna experiment on him or something, not be some happy hook up for you two Yankee perverts."

"But, but, but Gunny," Wilson protested half in fear of the supernatural and half in total disbelief. "I, I, think that there pretty Asian gal saved us all somehow because she's a friendly. She was done looking right AT us as if she was gently catching us when our chutes flamed. And then bent our guns so we couldn't hurt her before flying off with the Lieutenant. I think she's gonna get him some help maybe? But, but how'd she DO all that anyway? Is, is she really the alien enemy we're supposed to be fighting? Or an angel? She sure didn't look or act like no alien enemy!"

"Uh, Gunny?" Buzz asked tentatively while inching away from his large, heavily muscled, and irate sergeant from Moselle, Mississippi. "What all we gonna do now, Gunny? Our rifles are bent. Our gear and our radios are smashed out there. And, and, I mean, what's gonna happen to the Lieutenant? He was burnt real bad and leaking blood heavy too. Where did that foxy little gal take him? Are we gonna go after him? And her? Without our rifles?"

"You all got wings, Buzzard? Or your itty bitty pea brain got some instant intel as to just where the Looey is now? Or her? This damned island is over ten miles long, ya dumb shit. With some high peaks and deep valleys up north. We can't go runnin' around like headless chickens, and there ain't no Med-vac copter to call here anyways even if we could find him AND call one. That heat dome would fry him and the pilots trying to save him anyway. We're stayin' heah. Ah don't like it, but we'll just have to sort the Looey's situation out when we can later. Our mission is to locate, snag, or destroy what alien technology we can including an enemy alien spaceship. And that's what we all are gonna do. Now get a damn grip and quit whining like some spooked civilian. You're a Recon..."

At that moment the Sekirei pulse cannon began blasting a series of eye searing, blue white, high energy plasma bolts. Something airborne to the northeast was definitely being targeted up in the sky through the orange red heat dome. The highly trained Marines ducked for cover down beside the building's roof's low walls at the incredibly loud din of the cannon shots.

"Gunny!" One staff sergeant, the older of the two, called out. "We ain't got any assets to the northeast! What the hell they shooting at? And WHAT in the HELL are they shooting?"

"Don't know!" Gunny yelled back truthfully while admiring the sheer power display. "But lordy, lordy, ah shore do want one of them there energy cannons to play with!"

The Recon platoon had not been told they would be jumping onto an island already targeted by nuclear ICBM and hypersonic cruise missiles, let alone hypersonic, ramjet drone bombers. Nor did they know incoming subsonic missiles had been targeted to blow big gaps in the Sekirei ice wall as well as act as a pre-invasion bombardment to possibly "soften" resistance. They only knew that while the other countries' assault troops were busy fighting the aliens, their platoon of Recon Marines was supposed to be opportunistic as hell when it came to stealing and/or denying access to any game changing alien technology pertaining to the world's current balance of military power.

Their mission didn't come through the usual Washington D.C. war command bunker channels, however, but from one lone Marine general on Okinawa trying to do some major political career enhancement by risking his Marines' lives. This was actually another aspect of Murphy's law in action as "Decisions made by a general are seldom in a grunt's best interests or safety."

"Gunny!" Wilson gulped in more wide eyed amazement. "What can we do against aliens that's done got super powers and those kinds of weapons without our rifles? And, and I just can't believe that little Asian gal means us any harm in the first place. We weren't told there was any friendlies on this rock."

"Dammit, Gunny!" Buzz half shouted over the roaring din of the pulse cannon. "We can't fight without our rifles! What we gonna do? And I'm with Jack! That gal saved us!"

"Ah don't suppose," Gunny gave them both a scathing scowl as the pulse cannon went suddenly silent, "y'all ever heard of adapt, improvise, and overcome, have ya? Let alone Semper Fi? Well, you two screw ups are gonna! Now get your minds off that little alien filly's ass and on our Recon mission, or Ah'm gonna reach up and yank your pantin' tongues right out your assholes! Ditch them worthless rifles! Get your pistols out! Wilson! Get your ass down to our smashed gear and find out if one our radios work. If not, try to cobble a whole one together if ya have to. Buzzard! You scout the back wall and..."

"HEY GUNNY!" One of the other teams' staff sergeants gazing north through his field glasses called loudly. "That flying Asian female is coming back! Fast! Should we shoot her?"

"Gunny!" Wilson objected immediately. "We can't! She saved our butts!"

"Shut yer yap, Wilson! Ah don't need..."

A black, Karasu battle armored Karasuba suddenly materialized in front of the Gunnery Sergeant and his two teammates. At the same time, the rapidly approaching Riko yanked all nine automatic pistols out of the hands and holsters of the Marine Recon platoon and held the weapons in a small cluster behind Karasuba's left shoulder. The Marines as a man threw themselves sideways away from Karasuba and the lightly landing Riko while reaching for their K-bar knives. Karasuba flipped up her helmet's visor to display her usual Cheshire grin.

"So? Dudes. Whassup? Got your weapons bent huh? Heh! Well, welcome to Shit Creek, boys! Sorta lost your boat and paddles too, haven't ya?" Karasuba said mildly while nodding in what appeared to be understanding sympathy at the crouching Marines now in a loose but distant semi circle around her.

"You speak English? Who are you? WHAT are you two freaks?" The Gunnery Sergeant came up in a half crouch, his face a stony mask of cold intent and his k-bar knife held low behind his right thigh. He noted that the long, sheathed Japanese sword belted to the newcomer's waist did not look ornamental at all, not with the way her armor gloved right hand was grasping its handle. She had reach on him with that weapon, yet before his men were harmed, these two freaky alien females would have to go through him first. However, Riko winced while looking sideways at Karasuba, shook her head slightly in warning, and then all nine knife wielding Recon Marines suddenly found themselves helplessly floating about a body length above the roof.

"Yes, we speak English, and, and, ummm, it would probably be best if you put your knives away," Riko advised the floating Marines while she shrugged apologetically. "My Sister Karasuba has super speed, and ummm, a pretty nasty temper sometimes."

"As if YOU don't?" Karasuba turned her head to give Riko a withering look. "And no SISTER of MINE runs around with her mind shield up during a fight! What in the hell is it with you anyway? You can't even breathe without screwing up. And we've got uncircled gals that are more open and battle ready than you, Riko. And one helluva lot braver. So don't call ME your Sister. Just shut the hell up, you gutless little coward. I'll deal with you later if you don't faint on us all again."

Amidst his teammates, the older staff sergeant suspended in midair automatically grimaced in slight head shaking disapproval at a leader publicly belittling and demeaning a subordinate like that, but Karasuba didn't notice as she turned to look up at the Marines.

"Now where was I? Hmmm. Now what am I going to DO with you sorry assed guys? Aki-chan and Himeko both say that you ARE all human, but almost every being coming at us from your human fleets are some kind of nasty feeling, inhuman, psychic, shape shifting, and VERY hungry things."

An indignant Gunny took immediate vocal umbrage at this.

"Shape shifting? Ya mean like inhuman and hungry werewolves or something? Are you all nuts? And hell, those ain't OUR fleets. They is Chinese, Ruskies, and Indian. We're Americans. And human. American Recon Marines! What do you all mean sorry assed? Ah royally defy you to find better troops anywhere, ma'am."

"They feel good in their," Riko began but Karasuba cut her off in a voice laced with impatient disgust.

"Shut up, Riko. When I need YOUR gutless opinions, I'll ask for 'em."

Karasuba, hard eyed and unsmiling now, caressed her katana's handle while gazing up at the suspended Gunny Sledge, totally ignoring his questions and comments as well as the now embarrassed, contrite, and lower lip biting Riko. Obviously, Riko had totally lost whatever Circle meshing support and sympathy Karasuba had been willing to give her. And that wasn't too surprising from what she had felt in Uzume's icy gaze a few moments ago during Himeko's energy boosting touch.

Sounds of large explosions came from beyond the thick Sekirei ice wall to the southeast and almost straight out from the MBI base's dock. The Marines and two Sekirei's heads all snapped around to see what was happening. A subsonic cruise missile found a small gap between the heat dome and ice, roared through it, and went overhead to the northeast. Riko immediately snagged it mentally, ripped it into two flaming halves, and flung it back over the ice wall to the southwest.

The Marines as one gave Riko an open mouth look of surprised admiration, but Karasuba ignored the feat as well as the continued explosions on the other side of the ice wall. It was her plan to let the sea borne invaders come on a semi controlled basis so that they could be totally annihilated; risky maybe, but she felt the strategy was very doable. She continued speaking almost conversationally to herself.

"So you really ARE American soldiers of some kind by those shoulder patches. I suppose I could just leave you boys here and let our very hungry, inhuman enemies have a little live snack on their way to our position to get slaughtered. If we douse you in the ocean to wet you down, toss you back over the ice wall, and you survive the hot trip, either they or the sharks will still probably eat you. Or I could just slit your throats right now in a mercy killing, not that I've ever been known much for that particular virtue.

"I'm not particularly thrilled at being called a freak either. I suppose we COULD let you sleep out the war with those Chinese sailors in our ship since Sweetums would definitely want you to live, but then again, why take the time and risk of helping you? Let alone open our already secured ship? You are here as enemies even if highly deluded and manipulated; well, actually common thieves if I'm reading your dull minds right, but I don't have a lot of time to screw around here with you either. Gotta get back."

"Mind readers? What bullshit is that? And eaten by whom? All we saw coming down was a three pronged sea assault by landing craft stuffed with their country's troops. They ain't cannibals. And who's Sweetums? What do ya mean deluded, dull minded, and manipulated, ma'am?" Gunny's facial expression had now settled into a definite and defiant scowl of disbelief as well as irritation from his helplessness.

"Hey. Are y'all implying our command has done lied to us? And Ah do beg your pardon for that freak comment, ma'am. It just wasn't gentlemanly of me at all, but we are Recon Marines, ma'am, not soldiers. So we're even on the insults. Ah am Gunnery Sergeant Sledge. May Ah inquire as to just who and what you are? And what you all are doing with our lieutenant?"

"OR, we could just lock you guys up over in the base brig to keep you out of our hair," Karasuba mused while again ignoring Gunny's questions, "but then again, if we lose this battle, you'll still just get eaten later. Unless, hmmm, maybe you goons could be useful?"

"No friggin' way are we gonna fight FOR you!" Gunny began heatedly. "That ain't our mission! If you give us back the Lieutenant, then we might be willing to sit on the sidelines and watch while …. Wait a dad gummed minute heah! Are you all thinkin' of using us as BAIT?"

"I take it back," Karasuba gave the Marines her signature grin again. "You aren't quite as dull minded as I thought."

"I don't wanna be eaten alive Gunny!" Buzzard exclaimed fearfully while crossing himself very shakily again. There were some things even a veteran Recon Marine was very wary about, and apparently being live snack food for supernatural creatures was one for Buzzard. "Not by sharks or whatever nasty things she's talking about! Maybe those landing craft were stuffed with those inhuman hungry shape shifters she was talking about! And there was thousands and thousands of those guys! We ain't gonna stand a chance if they is werewolves, Gunny! Lord Almighty! We got to find us some silver bullets and..."

"Will you SHUT your ever lovin' YAP, get a damn grip, and let me work the situation heah?" Gunny snarled through gritted teeth at Buzzard starting to half flail in negativity beside him.

"The situation is this!" Karasuba snapped sharply and now obviously losing her patience. "Listen closely! Your badly wounded friend is being healed by my Sister Himeko, but to keep him from having bad burn scars, he will have to rest a few hours. His sucking chest wound was also a giant clue that he needs to take it easy for a while too. You can thank us later if we all survive this damned invasion.

"Now, whether you think this is bullshit or not, I am Karasuba, an Earth born, mind reading Sekirei with physical powers way beyond yours. My Mother's spaceship crashed here thousands of years ago, and her children are here trying to repair it and save her. WE are NOT leaving her to be raped and killed by our enemies and our technology stolen by any of you bastards.

"The way we see it in addition to that, we're the GOOD guys trying to stop a bunch very nasty BAD guy aliens currently trying to invade our home planet, raping it of its resources, and destroying us, you, and the rest of the this planet's population in the process. YOU thieving human sonsofbitches went spastic and attacked US, unprovoked I might add, because the nasty alien bad guys are controlling your leaders. That's why you and your countries' military forces are coming here and being used by the bad guys to take us Sekirei out. For me, that makes you ten sorry assholes the bad guys too."

"I don't know about being a bad guy," the disapproving older staff sergeant muttered to himself, "but I can tell who the freaking, gray haired asshole is here."

"NOW, I command this island's defenses," Karasuba continued in a narrow eyed fashion while pointing and angry forefinger at the men. "YOU are my prisoners. I have ZERO qualms in killing you here and now, but my Husband, that's Sweetums, is an American ballplayer with a soft heart. I don't want him unhappy with me for any reason. On the other hand, I can't afford to have you boys screwing around on my flank here and maybe even still helping our mutual enemies attack us. But you CAN be useful by..."

Again, at this instant, Yhprum's law went to work for Riko and even Karasuba. Before Gunny, and/or his too loquacious teammates could respond and/or object, or Karasuba to even continue, another subsonic cruise missile zipped just over a new, slightly larger, jagged, open wound blown in the top of the ice wall and through the weakest steaming affects of the heat dome just above it. Just as Riko was reaching for the incoming missile as it went over the base's sea dock, a plasma bolt from the far off Sekirei pulse cannon simply atomized the flying weapon in midair. The missile ceased to exist in a blue white flare kinda like a mosquito getting electrically ignited by a high powered, back yard bug zapper. Everyone on the roof, even Karasuba, flinched from the instant glare since the half buried block structure they were on was located in the northern outside row of the base's buildings and less than 300 meters away.

Then, again before anyone could respond verbally, what looked like perhaps three dozen, aqua colored, semi transparent, somewhat rounded, mucous protected, and liquid filled sacks with dark objects in them also flew unburnt just over the small jagged opening in the top of the ice wall. The slimy covered globes splashed into the water about half way across the gap between the ice and MBI's dock.

A few seconds later and about 500 meters offshore, a four legged, fin tailed, more orange then black creature with a very large, rounded flat head, a wide gasping mouth full of sharp and predatory looking teeth, and two huge, wide set bulging eyes literally shot up out of the water. Bleeding profusely from multiple bite wounds on its limbs and torso, the writhing and hissing alien creature looked like some slime covered nightmare that had evolved from a nasty water/land Permian era predator that could have prevented the Mesozoic rise of the dinosaurs. It gave a high pitched, gargling noise almost like a scream of fear as its trajectory arched back down into the water now being roiled by a small swarm of bull sharks.

Karasuba instantly recognized that here was a very fortunate opportunity to get a first hand look at the fighting abilities of what they were all facing.

"Dammit Gunny!" The older staff sergeant yelled. "What the HELL was that thing? And who's shooting those missiles at us? Our own guys?"

"Gunny!" Buzz began bitching a little fearfully again. "We're gonna get fragged by our own missiles? And, and eaten by those, those lizard things?"

"I'm thinking that was some kind of weird amphibian Buzz," Wilson blurted out in his own nervous shock. "Maybe a really huge and evolved type of alien newt maybe. Lizards are reptiles and have scales and long toes. They don't have smooth wet skins, gills, stubby toes, and froggy looking heads like that, that, creature. It might be a reptilian ancestor or something from, from somewhere else maybe, but it for SURE ain't from this planet. Way too big.

"I majored in biology in college before I dropped out. The biggest amphibian on Earth is the aquatic, five foot Chinese Giant Salamander that's about as smart as seaweed. What jumped out of the water out there looked more like a highly evolved form of Sclerocephalus, one of the biggest and baddest Permian predators that ever lived. And a real close cousin to Archegosaurus that was the big bad granddaddy of all the reptiles. But, like I say, whatever kind of amphibian that thing was, it wasn't Earth native!"

"See? THERE'S your hungry alien enemies, you deluded dupes!" Karasuba snapped at a stunned looking Gunny. "And they don't look like some phony werewolves either! Or Russian, Chinese, or Indian troops! Just amphibious, man eating monsters! Now are you thieving bastards gonna sit and watch, or fight 'em?"

She turned to Riko and pointed to the next building farther away from the dock.

"Drop these guys and their handguns. Then you get on the next roof over, and do NOTHING! I want to observe our enemy and how these thieving Recon jerks fight 'em. If they can't kill 'em, then we'll step in."

With that Karasuba leaped to the next roof with Riko meekly following. The Recon Marines quickly scrambled back to their feet after their sudden drop, gave Karasuba and Riko a wounded look of betrayal for being used as bait, and dashed to retrieve their fallen automatic pistols. They had barely formed a defensive firing arc around the roof corner nearest the base's dock when the first black and orange mottled Rigelian warrior clambered up onto the dock and stood upright. Oddly, it had a shredded remainder of a mottled brown and green combat uniform shirt hanging from one front appendage before it carelessly ripped the cloth away.

The big alien creature looked maybe 2 meters or 7 feet tall, perhaps weighing 400 to 500 pounds, and sporting wide webbed feet on its two lower legs. It also had a vertically flat tail that terminated just above the ground. Its two long upper limbs ended in four suckered digits with one opposing the other three as sort of a slightly shorter thumb. Above its rounded and slimy torso, its tooth lined mouth was open and hissing as its almost lizard looking yet gelatinous covered long tongue flicked in and out to taste the air around it. The wide gills on either side of its head audibly slapped shut, and it began a slight whistling noise from two air breathing holes in its broad rounded head. These were positioned inside and below two, wide set, bulging, amber, and slitted with black pupil eyes that had a cold measuring intelligence not seen in lower semi aquatic life forms.

Its weirdly mounted head immediately snapped around to face the nine Marines just as more of its amphibious companions started emerging from the water either by climbing up on the dock or simply walking awkwardly upright onto the rocky shore. One had a still wriggling bull shark caught tail first in its mouth and was munching away. Three crushing bites and a swallow whole later, the shark disappeared into the now upright monster's maw as it didn't even break stride coming onshore.

The Marines all swallowed hard as they watched. How had this big thing been able to change its body mass and shape to ape a human form in uniform? Something also just looked really wrong with how these bad boys' upper and lower limbs were jointed and attached to their bodies as well as how their heads were mounted and turned. It was as if their joints had some kind of odd swiveling ability to emulate bipedal motion.

The whole group began an upright, disorganized, and awkward stumbling run towards the low block building before dropping to all fours. Their locomotion then became a more rapid, instinctive, and species natural, opposing front and back waddle advance like running, Earth type salamanders. Karasuba drew her sword and held it low in her right hand, but made no other move as Riko also went tense beside her.

"Wait for 'em, men," Gunny ordered quietly with no trace of a southern accent. "Don't waste your shots. We don't know how many others are coming. And fer the record, that mind reading Mrs. Karasuba is one damn cagey and cold hearted female."

The charging, ragged front rank of half a dozen hissing amphibians suddenly stood up about fifty meters out and crouched to leap when Gunny yelled to open fire. Pistol shots snapped out like loud firecrackers. Bullets slammed into the upper torsos of the oncoming attackers and staggered them but seemed to have little adverse effect other than some suddenly blood spurting holes.

Then Gunny put a bullet square between the bulging amber eyes of the closest one. The creature went totally rigid, glowed a bright orange, and then suddenly vaporized. Noting their gunnery sergeant's startling success, the other Marines began aiming for the middle of the amphibians' large heads with the same weird results. Oddly, the ones in the rear didn't even seem to notice their front companions' vaporous doom and continued to charge forward to their own certain deaths. In less than a minute, other than spent shell casings on the roof and the scrap of uniform laying on the dock, there was no sign that the Marines had been attacked at all.

"Well, well," Karasuba murmured half to her self. "Interesting. A bad weak spot between the eyes, eh? And self imploding immolation or vaporization? Huh. Wonder how that works? And why? Not leaving their carrion as feed for an enemy maybe? Or their hungry and cannibalistic battle mates behind them? Or they fight in massed waves and need to always keep their battle front open and unimpeded by their dead? Has to be specie instinctive though. At any rate, that must have been an advance probing squad of some kind since no more have come through, yet. And did you feel the mental connection they all had at first and then it broke when that one more orange colored Toothy Boy got hit by the sharks? He must have been their leader. Then the rest of them went kinda blank, and all I felt from them was thoughts of satisfying an intense hunger. So they fight in psychic meshed teams too, but only the leader has all the cohesive and planning brains? Yeah, real interesting."

"Karasuba, you'll need my powers with these, these monsters!" A half revolted Riko began while struggling within herself to drop her mind shield. When she managed it, she continued. "I want to fight with my Circle! I NEED to! I CAN really help! You, and, and Onee-chan, and Zoomer, and especially Cash Joseph! We CAN'T let these things get him! And, and I'm not scared! I won't faint again! Never again! Let me fight with my Sisters!"

"You can't be trusted, Riko, even with your shield down," Karasuba said bluntly while shaking her head. "I can't risk you screwing the rest of us up and disrupting what good meshing vibes we got now either. There is a LOT of hard feelings from the other Circles against you too, kid, AND your lousy, self serving judgment too. Quite frankly, you should have just let these thieving Marines die instead of causing an unnecessary last minute problem for us all."

A loud "ZANG!" sounded as a widening cone of visibly disturbed air coursed overhead and up into the southern skies.

"The Old Timer must be sonic nailing some incoming hardware while Kazehana and Akitsu slow 'em down," Karasuba mused with half a grin. "Just like the old days. Good! I gotta get back to help 'em and plan just how I want to kill all these big toothy fuckers!"

"But Karasuba, PLEASE! I can really HELP! Natalie said I should! She, she, Mother has forgiven me!" Riko protested in anguish, but Karasuba impatiently waved off Riko's outburst before taking a few seconds to think and then turn to fix Riko with a very hard stare.

"Fine," Karasuba sheathed her katana with an aggrieved sigh but no facial expression. "All right Riko. You can HELP by staying right here and babysitting the problem you've caused. Since you're feeling weak, you rest up and eat. Only use your powers when you absolutely have to in protecting them. Let these Marines do all the fighting to save their own butts and take out as many of these alien monsters out as they can for us. They should have a real big clue about who their friends and who their enemies are by now, but if not, and they try to leave this base, kill 'em. Snap their necks to make it as painless as possible for Sweetum's sake.

"Meantime, you also destroy whatever incoming missiles and flying ordinance that you see, but take no chances. If another group of those big toothed shits slips over the ice wall, concentrate, find their group leaders, and kill them first. Report the results to me as well as anything else you can observe about the enemy. Put your helmet on and keep it on. If I change my mind or things get really desperate up north, I'll call you. If your asses get in a real sling here and there's nothing else you can do, then fly north to me and bring these thieving Recon turds too, but call first. Otherwise you might get nailed by mistake. We'll put 'em to sleep and tuck them in under the ship's hull. And Riko, IF we all come through this, THEN you'll have to face your situation with Sweetums before I or the rest of us even think about whether we keep you in our Circle. Whether Natalie likes it or not. Got all that?"

"Y, yes," Riko nodded unhappily. She wasn't being completely frozen out, but then again it wasn't any wide open arms of welcome either, not by a long shot. Nor much of a redemption opportunity with her Ashikabi, Uzume, or her Circle either. Nuts.

"Yo! Sledge!" Karasuba yelled over at the next roof. "You and your men will stay right where you are and kill any alien invaders you see coming to eat you! If you try to move, Riko here has orders to kill you by just snapping your necks! If she doesn't, then I'll chop your fucking heads off! When and if we pull through this mess, your friend that we're healing will be returned to you!"

"Wait!" Gunny yelled back in alarm. "Mrs. Karasuba Ma'am! What if a whole passel of those slimy black and orange shits show up heah? We ain't got that much ammo for our pistols!"

"You're on the roof of the MBI's base armory!" Karasuba shouted impatiently. "Small arms down there may be a little dated, but they should be functional! You'll just have to make do! And think of this as a parole! Defend yourselves, but don't make the mistake of coming north and trying to fight against my American Ashikabi or my Circles! Or stealing anything! Don't try to radio contact your superiors either, or we'll know it! I'll be checking in with Riko from time to time! You turn on her, and you're dead men! She will be your best protection anyway! Unless of course you simply WANT to be some slimy amphibian's meal!"

"No ma'am!" Gunny responded just before Karasuba snapped her helmet visor down and leaped away to the north. He shouted after her anyway while gaping at how far she could jump without hardly any noticeable effort. "And we accept your parole, ma'am! We ain't gonna fight our own troops, but we'll shoot those Bulgy Eyed Bastards all day long for y'all!"

"Wow! Didja see that gal jump!" Wilson exclaimed without thinking. "Damn! How'd she do that? And, and how do you move things around and fly, Miss Riko?"

"She has super speed and strength. I have mentally strong kinetic powers," Riko replied and then sighed deeply in wounded disappointment while watching Karasuba's rapidly dwindling figure. She reached up to wipe away tears welling at the corners of her eyes. So much for Natalie's forgiveness.

"Yeah?" Wilson continued, nodding to himself in envious understanding. "Now all that sounds and looks downright slap dog handy! Especially in a big assed fight!"

"My Sisters don't think so," Riko gloomily sighed again. "They all think I'm a just hopeless screw up, and I can't say I blame them either. Somehow I've got to change what they think of me!"

"Just do your part for your team, kid," The older staff sergeant responded gruffly without looking at her. "They'll see your worth. And don't put undue pressure on yourself by trying too hard. That only makes it more likely that you will screw up. Just listen to Gunny. He ain't near as dumb as he pretends and sounds."

"Awww, it's okay to screw up occasionally, Miss Riko" Buzz spoke in a more comforting and understanding tone. "Me and Wilson are constant screw ups without even trying, but we really kick ass when it comes to fighting! The Lootenant loves us! And so does Gunny and staff here!"

"And I kinda feel that Karasuba maybe likes you too," Wilson just had to add his two cents to the conversation. "I bet she's thinking you're one of her big guns that needs to be rested up and kept in ready reserve for the final push, even if you're total a screw up like me and Buzz. I bet you fight better than you look, and Miss Riko, you look marvelous! How about we have a little dinner date after the war is over. Pasta and salad, soft candle lights, and music maybe?"

"Uhhh, thanks, but no thanks, I'm taken. My Ashikabi is Cash Joseph too, same as Karasuba's, and my other six Sisters."

"You mean the top honcho on this rock has eight of you gorgeous alien babes for his bedroom?" Buzzard exclaimed in outraged jealousy. "Now THAT ain't fair at all! Is he some kind of military super genius to get rewarded like that?"

"N, no, my Sister Kazehana is our Circle's leader, and Karasuba is our battle commander." Riko shook her head in continuing downcast self misery. "Our Ashikabi just an American baseball player, and a really, really nice guy. Actually, Cash Joseph's a pacifist and doesn't have any military training at all."

"Huh," Wilson sniffed in disgust. "A PACIFIST? The top guy in this dust up is a PEACENIK? Now ain't that our luck? He has to be as militarily incompetent as that self important and political self serving prick of a general we got on Okinawa. Besides, a pacifist fighting for world peace is like me screwing to become a virgin. Damned illogical. Anyway, I hope your boy Cash treats you better than our command treats us. Say! You got any super powered sisters that AIN'T been taken yet? And would they be open to doing a little canoodling later maybe?"

"There ya go thinkin' with your damn dick again, Wilson! We got to fight for our lives heah, you Moe Ron!" Gunny Sledge heaved a sigh of disgust and then almost absently added. "Gonna have to up that dummy's salt peter rations."

Gunny lapsed into silence for several long seconds and then finally shook himself from also staring after Karasuba and contemplating what all he had overheard her saying to Riko. Just as he began moving to begin their rooftop defense, all nine Marines and Riko flinched as the Sekirei pulse cannon once again started blasting away at heat dome hidden targets somewhere in the northeastern upper atmosphere. More loud explosions sounded beyond the ice wall also. A lot more. Gunny now quickly wheeled around to face Riko.

"Miss Riko, ma'am? You all got a key to this armory so we could get some weapons up heah? And could ya take Wilson down below to scope things out? He knows old weaponry better than anyone. The rest of us will stand guard, but we better move fast. From the sounds of those missiles hitting that ice wall, I don't think we got much time before we're up to our assholes in more big Bulgy Eyes."

A still sighing Riko started levitating down to the ground to retrieve her helmet while snagging Wilson to accompany her. He whooped with carefree glee at being given another floating ride to make every Marine except Buzzard grit their teeth at his out of place levity. However, a minute after she had simply pushed the armory's locked double doors open and returned to stand downcast beside Gunny, Wilson ran back into view and called back up to the roof in high and much more professional excitement.

"Gunny! They got a whole wall full of old M16 rifles with OKC-35 bayonets attached to 'em! Can you believe it? And three M224 light mortars, and five M203 grenade launchers! With plenty of shit to shoot for 'em too! And get this! There's two old Ma Deuces with extra barrels and acres and acres of belted Slap T ammo in giant sized boxes for 'em! Plenty of bracing sandbags and water buckets for barrel cooling too! Even a couple of big boxes of old timey MRE's and crates of bottled water to drink. It's like somebody was getting ready for a little ol' siege here years and years ago!"

"Is all that good?" Riko asked in a small voice and totally unaware that once again Yhprum's positive effects were still working for her and now the Recon Marines too. "I can make a hole over in the far corner of the roof and float all that stuff up here real fast if you would like. And fill the water buckets?"

When Gunny simply nodded in wordless crooning enthusiasm and anticipation, she proceeded to do that. Within less than a minute, the nine Recon Marines were busily setting up an impromptu, roof top fire base and laying loaded weapons along all four walls. The mortars were set up in the middle and the two machine guns at each northernmost corner to cover the dock, adjacent open beach, and ground beyond that led northeast onto the central plain's interior.

"What's a Ma Deuce?" Riko finally asked while still mentally kicking herself. Why HADN'T she immediately dropped her mind shield BEFORE approaching the Sekirei battle formation around the pulse cannon? And Karasuba was right. There had been a LOT of harsh and angry looks thrown at Riko even though she had delivered two big boxes of welcome power bars. Then Kazehana had refused to open the secured ship so that Cash Joseph could give her a Norito kiss. After that, Kazehana AND Uzume had both pointedly ignored her too. That had really hurt. Himeko and Akitsu wouldn't look at her either. Even Natalie had to stay silent in the face of such total combined animosity. Now Riko was stuck here with no chance to prove herself to anyone! Rats!

"Missy Riko, bless yer heart, this heah Ma Deuce is an M2 Browning .50 caliber machine gun," Gunny grinned down at her as he quickly and expertly worked at bracing, sighting, and loading one of the machine guns. It was obvious he had totally embraced Karasuba's assessment of their situation of who to fight and why.

"She may be an oldie, but she's a damn sweet goody! And fer us Moe Reens, pure happiness is a belt fed weapon. Two of 'em is a sheer gut bustin' orgasm. Beg yer pardon for soundin' unseemly, ma'am. But as sure as my name is Beaumont Tupelo Sledge, if y'all can just keep those low flying missiles and anything else incoming airborne off our little ol' pointy heads, then we can purely kick the living shit out of those Bulgy Eyes coming out of the water anywhere around heah. Probably through that there ice wall too. Range looks less than two miles. Easy pickings fer a Ma Deuce. And Ah wanna thank y'all for helping the Looey too. It means a lot to us boys. Say. Is that Karasuba's husband and yer Ashikabi really an AMERICAN baseball player? Where's he from? What's his name? What is an Ashikabi anyway?"

"Uhhh, Springfield, Illinois," Riko shrugged miserably. "And yes, he's her husband and both her and my Ashikabi. His name is Cash Joseph Archer. An Ashikabi is a Sekirei's mate, and we bond for life, uhhh, well, MOST of the time. Some who were really lightly bonded and very unhappy have went to Ashikabi with much stronger psychic powers; to the ones who learned how to re-wing them anyway. It's, uhhh, been complicated, and sometimes, ummm, stressful. And I've heard of a few Sekirei whose Ashikabi died, and they were dying too, but a strong healer among us was able to reconnect their broken crest bonding to another Ashikabi and save them. But our Prime Circle won't change our bonding. If Cash Joseph dies, then my Sisters and I die too. Maybe all the other Sekirei also since he is our most powerful Ashikabi and everyone's Prime Leader."

"Wait." Gunny's eyes narrowed as those last points hit home. "A Sekirei usually dies when her Ashikabi does? Unless there's a strong healer around? And if your Prime Leader gets killed, then you all might die? Is that right?"

"Then we'd just better protect his prime ass if I'm gonna get chance to get laid tonight," Wilson muttered under his breath. Buzz heard him and silently nodded his assent.

"Uh huh," Riko nodded at Gunny. "Cash Joseph HAS to be protected."

"And your Prime Leader is a damn Yankee?" Gunny exclaimed in disgust. "From Springfield? The Asshole of the Midwest? Well, no accountin' for that kind bad luck other than Murphy's Law, nor that dumb name of his Ah guess. Shoot, my granny purely loved danged ol' Elvis and made my Mama name me for his home town. That there Tupelo moniker has hung on my neck like a dead skunk ever since kindergarten."

Gunny looked around to check his platoon's preparations for battle and got ready thumbs up from all of his men. He looked back at Riko with a critical eye.

"You all soundin' and lookin' a little down and peaked, but don't you worry yer pretty little head none, Missy Riko. Even if Mrs. Karasuba don't appreciate ya much, we do. Me and the boys heah are gonna do you proud fer saving our butts and helpin' the Looey. You just watch. On second thought, if you spot any of those mostly orange command types, you might want to toss 'em high enough to roast 'em good. Oh oh! Here those bulgy eyed bastards come!"

As if he was a walking and talking embodiment of Yhprum's First Law for Riko, Gunnery Sergeant Beaumont Tupelo Sledge of 2nd Platoon, Company B, 3rd Recon Battalion, 3rd Marine Division, III Marine Expeditionary Force detached on special ops from his base in Camp Butler, Okinawa, Japan, somewhat gleefully ordered his men to fire their old and outdated machine guns and mortars.

Murphy's First Law then applied to the myriad of hapless Rigelian newt warriors tumbling through the now larger breach in the ice wall's top as wave after wave were either literally chewed up by .50 caliber bullets and exploding mortar rounds, or fell prey to the churning, shark infested waters.


	34. Chapter 34

**The Game Changer**

**Chapter 34 – Ninth Inning, Murphy's At Bat – Part II**

"Never underestimate the ability of the top brass to foul things up!" Captain Nelson angrily quoted an old version of Murphy's First Law to his head shaking executive officer. "What in the HELL is up with Sec Def, Tom? First, we get sent on a spook mission to land Seals on Kamakura Island. Then we get a Def Con 1 and an order to ready for all out nuclear missile launch. Now we get a stand down to Def Con 3 and a direct Presidential order to resume our original spook landing? After we've already tracked multiple ICBM launches from China, Russia, India and even our interior land bases as well as incoming ramjet drones? Can I get a major WTF here, Tom?"

"Rollie, none of those ICBM nukes hit the island," Tom scratched his head as he continued to monitor the Mandrake's multiple sensor readout screens that virtually covered every surrounding wall. The large and bustling command center of the most modern Virginia Class U.S. submarine was a study in bafflement from all of its occupants, not just its top two officers. "Nor did our so called allies'. They all got deflected, disarmed, and dropped into the Marianas Trench somehow without exploding."

"Well, that proves life really is precious to that robot guy then. If there was any nominally safe place on Earth to dump a lot of radioactive crap to limit the damage, I guess the Trench is it. Unless it creates another Godzilla a few years from now. Damn, Tom, do you realize how much those old frigging ICBM missiles cost? Let alone those new hypersonic drones at 3 to 4 billion a pop? I know the satellite news announced we were taking part in joint military exercises in the Pacific, but even the Russians and Chinese can't cover this total fiasco up for long. There's going to be some hell to pay in explaining way over drawn defense budgets after this mess is over, especially to the U.S. Taxpayers. Again, WTF was the Sec Def thinking? And then to get countermanded by the President?"

"That's not all the costs, Rollie. According to what Sparks has been able to monitor and translate, the three fleets' attack and bombing aircraft have hit high cyclonic, ice packed winds so powerful that they've lost over three fourths of their planes and pilots without a single hit registering on the island. Some of those planes apparently disintegrated in mid air from that sonic cone weapon the alien deployed in previous invasion attempts. The carriers had to abort further missions and are starting air-sea rescue operations apart from their fleets' massed assault landings. The only thing airborne that's even getting close are low and slow flying, conventional cruise missiles hitting that giant ice wall ringing the island. Well, the massive amount of fleet assault boats are going in unimpeded too. Now why is that? Your alien pals are swatting away the high incoming threats like irritating flies and yet letting foot troops land virtually unopposed? And its almost like they want holes blown in their ice wall to let them in? It doesn't make any sense!"

"Neither does a Sec Def ordering nuke strikes in the middle of a combined assault troop landing almost as big as D-Day!" Nelson growled in total frustration. "Nor ordering us to resume our original mission! And for what purpose AFTER the frigging invasion has already started? Damn this idiocy! If I didn't know any better, I'd say the top brass of all four countries actually WANT those troops killed. And us too! Morons! We've got to get another visual peek at just what in the hell is going on with that island. Tom, is our new surveillance drone in position yet? If so, what we getting from it?"

"Sir!" The nearby drone operator peering at his control screens responded immediately. "Our bird is circling two nautical miles out from the island's ice wall! Altitude 750 feet, speed 120 mph. Infrared scans only registering a thick hot dome above the island and ice all around it, but there's something really screwy in those assault boats sir! None of the troops register human levels of body heat! They're way too cool!"

"WHAT?" Nelson literally jumped the few feet between them to stand behind the astonished drone operator. "How about visuals on those guys?"

"Badly fogged by the heat dome over the ice sir!"

"Fly lower and closer! Get over those boats! Magnify! Damn! That robot guy SAID we're under enemy alien attack! But how in the hell could aliens be in the Chinese, Russian, and Indian fleets? Let alone get launched en masse? Where they at Tom? In relation to us?"

"Massive numbers of Russian small boats are attacking the island's northwest coast, Rollie," the exec glanced at a computer generated composite of the entire theater of activity. "Indian are coming in from the southeast, Chinese attacking the southwest near the old MBI base. We're north by northeast about 43 nautical miles out."

"Sir!" One sailor at the passive scanning consoles yelled for attention. "There's a big, and I mean HUGE, bulging, yet tubular anomaly on the ocean floor contours about five miles north of the island. It wasn't there during the oceanography surveys as of two years ago."

"Volcanic dome maybe?" Nelson returned with most of his attention straining to see what the drone's visuals were showing. "Plate tectonics have been real active in this area for almost forty years."

"I think it's too regular for that," the sailor returned doubtfully.

"Is it moving? Any energy sources? Making any noise?"

"No sir."

"Monitor but keep me posted if anything changes."

"Aye aye, Captain."

"Holy SHIT!" The drone operator suddenly half shouted in horror. "SIR! Look at THAT!"

On his main readout screen, the drone's side aimed cameras hit a fog free patch to reveal scores of human looking soldiers docking the front of their assault boat against the rear of one anchored to the huge ice wall. That anchoring was being done by several large, black and orange, four limbed, web footed creatures using mucous covered and suckered digits attached to the boats and ice with their fore and aft appendages. Then the supposedly human soldiers in the incoming craft were standing up, stretching, changing, and turning into monstrous, predatory looking nightmares with four limbs, tails, big bulging eyes, and wide mouths full of big sharp teeth. They looked like some kind of outsized, smooth skinned, round headed, fin tailed, oddly jointed, fat, and slime covered crocodiles with wide set and bulging frog eyes.

The invading creatures then bounded over their mucous covered and bridging companions to mass along the base of the ice wall as incoming cruise missiles pounded the wall's crest high above them. The drone's cameras also revealed that all along almost a mile of the southwestern section of the ice wall the same scene was being repeated with thousands of craft jostling for position to unload. Once empty, the assault craft were simply sunk by the last exiting monster to make room for the next to dock. It didn't take a genius to see that the invaders were waiting for breaches in the ice to be made so that they could land attack the island at all costs and no retreat. There was already one wide swath of black and orange creatures starting to crawl up more of their mucous secured brethren towards a small gap that had been blown in the ice wall. Along either side were stationary orange colored monsters and even a few that were almost gold skinned holding themselves in place with their mucous covered and suckered digits. These brighter colored ones were obviously conversing and directing the entire alien monsters' assault.

"Holy Mary Mother of God!" One sailor breathed in shuddering awe. He was one of many that had left their stations to gape at the drone operator's visual screens.

"How, how can they do that, Captain?" Another blurted nervously.

"Not sure. Must be some combo kind of evolved chameleon type camouflage along with some alien ability to mentally control, contract, shift, and expand all the molecules of their bodies. But I'm thinking this is their true form. THERE! See that gap in the wall? Put our bird on the other side of that ice!" Nelson ordered as he noticed small explosions bursting on the opposite side of the wall's gap. "Look! Somebody's already fighting these bastards!"

The operator turned the drone while shifting the visual cameras to forward viewing. He set the drone's engines to full power and shot the gap directly over the heads of the toothy, gaping, orange colored aliens jerking their heads to look up at the flying object that wasn't theirs. Beyond the ice was a scene of total carnage of the black and orange skinned invaders being literally chewed and blown to pieces as sharks roiled the water below. Before the operator could turn to circle the fast moving drone, its cameras caught a platoon of Marines blasting away with everything they had from the roof of a low block building. A black looking robot stood behind them as if observing. A few seconds later, thanks to Murphy's First Law, the drone was unluckily nailed by an outgoing mortar round and all telemetry ceased.

"DAMN! Well, there's your alien robot pal again, Rollie." The Mandrake's exec exclaimed excitedly. "But killing alien monsters by using a platoon of U.S. Recon Marines? NOW you can get a giant WTF here. How in the HELL did those guys get there first? Why weren't we told about them? And what in the hell is Sec Def doing firing nuke missiles at that island when our own guys are already there? And we still got several ramjet drone bombers coming in suborbital?"

"Fucking, swell headed, first to fight gyrenes! Wouldn't ya just know it?" A silent until now Chief Jankowitz muttered in disgust before he turned to Nelson with his hands open to plead his case. "Now see? THAT'S what I conked in the mess room, Cap'n! One of those gold colored, alien lizard guys! Do you believe me now?"

"I believed you before, Chief," Nelson replied grimly. "Put me closer to that island pronto, Tom. All ahead flank. Chief, send the men to chow by sections. It maybe be a while before they get a chance to eat again."

"Chow call by sections, aye aye!" The Chief grinned his approval. Eat first and with a full belly kill mass amounts of alien lizard things later. It was good to have a captain with the right priorities.

"All ahead flank, aye aye." The exec ordered, but he gave Nelson a worried look. "What are we gonna do, Rollie? Our computer enhanced readouts show those alien fucks are attacking on three sides. We don't have enough cruise missiles to really make any kind of dent in those numbers. And we don't have enough small arms and ammunition to do much if we get close enough either."

"I'm not leaving our Recon boys high and dry if I can help it, Tom. And remember, those old weapons they're firing were made by the lowest bidder. Get a solution for our cruise missiles to target the aliens on the ocean side of the ice wall's southwest breach. Go over that heat dome or around it. We may not get all of 'em, but we can sure as hell save some of our guys' ammo by flaming as many of those slimy assed monsters as we can. If the opportunity presents itself, maybe our SEALS could get in and get those Marines safely out to us. Set a course to circle behind the Russian fleet. Get another drone in the air. Two if we got 'em. I need more eyes around and over that island if possible. Also, mark the deepest points on the ocean floor. If our boys are killed and the Chief's alien lizards overrun the black robot's island, then we're gonna dive deep and nuke the whole damn theater of war. And we'll let that crazy sonofabitch Sec Def sort his damn mess out later while we get ready to fight the lizard guys coming at us from space."

"Murphy's First Law of politics says that Sec Def bastard won't take responsibility," Chief Jankowitz muttered sourly to himself, "Or any blame for anything, but damn, I got me one helluva good captain."

***scene break***

Kazehana was discovering an aspect of Murphy's First law of War that was starting to really piss her off. The old "Every command which can be misunderstood or disagreed with, will be," was surfacing way too often, especially when she was trying to concentrate on maintaining a very tiring, high whirlwind around Kamakura Island's upper atmosphere to stymie the myriads of the fleets' attacking aircraft. A weary Miya was using her weakening sonic powers to slam any that tried to come in lower, and Akitsu along with Uzume, helping them both, were running very low on energy too. Matsu was really getting exhausted also, and Himeko almost drained, but the seven of them had managed to stave off every airborne threat with the help of the pulse cannon crew. It had taken a heavy psychic toll on everyone, especially the healers, and everyone's nerves too. Kazehana opened her eyes, flipped up her helmet visor, and angrily fixed a defiant Mutsu with a stare that would have frozen a lesser being.

"Damn you Muts! I said make a transverse crevasse up there, not get your ass down here!" Kazehana snapped out while clenching her left fist in Mutsu's face. He petulantly flinched away while not meeting her tired and now dark circled eyes. "And I am NOT going to move the pulse cannon that far away from the ship. Stop being deliberately obtuse. And quit trying to deliberately piss me off. We don't have time for your school kid sulking act because you aren't getting your way either. Now you go make a large crevasse across the entire northern end of island. Got it?"

"That isn't going to be enough!" Mutsu protested vehemently despite further risking of Kazehana's mounting wrath. "Both Archer and Akitsu say they are feeling something very huge and nasty up there. I don't feel it, and neither does anyone else, but we've got to trust them as being the most sensitive among us. Dammit! I have been WARNING you and Karasuba that we are weakest on those blind north coasts. These minor landings southeast and southwest are just diversions. The real mass assault is going to happen in our biggest blind spot. You've got enough air cover here. The pulse cannon HAS to go north. Mother! Tell her!"

Kazehana gritted her teeth in frustration. Natalie standing silently to one one side grimaced in dismay at the dissension Mutsu was causing. He maybe had a valid point, but on the other hand, Kazehana was the Prime Pillar. It was her decision, and Natalie was NOT going to over ride it; mainly because who knew which was right? Natalie was as clueless about ground combat strategy as everyone else, and besides, her crippled data banks still had gaping blanks in them, especially about the enemy they were facing. In fact, Natalie felt pretty useless from not being able to help Kazehana in much of anything other than offering moral support, and being just as frustrated.

"NO!" Kazehana said forcefully. "Muts. We are getting TIRED here! We need the cannon right where it is to back us up and protect our Ashikabi in the ship. While you've been standing around up north and second guessing me, the rest of us have been getting drained dry. And wasn't it YOU who told all of us years ago that Murphy's Laws of War say that the diversion you ignore is usually the main attack? IF and WHEN the missile and bomb attacks slow down, I'll reconsider. For now, we are going to make as big and as many obstacles as we can to slow down massed ground attacks from all three landing points. Karasuba wants to funnel all of the invaders here so we can kill them together with our circle meshed powers. Now get your ass north and make that crevasse!"

"Dammit, Kazehana," Mutsu ground out as calmly as he could. "Just because you got drunk out of your mind and jumped Archer to re-wing yourself, and all because weenie ass Minato simply couldn't get you sexually satisfied, that DOESN'T make you a strategic OR tactical genius NOW. Nor a Prime Pillar that has one clue about fighting a battle. It only makes you a faithless bitch that doesn't deserve one speck of respect from anyone, especially when you start slamming tamas every time you get a stupid decision questioned. That pulse cannon HAS to go NORTH!"

Kazehana sighed in total exasperation. Mutsu had a definite point about her overall leadership and emotional weaknesses, and she knew it. On the other hand there could only be one in overall command, and circumstances had put that very heavy burden on her. She was NOT going to let her Prime Leader down by trying to dodge responsibility now. She looked up at the pulse canon emplacement and noticed approvingly that power bars and water were being delivered to the Sekirei there and made a mental note to thank whoever organized the supply routines while she was worried about the tactics of defending their position. She turned back to a scowling Mutsu and looked up at his angry gray eyes.

"Look. Whether you like it or not, Muts, whether I DESERVE it or not, or even if I'm as dumb, shallow, faithless, and a piece of capricious garbage as you think, I AM your Prime Pillar, in charge, and I DO have a brain. That pulse cannon stays here. If you don't agree, then I don't need to slam your tama to kick your female disdaining ass either. As soon as Karasuba gets back, I'll send her, Aki-chan, and Tsukuimi to ice down the north coasts and put up ice walls on either side of your crevasse all the way out to the ice ring at both ends. That will block the north better than the south, and that's all we can do for right now."

"At least give me Riko!" Mutsu clenched his fists while choking back some rather inventive cursing. "We need some real ranged firepower on those northern peaks!"

"No! Karasuba has Riko delaying the southwest landings with some U.S. Marines they persuaded to help fight for us. Now, Karasuba has Minato's Circle helping Kusano and Shiina growing a series of long thorny walls to slow down the southeast attack. As soon as they get back, I'll send Shiina to you. If and only IF Karasuba decides that the southwest landing is just a diversion, then I'll send Riko too. Not before. Karasuba also says the Marines fighting with Riko have learned to concentrate on killing the mostly orange and gold skinned leaders first. That will slow the enemy down too. If you have to fall back before we can reinforce your position, then fall back. Now, you've got your orders, damn you! Don't say another word, Muts. Just GO!"

Mutsu went, but he wasn't happy at all. He was now audibly cursing while noting that although Kazehana had great psychic power, greater than his actually and well able to do as she threatened, her grasp of sound military tactics was weaker than Karasuba's. And especially his. He wisely had turned his helmet mike off, however. From the way she had nailed him this morning, he had already risked some very excruciating pain trying to get Kazehana to see what HAD to be done to meet the northern threat, but she hadn't budged at all, dammit. On the other hand, U.S. Marines were fighting for them in the south? That had to be good, and another factor he hadn't used in his war gaming. As soon as Karasuba came north, he was going to ask for them to be assigned to him as well as Riko.

"I'm so sorry I can't be more help to you, Kazehana," Natalie began after Mutsu had bounded angrily away, but Cash mentally stopped her.

"Kazehana," Cash's voice said softly in Kazehana's suit helmet. "You're doing just great, honey. All of you are. Kouji says the ICBM launches have suddenly stopped. The Americans quit firing them first, then the Russians and Chinese quickly followed suit. Something must have happened because he says there's a whole hell of lot more missiles that could have been fired off. The last drone bombers launched are more then an hour out too. And the fleets' aircraft are all turning away or destroyed. It looks like we're getting a break before the landing assaults hit us. According to Seo, it's gonna take time for them to get organized beyond our ice wall. Eat and rest as soon as possible, honey. And I'll talk to Mutsu and try to get him calmed down."

"Oh Lover, thanks!" Kazehana breathed in relief. "Muts is such a pain, and I'm so TIRED and hungry. That air defense took a lot out of me, and my Norito has worn off. I'm sure the others are all drooping badly too."

"I wish there was some way I could," Cash began but paused a few seconds before continuing. "Got an idea. Natalie, help me here Sweetheart."

Suddenly a warm and energizing feeling swept through Kazehana. She took a deep shuddering breath, then another. Her intense hunger remained, but at least now she felt like she had enough energy to eat.

"How'd you do that, Lover-kun?"

"Ummm, I'm not exactly sure, but I could feel the guys around me here in the control room and sorta borrowed and collected a little of their minds' energy, and sent it to Natalie's ring in my mind. She pushed some to you, Miya, Himeko, Uzume, and Akitsu. Karasuba and Toyotama still feel pretty perky. Did it help you?"

"Oh yes! Wow! Did it ever! Remind me to give you a giant kiss later!"

"Okay, and honey?" Once again Cash paused, but this time Kazehana felt he was hesitating from not wanting to hurt her feelings, but not from uncertainty. "Riko is my Sekirei too. I am very uncomfortable having her fight apart from our Circle. And maybe this isn't the best time to bring it up, but you need to help me get Riko properly meshed with us. Natalie has done her part. Now its time for you and I to do ours. I can feel there's been a big change in Riko's tama, and she's much more open emotionally."

"I'm not sure she should be trusted here," Kazehana frowned in indecision. "Maybe if I had done a better job last night, and, and..."

"Look, I know that your plans last night were a bust, but the reasons they went south weren't all your fault. The rest of us failed too, especially me. Can you put aside your unhappiness and disappointment at the way things went in the dream party, and stop blaming only yourself? I have faith in you despite what that sour ball Mutsu says. Can we get Riko better situated with you now? And me?"

"I, I'm not sure,"Kazehana began doubtfully. "She's SO, ummm, disturbed! Maybe if she fights well and..."

"No!" Cash interrupted forcefully. "No conditions, honey. We take her just the way she is. Demanding nothing out of her except openness and honesty. Everything else we'll find a way to live with. I've come to see that the rest of us all have our warts that have to be overlooked or just accepted. She's entitled to hers the same as the rest of us. If she fights, well then fine. If not, then that's fine too, and we'll protect her. That's why I don't want her alone down on the base. I've tried to call her, and talk to her, but something must be wrong with her helmet. Don't hang her out there while feeling I don't care. Please Rose. Help her."

"Okay, I will, Lover." Kazehana sighed in self recrimination as she felt Cash's warm mental caress wash over her anew. How had she ever thought the cold hearted Minaka was the Ashikabi for her? Despite her failures last night, as Prime Pillar she really should have taken the ongoing lead in restoring Riko too. On the other hand she couldn't leave her central position here to go to Riko. Kazehana turned her attention to Uzume as Miya The One Who Serves began handing out bags of lightly salted Japanese rice crackers to her Circle along with bottles of Gatorade. Kazehana gestured for Uzume to open her visor for a quick private chat.

"Zoomer, Lover feels worried about Riko, and that we've all made a big mistake earlier in not being warmer to her. I see that he's right. Despite what he says about taking her in whether she fights with us or not, we really NEED Riko to fight. She's way too powerful to waste on our perimeter. Go to the base. Stick with her until the fighting stops. While you're there, I want you and Riko to start making long, tall, and offset walls with top spikes to slow these alien newt things down in case they get past those human Marines and start swarming this way. If we can trap batches of the enemy between those walls, then our close combat types can sweep through them to thin their ranks. We can't afford to get overwhelmed by sheer numbers before we can recover some energy. Then you both get back to me as quickly as you can."

"No! I can't leave Joe! Besides, Reeker and I can't mesh enough to make..."

"Can't or won't?" Kazehana gave Uzume a very dark frown at being disobeyed. "We both have to set our personal misgivings aside for Lover's sake. Especially me! Look, I'm NOT asking, Zoomer. I'm TELLING! Riko's awake and fighting. That's a giant plus in my Prime Pillar book. You're still her bond mate AND responsibility for now. The two of you are gonna make up sooner or later anyway. So it might as well be sooner. Now you GO to her and TRY. And don't come back here until those walls are up. The sooner they are, THEN you can be back here closer to Lover-kun. Eat some power bars and take an energy drink too. You're still looking too tired."

Uzume pouted resentfully for a few seconds before sighing and turning to pick up a handful of trail mix power bars, several bags of salted, soy flavored seaweed snacks, almond rice crackers, and a few liter bottles of a sports drink. She quickly used her powers to form a large sack with straps to carry the food and drinks. She slung the loaded bag over her left shoulder. Kazehana was right. Uzume WAS tired from pushing psychic power to the Sekirei fighting off the air and missile attacks. All of them around the pulse cannon were too. At this rate their battle formation would be too weak to effectively fend off ground attacks. They needed a break and energy replenishing food and drink. Hopefully they would get some relief since the explosions and far off heavy gunfire to the southwest had abruptly slackened a little earlier. Had those American Marines been fighting that effectively? Had Riko finally dropped her drama queen and solo act bullshit and finally gotten with the program? She turned away to start leaping south to the base, but a pair of hands without armored gloves tugged at her free forearm.

"Uzume, wait," Madoka's soft voice broke into Uzume's gloomy thoughts. The smaller blonde healer reached into Uzume's helmet and let her right palm caress Uzume's left cheek. A warm feeling of reinvigorating strength began flowing into and all through the Veiled Sekirei's body and mind.

"Ohhh, that helps," Uzume took in a deep breath and reached up to press the invading soft hand harder against her face. They stood like that for several, mutually close eyed and silent seconds before Madoka spoke again.

"I, I heard Kazehana order you to leave, and," Madoka paused in uncertainty before plunging ahead with what she wanted to say. "I, uhhh, want you to know that it, it really worries me because, well, Riko just CAN'T be trusted! When I was in her mind earlier, I could see! She STILL wants Cash Joseph all to herself, like, like some princess in a fairy tale. She feels she DESERVES him almost like a possession of hers, or a prize she's won for keeping herself pure for him all her life. She has no desire to be part of a Circle or sharing her Ashikabi like the rest of us normal Sekirei, nor will she FIGHT with a whole heart just to help you destroy her lifelong dreams."

"I don't understand," Uzume took a frowning half step back. "Reek has always been a closed off little oddball, but we've always been best pals. We can talk about anything. Hell, I've defended her since we were kids! So has Kazehana and Akitsu! And she KNOWS she has to share Joe with me now, as well as our Sisters."

"Yes, intellectually she knows that," Madoka persisted intently, "but emotionally she is VERY jealous and wants him totally devoted to her and no one else, not even you. She's a total freak, Uzume, and not the POOR misunderstood Riko to be defended like you think. She has no desire to be a true, sharing, and open bond mate with you, not like what I had with my Yosuga. The rest of you can all FEEL there's something really wrong with her, but I KNOW her really deepest thoughts and desires. She's kept them hidden all this time, and I'm sure this is what has gotten your Cash Joseph's constant rejection of her. He unconsciously really HATES that twisted possessiveness of hers."

"Ahhh, Joe just told Kazehana he's going to take Riko as she is," Uzume shook her head slightly at the grave concern in Madoka's light blue eyes. "So he's got to have something cooking to deal with her once and for all after the battle."

"If we SURVIVE," Madoka bit her lower lip trying to make Uzume understand her danger. "And Riko can't be trusted to PROTECT you! And, and I care about you! Look! Let me SHOW you what I've seen in her!"

Madoka slipped her other bare hand up to lightly grip Uzume's cheeks. The contact was enough for the blonde healer to send the deepest impressions she had seen in the dark depths of Riko's mind. Uzume gasped in dismay, then flushed as Madoka's own emotional desires were also revealed in some very graphic details of what had been shared with her now dead bond mate Yosuga. Only now they had Uzume's image also entwined in them. Uzume jerked away, breathing heavily.

"I'm, I'm sorry," Madoka looked down and to one side, not able to meet Uzume's eyes. "I shouldn't have done that. I can hardly bear being alone, and you, you are so, so... and, and, I really want a dark bonded crest like yours and, and all that I see and feel comes with it... with you... and, and him... and a Circle that, that.."

"Even if Joe and Reeker and me don't work things out," Uzume began unsteadily and shook her head. She took Madoka's right hand in both of hers and clasped it tightly, but away from any more intimate contact. The physical message was clear. Whether there was a mutual attraction between them or not, their fates were on separate paths.

"Our Circle is not like, like, ummm, Seo's, and you already have an Ashikabi. I'm, I'm flattered, really, but Joe is everything to me, and, and he deserves everything I can give him, even my life. You, you can see that, right? I mean, unless maybe he re-winged... but Joe is, uhhh, well, Joe... and way deeper and loyal and nicer and caring than what he shows on the surface, ya know? He's not a heartless prick of an Ashikabi either. Even though Kazehana got drunk and jumped him, he's still bothered about how her re-winging had to hurt Minato. So, uhhh, him intentionally re-winging you... for me…. And our Circle... well..."

Uzume trailed off while tenderly patting Madoka's hand, but Uzume was still shaking her head. A half shivering Madoka nodded in understanding while trying to smile up at her through eyes beginning to tear up. Yes, she had an Ashikabi, and in spite of everything she did love him. She knew Uzume couldn't join her with her Ashikabi. He just didn't have Cash Joseph's raw psychic power, and she didn't really want to leave her loving Ashikabi to join Cash Archer's Circle. What had she been thinking? Was it because she too was almost exhausted and letting foolish emotions overrule common sense?

"Just be very careful," Madoka finally found her voice, choked back a sob of lonely longing, and added before turning away. "Especially around Riko, and, and I'll always help you, Uzume, and be here for you, especially when fighting."

A few troubled heartbeats later, a frowning Uzume took a very deep breath, and leaped south. She had her orders from Kazehana and knew her Ashikabi's desires. Riko's great powers were NEEDED to protect Joe despite how Uzume or anyone else felt; even if Riko had to be totally bitch slapped to use them as any "normal" Sekirei should.

A very tired Kazehana was no fool and certainly wasn't drunk, but she too was greatly troubled by what she had just overheard, especially the part about her hurting Minato before Uzume's heavy sigh and Madoka's choked off sob when turning away. Kazehana's drunken and selfish faithlessness to Minato was obviously a deeper thorn in all the other Sekirei's hearts than what she really wanted to admit to herself. On the other hand, again, she was now Prime Pillar, and that reality wasn't going to change. Neither was the fact that Madoka's desires for Uzume had little chance of being realized.

She watched Uzume go out of slitted eyes. Madoka's damning of Riko's selfish possessiveness and faithlessness to her bond mate and Circle in a lot of ways applied to one short tempered, self serving, and bitchy Prime Pillar, Kazehana realized. Especially one who should have used her love for motivation rather than too quick use of tama twisting pain. It was a very sobering realization, and she couldn't hide behind some inner battle over booze as to how irresponsible and unstable she had been in so many ways, to her Ashikabi, to her Sisters, to her Circles, and quite frankly, to her self.

Uzume's declaration of total sacrifice of herself for who and what she loved had been right. Everyone on Kamakura Island truly deserved everything Kazehana could give them, even her life, especially her man. She couldn't change what had happened to Minato, nor the hurt caused, but from now on she could damn well try her best to not make Cash regret having her as his Sekirei. He deserved better for taking and keeping her in such a flawed condition, and now placing his faith in her. Madoka and the other Sekirei not yet in Circles deserved better from her too. After the battle and if they survived, that would be the time they all would need a much more loving, caring, unselfish, and thoughtful Prime Pillar. With her Sister's help, that was exactly what Kazehana intended to give them, because deep down, Kazehana knew she was better than what she had been, and she could match Uzume's dedication and love or die trying.

Kazehana sighed deeply in determination while hoping this small break in the action would continue a little longer. She was still hungry! And the main ground battle hadn't even started yet. On the other hand their defense of Kamakura Island and Cash's baseball oriented coaching help seemed to be going very well, and even much better than what she had first expected. Even recalcitrant Mutsu and still disturbed Riko were in the fray. However, in the back of Kazehana's mind, another facet of Murphy's First Law silently nagged at her. It was the feeling that "If everything seems to be going well, you have obviously overlooked something."

***scene break***

When Uzume arrived on the roof of the MBI base armory she found yet another characteristic of Murphy's Laws of War at work. "If your positions are firmly set and you are prepared to take the enemy assault on, he will bypass you." This was evidenced by eight Recon Marines all lounging near their weapons and taking a break while Gunny Sledge and Riko did a fast flying reconnoiter of the island's situation in and outside the ice wall. When Uzume landed, took off her helmet, and shook out her long, chestnut colored, and sweat soaked hair, Wilson looked up in pleased surprise.

"Well damn! Another sweet looking beauty!" Wilson grinned in delight as Buzzard nodded in affable agreement. They were both sitting on either side of their machine gun in impromptu, high back, arm chairs made from a clever stacking of some extra bracing sand bags. The other six Marines were relaxing in various positions around the roof yet keeping watch while they munched on rations retrieved from their damaged combat packs. Wilson waved a green bottle that had somehow miraculously survived his bag's hard fall.

"Hello Darlin'! Welcome to Kamakura Recon Fire Base 1! Want some Chianti wine and cheese? Catch a few heat rays with us? Maybe after we win the battle for you folks, you and me could get naked?"

"Seriously?" Uzume's anger flared instantly at his male crudity; fueled greatly by Madoka's disturbing revelations about herself and Riko as well as Kazehana ordering a reconciliation. Uzume dropped her helmet, reached out with her left hand faster than Wilson could follow, yanked him out of his sand bag lounge, and used her right, hard gloved palm to resoundingly slap the Marine across his chops. On the follow through, Uzume gave Wilson a returning backhand on the other side of his now lopsided jaw. Then she repeated those open handed blows several times like Wilson was some kind of stupid cartoon character getting some sense slapped into him. He was barely conscious when Uzume carelessly tossed him back onto his sandbags. She wheeled to confront Buzzard, fixing him with a no nonsense stare of contempt.

"Are you morons Marines, or low life lounge lizards?" The literally fuming Uzume demanded.

"Uhhh, uhhh, both?" Buzzard's wide eyes did fast double takes between this quicksilver fast female and the hapless Wilson sprawled on the other side of the machine gun like a large, half filled gunny sack of potatoes. Buzzard's eyes also darted to his other six Recon companions who were wisely sitting up with their open hands up beside their ears and looking as innocent and uninvolved as they possibly could.

"Where's my Sister Riko?" Uzume continued sharply while looking around in continued, narrow eyed anger.

"Miss Riko, uhhh, took off with our Gunnery Sergeant to look things over, uhhh, ma'am," Buzzard responded lamely after swallowing hard. Jeez! This one had a temper! Maybe even a HUGE man hating temper from the look in her eyes! And was Wilson ever in trouble when Gunny returned! With that thought, Buzzard eased out of his sand bag lounge, kicked it over, and moved to sit behind his weapon in a much more innocent, militarily alert, and less damning position than Wilson's.

All seven watchful Marines jerked sideways when Karasuba materialized on the roof beside Uzume. Each man instantly wondered how in the HELL did Mrs. Karasuba DO that?

"Slumming?" Karasuba asked dryly after flipping her faceplate up. She then snagged Wilson's half full wine bottle, tilted it up to her lips, and chugged the contents. Then she snatched up his small half eaten brick of sharp cheddar. She used it to point at Uzume's shoulder bag while saying, "Damn! I needed that! Food in the sack? Gimme! I'm starved!"

Sighing in resignation, Uzume handed the entire sack over with an aggrieved expression.

"What are you doing here? I thought you was with Kusano and Tsukuimi on the other side of the island."

"I might ask you the same, but I told Riko I would keep tabs on her, and she wasn't answering her com," Karasuba gave a squinty eyed grin and pointed to the moaning Wilson with her chin in further amusement. "Fan of yours?"

"Hardly. Kazehana ordered me to join Riko and make a series of high walls to slow down any bad boys trying to come north from this area. But I haven't seen one yet. Don't even know what they look like. It seems they went somewhere else, and Riko took off with the sergeant in charge of these lounging idiots to reconnoiter."

"Huh," Karasuba nodded while looking around at the relatively clean rooftop. There was a big box of empty shell casings but little else to indicate the Recon Marines had been in action. She gave one of the staff sergeants a mildly inquiring look. "What happened after I left? What's with all the empty brass picked up"

"Miss Riko says she might be able to make something useful out of 'em when she gets time. Maybe even some kind of reloads. We chewed up a couple of thousand of those big toothy monsters coming through that slot in the ice out there with the machine guns and mortars. What we didn't kill, the sharks did. A couple of their big missiles fell short and wasted a bunch of 'em on the other side of the ice too because friendly fire just ain't very friendly in any army, ya know? Then the black and orange slimy guys just stopped coming. About a minute later a couple of gold colored ones peeked at us real quick, then nothing. Gunny told us to relax while Miss Riko flew him around for a look see."

The staff sergeant, clearly not too impressed with Karasuba previously using them as enemy evaluation bait, nonchalantly stood up and pointed out beyond the dock with the barrel of a grenade launcher.

"A little bit ago we saw a three high stack of maybe a couple of dozen black spotted ones with an orange one on top of them cruising in the water along the wall. They'd dip down and then come up with fish tails in some of their mouths. It looked like they were eating anything they came across in the water, especially the sharks. They skedaddled when we opened fire again. Haven't seen 'em since, but they're still out there and eating. You can bet on it. Don't know what they're waiting on though, what they plan to do, or exactly where they are. Gunny will find 'em, and he'll figure things out for everybody. He always does."

"You guys got a lot of confidence in your Gunny?" Karasuba asked in an amused yet condescending tone.

"Mrs. Karasuba, its like this." The staff sergeant cradled the grenade launcher in his arms. "If we was on some foreign island caught in between two warring and super powered alien races, Gunny is the only fighting man we've ever known or even heard of that could find a way to get us all out alive. But if he didn't, we'd all kill as many alien shits as we could for him before we all died together."

"Gunny's a flat out tactical genius, ma'am! And that's a fact!" Buzzard blurted out in support before clapping both hands over his wayward mouth for drawing attention to himself from the very dangerous feeling, sword carrying, gray haired, female alien freak in front of them.

"First I'm a freak, and now I'm an alien shit?" Karasuba chuckled while munching some rice crackers and then pausing to take a big swig of Oronamin C energy drink. Suddenly she was standing next to the staff sergeant before he could even blink. "Which is it?"

"I'm thinking... both." The taller older sergeant replied coolly and not moving other than turning his head to look down at her since she was a head shorter. Karasuba's eyebrows raised in amused appreciation as he stared back fearlessly. "You got freaky killer eyes even though you have very pretty long gray hair and a cute face. You really don't impress me much, and you look down on us human mortals like I expect those gold alien shits do, and maybe underestimate us too. So you're a freak and a cold hearted shit of an alien."

"You may be right, Romeo, but it probably isn't too wise to say it. I could kill all of you in less than an eye blink." She cocked her head sideways in curiosity as he didn't react at all. "But you don't care, Tough Guy?"

"I'm a Recon Marine, ma'am. Every which way we march is always uphill. And with the shitty end of the stick for our next objective. A fella sorta gets used to the thought of maybe getting killed in a to whom it may concern kind of way. Just really doubt that you will do it now is all. Gunny says you need us, and your ball playing husband and YOU really need Gunny's brains and experience."

The staff sergeant paused to jerk his head towards the dock before continuing.

"That is if you all want to survive a zillion of these Bulgy Eye monsters that's gonna try to overrun this rock; especially with their gold skinned leaders not caring how many of 'em have to die to do it. So, you NEED us…. Ma'am... alive."

"Oh? Do tell," Karasuba chuckled lightly. "I'll concede your Gunny could be a decent military adviser for my Sweetums, but just why do I need the rest of you?"

"Machine guns, rifles, grenades, and mortars don't get tired, Mrs. Karasuba, nor hungry and thirsty. You Sekirei do. Just look at you and that sweaty gal over there. And Miss Riko was looking pretty peaked too. We Marines all got a feeling these slimeball enemies of yours are working up to a giant mass suicide attack and win by overwhelming you when you folks run out of steam. That's what Gunny thinks anyways."

"And he told you this?"

"Yes, ma'am, just before he and Miss Riko flew off. And Gunny ain't never been wrong yet. Don't let that old timey country accent of his fool you. He just uses that to calm folks down and make the big brass think he ain't worth screwing with, him AND us. He really is a strategic and tactical genius. So, you need us, Mrs. Karasuba, and quite frankly, I think you know it too. You and your new friend over there better eat, drink, and rest up like we was doing. Gunny says things are gonna go into a very deep shit latrine soon on this island, real soon."

Karasuba looked around slowly while thinking, glanced up at the ballsy Recon Marine staff sergeant, and then simply shrugged. She waved for Uzume to join her and sit on the machine gun's sand bags to continue eating and drinking beside a very wary looking Buzzard. The Marines along with a sheepish and contrite Wilson also returned to relaxing and munching on what rations they had recovered from their combat bags. The odd and silent tableau was interrupted by Riko and Gunny Sledge's return a few minutes later.

"Wilson!" Gunny scowled immediately upon spotting the still half dazed Marine's red and swelling face. "You been running off at the mouth again, boy?"

"I behaved in a rude, inexcusable, and insulting manner towards the new alien lady, Gunny," Corporal Jack Wilson confessed as plainly and quickly as his sore and badly swollen mouth allowed. He knew from long experience a fast confession was the only thing that would slightly alleviate the punishment he was sure to endure if he survived the battle. Besides, not only was a fast admission of guilt being the quickest way to nominally getting back on Gunny's good side, a little quick and apologetic contrition might just be the ticket over into the new chestnut hair haired beauty's good graces too; and maybe eventually into her panties. Man, he just LOVED strong gals! Wonder what her name was? And dammit, who had stolen his cheese and drank up all his Chianti?

"You two sick pup magicians turned yourselves into cock hounds again as soon as my back is turned? As soon as I can Ah'm gonna tear you a new..." Gunny began with his face darkening in a fierce scowl to make even the irrepressible Wilson shrink back and almost cower like a contrite pooch getting a rolled up newspaper waved at it.

"Enough useless chit chat! He's probably lucky Uzume didn't rip his face off," Karasuba interrupted loudly as she stood up and glared at Riko. "You and Sledge left this roof without my permission."

"Y, yes," Riko began hesitantly before glancing at a cold faced Uzume, then immediately stiffened to face Karasuba and continued more confidently.

"You told me to observe the enemy and report. I deemed it necessary to use Gunny's professional eyes to help me do just that. The more orange newt types are controlling leaders of three or four dozen of the more spotted ones. When their orange leader is killed, the spotted newts go totally feral and try to eat anything they can, sometimes even each other. There are much fewer gold skinned newts that appear to be the top commanders and the bigger brain types, but when one was killed there didn't appear to be any change in the ferocity nor purposeful direction of the others' attack. Not right away at least, but only a few minutes later, and after several massive explosions that sounded like cruise missiles hitting the base of the ice wall, the lower spotted newt attacks abruptly stopped. A lot of them must have been destroyed from the way they're packed all along the outside ice wall around the island. Two gold ones then popped up in the wall breach briefly, looked the situation over, and then they all moved away. That's when I took Gunny up to observe their movement outside the ice wall as well as give him a view of the island's interior."

"You didn't think to tell anyone? Especially me?" Karasuba asked in a soft yet menacing tone. "Dammit, when are you gonna start thinking in terms of us being a team, Riko? And stop going off on your own? What in the hell was I supposed to say to Sweetums if you had gotten hurt or killed? I TOLD you to stay here and take no chances! And you STILL got your damn mind shield up again!"

"I tried to call, but I got no answer. I, I thought," Riko flinched in confusion, and then gave Uzume a wounded look. "I thought no one wanted me or cared what would happen here since I was left to fight alone."

"YOU'RE the one who keeps flaking out on us time and time again!" Uzume burst out angrily. She stood up with clenched fists at her side and glared at Riko. "And flaking out on ME! And JOE! Let alone not even wanting to fight FOR us! Only your self! I have tried everything! Not ONCE have you tried to be my true bond mate! You've been so closed off and damned jealous of the rest of us and ME from the first! Wanting to keep Joe all to yourself, you, you..."

"That's not true!" Riko shot back while wincing at Uzume's sharp and very angry tone. "Maybe before, but not NOW! I know I've made a MESS of things, but, but … WAIT!...You, you're believing that blonde thieving bitch Madoka's LIES?... And, and... Zoomer! How could you..."

"LIES my ass! I SAW what she's found in you! She showed me, Reeker! You couldn't hide it from her OR Joe like you did all the rest of us! And she's been more honest with me in less than three hours than you have your entire life! THAT'S how! And if you don't FIGHT for JOE and the rest of us like you SHOULD, I'll be the ONE who makes damn sure you'll never screw over US again! EVER!"

Uzume clenched a fist as if to strike while her long battle veils angrily snapped the air around them both. All nine Marines took a few very judicious steps away from the arguing pair. Riko shrank back but took no action to protect herself even though THIS was the Uzume that had almost killed her right after the Great Tokyo Dome Kerfuffle! NO! And Uzume was thinking Madoka would be a much better bond mate and Sister AND protect and love Cash Joseph more too? She actually wanted Madoka re-winged by him and put in the Prime Circle as The One Who Builds? Riko closed her eyes while desperately trying to think of something to say. Opening her mind and showing her total resentment and anger at Madoka just didn't seem to be a wise move right now. It was VERY disheartening to know that the only reason Uzume had come south was Riko being needed to defend Cash Joseph.

"Zoomer, just forget it!" Karasuba, who hadn't moved an inch or even flinched during Uzume's angry tirade, broke in impatiently. "We NEED this little shit for what she can do at the moment. You two can get squared away later, IF you can. For now, just take this blank bonehead out there and start making the walled barriers heading inland that Kazehana wants."

"Waste of time and energy, Mrs. Karasuba," Gunny Sledge drawled with his arms folded over his massive chest and shaking his head. He reached up to take his helmet off and rubbed his very short blonde hair before continuing. His light blue eyes looked unflinching into the cold obsidian depths of Karasuba's.

"And it's time for you Sekirei folks to listen to some foxhole common sense. Maybe even make plans to decamp. There shore is a mighty big passel of hungry lookin'..."

"We're NOT leaving our MOTHER!" Karasuba interrupted tersely. Gunny simply shrugged in return while giving a small sigh of acceptance.

"Well, okay, Ah guess, and beg your pardon then, ma'am, but in that case one of Murphy's First Laws of War applies heah. If your ambush is properly set, the enemy won't walk into it. Those Bulgy Eyed shits ain't fixin' to come through that first breach out there, or any other place you expect. Nor are they gonna march any farther on land than they have to. Especially over those northern peaks. No siree! They is mainly swimmers, ma'am, and they got some crews out there preparing their attack by eating every frigging shark trapped inside your ice wall. Then they gonna blow holes in that giant ice ring of yours as close to your ship as they can get because that's their true objective. Probably attack the same time from opposite sides of the island east and west where the island narrows in the middle a little.

"Now me and my boys are already in a hard place heah, and because of yer Mama, Ah take it that for you all simply fleeing this island is just not an option, but Missy Riko says that if your husband Cash dies then the game is over for you all. And us too. He's your biggest weakness along with your other Ashikabi fellas. And those gold newts probably want your ship real bad too. Just like the rest of us."

"Then we're set up in the wrong place," Karasuba frowned in thought without even questioning Gunny's accurate assessment nor his forceful, no nonsense tone. "We're too far from the ship."

"Yes ma'am," Gunny nodded and then placed his helmet back on his head. "You need to be on the high land overlooking your ship, maybe even right on it or at least around it, and use the central plain as your killing ground. If you're gonna wall anything, you'd better be walling off access to your ship as well as making concentric stockade rings around your central defensive position with offset holes that will funnel those newts into intense crossfire no matter which direction they come from. Kinda like a typical Roman hill fort if ya knows yer military history. Those spotted newts use their slimy bodies to bridge impediments, but angled, sharp tipped stockades will slow them down to where they're much easier to kill.

"Now, make no mistake, ma'am, those gold skinned boys are targeting your American hubby, first and always. Missy Riko says your ship is one tough nut, but those gold newt leaders probably got a weapon or two to crack it open, if they can get close enough to use em. Ah figure fighting you Sekirei ain't their first big rodeo, see? You better assume so too. And assume they know how to do whatever has worked for them in the past. But everything else will be totally secondary to killing your top man. All they've been doing so far is to get you all to wear yourself out so you'll be easy pickings when the main massed attack starts. The way Ah see it, you all been mucking about as a dangerous bunch of raw amateurs just like the enemy wants."

"You're saying Joe is in great danger? NOW?" Uzume whirled to pick up her helmet. She was going to leap away until Karasuba silently yanked on Uzume's left forearm as a signal to stay put. They needed to hear more of this.

"Who's Joe?" Gunny asked in slight confusion.

"Our husband, Cash Joseph Archer, or Sweetums," Karasuba replied absently while her mind churned away over the ramifications of Gunny's impromptu military lesson.

"Ah see," Gunny nodded in understanding while appreciatively eying Uzume for the first time. She was perhaps the most beautiful female he had ever seen other than Riko, but Karasuba wasn't a slouch either. This Archer MUST have something going for him that wasn't known, but what? And would it be useful during the coming battle?

"The pitiful Yankee Archer with no military background that's leading you all is Mrs. Uzume's man too, eh? That boy shore do get around. Especially with you pretty alien ladies. What makes him so special to you all anyways?"

"Man, Archer's got the feisty brown haired sweetheart named Uzume too?" Wilson muttered to himself in a disgusted undertone. "Damn! I had real high hopes for taming that wild filly. Love those freaky long veils!"

"She's out of your league, Jack, and don't like ya, but that just ain't fair," Buzz whispered in semi agreement. "That ball playing fool has done took all the pretty ones! Damn jocks. Always getting the best looking pussy. Now why is that?"

"Well," Karasuba gave Gunny Sledge an amused knowing look before answering his question. "Sweetums is the very powerful psychic glue that binds our Circles together, aside from his endowed male attributes and knowing how to effectively use them of course. That's when I call him Wolfie! In short, he's one helluva great lover. Right Uzume?"

"Joe is much MORE than that!" Uzume blushed a deep crimson before resentfully glancing sideways at Riko. "At least for MOST of us!"

"Ya know," Karasuba also gave Riko an exasperated look. "You should have just grabbed Sweetums the first day on his apartment roof and kissed him like I told you to. That might have..."

Karasuba paused and frowned until replaced by an expression of amazed understanding.

"Wait a minute! Could it be THAT damn simple? For all of us?"

"What?" Uzume and Riko inadvertently chorused together.

"Don't you see? Everyone of us that bonded to Cash made the first big move! Even you, Uzume! And Natalie! And he responded as the ultimate passive aggressive guy that he is thanks to his crazy mother's overly protective upbringing! But Riko DIDN'T grab onto him! Not once! Because our techno geek and social midget builder is way more passive aggressive than he is! And waiting on Sweetums to make the first move when he emotionally can't! Hot damn! That's gotta be it!"

"No, it isn't," Uzume half growled. Still red faced, she gave Riko another sideways glare.

"I, I don't understand," Riko started blushing at the thought of how close she had come to kissing and maybe eventually raping Cash Joseph when he had been unconscious. And hadn't she tried to snatch him up into the clouds before Kazehana had sabotaged the whole Tokyo Dome fiasco?

"We can get MESHED, ya ditz! Well, maybe not right away! But as soon as we can get you LAID after killing these toothy slime balls! And Natalie transferred!"

"Who's Natalie?" Wilson asked hopefully to earn him another hard look from Gunny.

"She's our ship," Riko explained without thinking, "and Cash Joesph's wife too."

"Archer's screwing a spaceship?" Buzzard asked Wilson in whispered shock. "Now how does a damn jock do THAT?"

"Is everyone one and every THING on this weird damn island sex fiends or something?" Gunny asked rhetorically, but he too was having a hard time picturing this latest concept.

"Pretty much," Karasuba grinned in delight at her "solving" their Circle's main ongoing dilemma. What mental picture she was projecting made both Uzume and Riko blush even deeper crimson. "And as soon we get Riko and Sweetums naked together, the better! Even though that's STILL probably easier said than done!"

"Murphy's First Law. Simple things are always hard. Now looky heah, ma'am," Gunny sighed in exasperation as he read Uzume's disgusted expression at Karasuba's ignorance of what was really wrong with Riko.

"I don't mean to dump cold rain on y'all and yer lovey dovey group sex and maybe even weirder alien type orgies, but maybe you all better concentrate on winning the war heah before descending into a full out futtering frenzy. And for the moment, y'all better use Missy Riko as the game changer she is right now, and just the way she is instead of accumulating a few orgasms you all really ain't got time to get."

"But we're Sekirei! We'll have overwhelming POWER when we're meshed properly, Sledge!" Karasuba objected impatiently.

"Doubtful," Gunny sniffed dubiously while shaking his head again. "Real doubtful, especially if I'm correctly reading what I see in Mrs. Uzume's face. Now I ain't no alien expert, Mrs. Karasuba, but I DO know this. Every army since one was first formed back in the dawn of time has ALWAYS fought with their stomachs. Even if y'all got meshed properly as you put it, what power you gonna generate is just gonna be a cork pop gun, not some overwhelming, blazing, and victorious, one time fireball cannon. Not against the numbers you're facing and as peaked as you already look. You all better plan for a long hard slog of a fight, a mighty hard slog at that. These newt monsters ain't dummies, ma'am. They KNOW what they're facing in you all. I already done seen your energy cannon's output is getting visibly weaker. The rest of you is way too weak now too. Just look at yourselves wolfing down those puny little snacks, but there ain't enough carbohydrates in 'em for ya."

"Man, if they're all sex fiends, even their ship, then why ain't we getting any?" Wilson muttered back to Buzz. "And I get the living shit bitch slapped outta me for hitting on one? THAT'S what ain't fair!"

"Shut yer damn yap, Wilson. One more word outta you two, and I'm cuttin' your pencil dicks off and feedin' 'em to those Bulgy Eyed bastards out theah!" Gunny pointed beyond the base dock with his chin before turning back to Karasuba to make his points.

"Looky, its a matter of simple logistics, ma'am. It's obvious you Sekirei gals have very high metabolic rates, much higher than us humans. You need high calorie food to fight with scads of carbs, and Missy Riko says you Sekirei need a LOT of it. Exert yourselves, no food, get weak, enemy attacks, you're dead. That is another major weakness that is already being exploited by the enemy. Missy Riko is your builder, right? And she flies, and she MOVES things? Then you all need to use what energy you got left now to help her build your hill fort as fast as she damn well can.

"At the same time you need to get as many of those big metal cooking vats in your mess hall MOVED into that fort. Get 'em filled with rice, noodles, water, fat back meat, and maybe some flavoring, and get that food to cooking! Pronto! You all gonna flat out need to EAT before this mess is over. Meanwhile, you all better get organized to fight more effectively. You dasn't keep splitting your forces like you've done either. Too few of you. What moron got you all scattered out like you is? Your Yankee ballplayer?"

"Now I'm a moron TOO?" Karasuba visibly restrained herself. Gunny Sledge was making way too much sense to ignore or petulantly brush off from a minor unintended insult. "What does dasn't mean?"

"That's dare not for Yankees that can't speak real English, ma'am, but Ah ain't including you refined Sekirei belles in my country's lowest subculture nohow. Now before you gals fly off and get ready to fight, there's a little matter of me and my boys' immediate future I'd like to clear up with you."

"Well, I suppose you BOYS could be left here with little danger of being eaten," Karasuba finally sighed. "You seem well enough armed and capable enough to protect yourselves now. And we could bring your Lieutenant back to you after the battle too."

"IF you Sekirei win that is," Gunny shrugged with a shrewd sideways look at her. "Which ain't lookin' too likely from where we professional Marines are sittin'. Amateurs on the battlefield is a giant recipe for disaster, and you all are the rankest raw rookies I've ever done seen. Already done made just about every mistake in the book. Ah ain't too thrilled about sittin' heah, running through all the ammo, and then get eaten once you folks get your butts handed to ya. Now heah's an itty bitty thought for you, ma'am. A platoon of highly trained, experienced, and combat veteran Recon Marines armed properly and providing some heavy crossfire could give you all a better, ummm, edge inside that hill fort Missy Riko's gonna build, as well as lending out our tactical expertise during the fighting, if'n we was properly recompensed that is. Say, some little ol', itty bitty piece of your alien technology that could be construed by our pointy head C.O. as fulfilling our mission?"

"Still thieving are we?" Karasuba gave Gunny a jaundiced look with one cynical eyebrow raised. "Or just doing some free lance mercenary work?"

"I prefer calling it gathering hard intelligence, ma'am," Gunny smiled smugly yet somewhat grimly as he could see from her suddenly thoughtful expression that Mrs. Karasuba was immediately persuaded to go along with the idea. "Besides, we're all surrounded and cut off in the middle of a bazillion monsters with a finite supply of ammo and grub just like you gals. We is all each other has for mutual support to survive heah, and quite frankly, I'm thinking the odds are stacked way against us for that to happen."

"You've not truly seen how well we Sekirei can fight," Karasuba almost sneered at his last comment.

"Yeah, but we have seen how you interact and treat each other." The older staff sergeant that had coolly faced Karasuba down earlier spoke up, but it was with quiet resignation. He then turned to Gunny and continued.

"Knock off the good ol' boy bullshit, Gunny. I saw your facial expression when you first came back. We are well and truly fucked here, and you KNOW it. No way is our EVAC copter gonna get in with that heat dome, and we sure as hell ain't boatin' or swimmin' away past those hungry aliens out there either. Fightin' alongside these Sekirei is a giant loser of an option too."

The staff sergeant shifted his grenade launcher to one hand to dangle by his left leg while he derisively turned his head and spit to the right away from everyone.

"You've seen the same things I've seen, Gunny. These dip shits don't know one damn thing about trusting each other or keeping the faith with their teammates. This Mrs. Karasuba is way over confident and treats her people and us like pieces of dog shit. One look and I can see she don't know jack about effective leadership, just like our dip shit general. She's a fucking user, don't give a damn about anyone but herself and when she gonna get laid next. And she cuts her people down at every opportunity. No way they got any trust and faith in her. Nor will she keep the faith with them. She's a total piece of shit as a battle leader."

The aggrieved staff sergeant turned and used the butt of his grenade launcher to point just as derisively at Uzume and Riko.

"And those two over there, who I gather are supposed to be a paired team, can't even look each other in the eye without blame shifting, yelling, and pissing each other off. Neither one know a damn thing about doing their parts because it just has to be done regardless whether they get noticed, rewarded, respected, or even liked. No WAY are they gonna keep the faith with each other when things go to hell around us, and it's surely gonna. Whoever this Joe or Sweetums or ball playing tomcat of theirs is, he's gotta be a complete idiot from they way they talk about him, not a leader who has faith in them and can truly unify his Sekirei forces. Nor do they have any true faith in him and that he's gonna keep the faith with them. The last thing we need is some damn, dumb ass civilian as the top dog."

"Yeah," Gunny sighed expressively while closing his eyes. "And that's what we got all right."

"And I got a feeling," the staff sergeant continued bitterly while shaking his head. "For all their big talk and super powers, all these Sekirei gals of his really know how to do is cat strut around in heat trying to get his cock's attentions while biting and scratching each other out of the way. And so he's got them constantly and uselessly running around and screwing up by trying too hard to get noticed by him while selfishly screwing each other over. They for sure can't be any kind of effective, working together fightin' platoon from what we're seein' and hearin' outta these three. If they can't keep the faith and trust each other and him in these first little skirmishes, how they gonna do it for each other in the all out battle to the death we got coming?"

He pointed a condemning finger at Gunny's two sad sack teammates.

"Hell, even Wilson and Buzzard know how to do that much, and they're totally worthless except when crunch time hits. But at least we can count on them and TRUST them to do their jobs in our platoon. We both know fightin' to win is foremost all about faith and trust in each other as teammates, Gunny, and these Sekirei ain't got any."

The calm staff sergeant had no idea the almost monotone delivery words of his gloom filled yet very professional assessment of their current situation and being possible allies of the untried, untrained, and undisciplined Sekirei were hitting home. And they were hitting Karasuba, Uzume, and especially Riko like massive sledgehammers. For the first time all three were getting a much needed and hard lesson in the true meanings of a fighting sisterhood as well as their personal and Circle's glaring deficiencies. And it wasn't pretty, not coming from an old, no nonsense, devil dog, human Marine that clearly knew his profession.

"Unless you can persuade Miss Riko to have mercy on us all and fly us back to Okinawa, which we both know she ain't gonna do, then we... AND these she-cat, fighting each other, faithless Sekirei... their mother … and their ballplayer … well, we are ALL well and truly fucked here, Gunny."

The staff sergeant looked around at the sober faces of their platoon. Even a for once silent Wilson had a grim look. Some Marines were heaving deep sighs of resignation, some shaking their heads with the same attitude, and the rest just shrugging and nodding in fatalism as their teammate continued.

"So we'll die with you anyway, Sledgehammer, just like Custer's Last stand, I guess. All we're gonna do from here on is prolong the agony and take as many of those toothy bastards as we can down with us. I know you've seen something that's very, very bad. So don't be blowing smoke up our butts and holding out any false hopes for me and the boys now, or these rookie ass and clueless Sekirei, okay? Just tell 'em their damn Sweetums is a dead man walking and get it over with."

"All righty, you're right, Staff," Gunny sighed while also shrugging and giving an almost apologetic smile to a visibly stunned Karasuba, an equally horrified Uzume, and a Riko finally "suddenly getting it" clear down into her tama of how wrong she had been thinking and feeling and acting in relation to her Cash Joseph, Uzume, and her unmeshed Circle. Her hidden deep jealousy and freakish possessiveness had literally doomed them all.

"When you're right, you're right." Gunny turned his back and walked to the edge of the building to stare out past the dock for a few long seconds. He turned back to give them all a cold eyed look before speaking again with no trace of his warm and assuring Mississippi accent. That odd comfort was gone.

"There's WAY too many enemy swarming all around this damn island, maybe 3 or 4 hundred thousand. Could be more the way they're crawling all over each other out there. And there's another forty or fifty thousand orange and gold control and command types than there should be. This means they're expecting maybe another 2 million of those spotted newts arriving soon from some place. We got no way to stop 'em from coming either, let alone hold 'em off. I figure they'll begin forming up to begin their ground attack in less than an hour, and then it'll take 'em maybe six hours to land two and a half million troops. No way are we all gonna last that long. Can't kill 'em fast enough. We're all royally screwed here like Staff says, and Murphy's First Law of War says there ain't no cavalry coming to save our butts."

***scene break***

The top advance operative of the Rigelian invasion had no idea Murphy's First Law had just tossed a few seemingly innocuous shots into his decades long, carefully laid, and meticulously worked plans. The first major hitch had been the fact that not one manufactured Sekirei control rod device had worked as that insane hybrid fool Minaka had promised. Neither did any of the other Rigelian operatives know why the jinkis hadn't activated, but then again, he had never really counted very heavily on that ploy. Instead his focus for years had been carefully probing and preparing for an all out battle to possess Kamakura Island no matter what the costs. Everything was finally in place for it, and the battle started.

However, thanks to Murphy, across the Pacific Ocean and the North American continent, the assigned Rigelian operative that had wormed access into the Sec Def's war bunker and used stolen codes to launch American missiles had just died. The alien had left his E.M.P. protected and transmission stopping seat in the Faraday caged war room to secretly contact his alien superior while closeted in an outside and just cleaned bathroom. As he then entered a stall and half turned to begin closing the door, his foot slipped on the still wet and slick floor tile. He awkwardly fell headlong unable to catch himself, and his soft Rigelian forehead slammed down upon the stool's flushing mechanism. Seconds later his dead shape shifting body glowed orange and vaporized to leave his clothes, belt, and shoes behind as the only physical evidence found in the greatest disappearing mystery in American military history.

When the finally alerted Sec Def contacted his outraged president about the unauthorized launch code use, the order to launch more American missiles was immediately reversed. Naturally the Russians and Chinese did the same to preserve the international numerical balance of preemptive strike, ICBM missile power. Thus fewer missiles and drone bombers arrived over Kamakura Island than what the Rigelian top operative had originally planned upon.

Meanwhile, in his small, energy cloaked, auxiliary scout spaceship sitting on the ocean floor north off the island's coastal shelf and about 300 meters below the surface, the commander of all, and his top commanders of many, watched the video replay of the first seagull's reconnaissance flight with great satisfaction. They had no way to know that the dead second seagull had recorded three Sekirei dumping large amounts of energy replenishing food and liquid inside their defensive formation. Each was sure, however, that their initial assessment of the coming battlefield's conditions was correct and that the second bird's information was unneeded. Even the unexpected and sudden huge ice ring around the island and heat dome over it, although annoying, weren't anything they and their newt warriors hadn't faced and overcome before.

The top Rigelian commanders actually celebrated. The cursed newt eaters were at a tremendous disadvantage for once. Not only were they totally feral, untrained, poorly led, not battle tested, and obviously not properly joined in their usual psychic battle bonded and eight sided fashion, they were caught out in the open, forces split, away from their food supply base, and they had put all their Ashikabi in one Sekirei egg sack. True, the crashed womb ship was a very tough sack to crack, but not impossible, and the first spying seagull's scanners had confirmed that the Sekirei ship's weapons and primary energy sources were offline and in the process of self destruction. Other than its solar panels and storage batteries, the womb ship was helpless to defend itself now, especially from a pair of shaped fission mines set below its hull. The weak Ashikabi would be destroyed by concussive forces even if the ship's hull withstood the combined blasts. Once the true weakness of all Sekirei were killed, the bonded newt eaters would immediately die too. Any unbonded ones still alive would then be easy meat for the hungry Rigelian warriors. And the now fully matured newt warriors still in their stasis sacks on the ocean floor ringing the island would be HUNGRY!

The Rigelian commander of all rechecked his battle calculations. Despite the disappointing numbers fired from the main military powers' continental sites, his other operatives had already gotten the human military fleet commanders to launch their long and mid range missiles as well as other airborne assets. These would act to keep the Sekirei's attention focused up and outward while beginning the critical attrition of their psychic and physical strength. The human controlled but Rigelian influenced fleets had already launched their massive surface assaults with waves of his shape shifted newt warriors already ringing the island. These surface assault forces also contained the high numbers of his commanders of few that would be needed to direct the final massed assault of his 2 million strong newt army that would soon be coming from below the sea.

When his hungry, just awakened minions attacked in overwhelming numbers to keep the Sekirei pinned down in their pathetic, short handed formation on the central plain, then his specially trained, gold weapon teams would breach the womb ship's hull and kill their Ashikabi. The mop up by what remaining and hungry newt warriors would be all that was left. All forces were in place and activated, even the human controlled. Their ice wall breaking missile attacks were already initiated, and the surface assaults also begun. He now only had to wait for his battle plan to come to its victorious conclusion. This planet would then be totally open to his galaxy commander's attack from space since the Prime Center of the Sekirei hybrid defenders had been assassinated shortly after he had landed and not replaced.

The Rigelian top operative mentally congratulated himself over how neatly everything was now falling into place on a favorable basis for him, but it hadn't been easy. Sneaking himself, his fellow operatives, his commanders of many, the specialized egg laying females, and the egg sacks of his commanders of few past the outer Arcturian defense ring had been tricky. It had been accomplished while in energy cloaked stasis tanks inside a small, well aimed, rogue asteroid. The almost free fall, minimal energy landing had been tricky too. It had taken decades to accomplish the feat and make his auxiliary scout's eventual and successful landfall on the targeted water planet.

It had taken more time to identify, infiltrate, and set operatives in key places of control as well as cripple the bird clan's hybrid defenders by assassinating their main male leader. This last had been very hard to do while remaining undetected since the hybrids had become quite sensitive psychics. Also, discovering feral Sekirei alive and growing on this planet had been an unexpected and unhappy jolt, but even their powers and endurance were finite. Being mortally dependent on their vulnerable Ashikabi and having a high metabolic rate were and always had been the cursed bird clans' greatest weaknesses. Now, in their current feral, untrained, and unmeshed state, they were more than very susceptible to the usual Rigelian massed attacks.

There were three small minor loose ends that now troubled the top Rigelian operative. First, he had sent out two controlled seagulls to passively observe the Sekirei preparations for battle. One hadn't returned. Was their any critical information it might have seen that could be important? If so, what? Second, his main operative in the American military had not reported his progress in launching the massive numbers of missiles that human country possessed. Some had been launched as indicated by his long range sensors, but not anywhere near the numbers available. So what had happened? Would it matter since the other major missile powers on this planet had fired off theirs? The more incoming orbital and sub orbital threats the Sekirei had to deflect now, the more critical energy they would have to expend, energy they would not have to meet the final, massed, newt warrior assault. The third concern was the fact that the Sekirei's new and current main hybrid leader had went totally unnoticed until just a few planetary rotations ago. This had also become very troublesome without any background on him. However, the Sekirei's new prime leader was by all reports an inexperienced young fool and a pacifist, untrained in battle, and incapable of meshing his cursed psychic newt eaters. As a loose end, this hybrid prime leader might actually become a huge Rigelian asset.

Naturally, Murphy's First Law dictated that the Rigelian top operative's careful and extensive calculations did not include any of the following:

The unseen and fast approaching U.S.S. Mandrake with a maverick captain and crew

An ostracized and emotionally crippled Sekirei named Riko desperate to prove herself

A womb ships' crippled, partially amnesic but fiercely and maternally protective gestalt named Natalie

An opposing Sekirei Prime Circle led by a struggling to cope drunk, a former insane serial killer, a former and disgraced Pillar, a less than reformed misandrist, a brain damaged sensitive, a pacifist healer, and an Amazonian sized sex slave

Recon Marine Gunnery Sergeant Beaumont Tupelo Sledge and his platoon who weren't even supposed to be on the island

And the fact that one Cash Joseph Archer, the Earth's new Prime Leader was not exactly a minor loose end to be lightly dismissed.

Not knowing his and the Sekirei defenders on Kamakura Island were now pretty much evenly matched as opponents and going to slug it out as viciously as all Rigelian and Sekirei battles had always been, all the top Rigelian operative could anticipate was how sweet things would be on this water planet after his galaxy commander's successful invasion. In his mind this solar system would soon come under Rigelian rule according to all intergalactic laws. All the newt eaters and their simian hybrids would be killed, and their Arcturian allies would have to vacate their outer defense ring.

However, the Rigelian top operative was also overlooking one other very important fact of warfare that even lowly grunt Marines knew well. There is really only one law in war according to Murphy and every other gloom and doom prognosticator: "When you WIN, THEN you get to make the laws," or as Cash liked to quote good ol' Hall of Fame and former Yankee catcher Yogi Berra, "It ain't over 'til it's over."


	35. Chapter 35

**The Game Changer**

**Chapter 35 – Last At Bat, Rally Time**

Strange as it felt, Gunnery Sergeant Sledge was actually feeling a teeny tiny ray of hope that surviving the coming battle might actually be possible. If there ever was a place for a small defending force to fight overwhelming odds during an enemy's head on melee attack, this flat, fairly smooth, triangular shaped, tabletop hill was it.

A high spiked fence was being built around the tabletop's perimeter, and an elongated, tall, thick walled, open box called a redoubt was now attached to the backside of the Sekirei's ship's protruding nose. Gunny was satisfied that their hastily built defensive compound was going to be small enough for them to reasonably defend yet give plenty of room for the Sekirei and Marines to fight as well as shift their reinforcing personnel as needed.

First seen from a distance, the smooth, flattened top of the volcanic upthrust hill with its sheer and bare cliff sides of dark basaltic lava looked unnatural to begin with. Then to have one ovoid end of some darker colored rock that was shaped like a flattened cucumber sticking out of the hill top's center at a low angle, well, that definitely looked weird. And to Gunny's military eye, just how the seemingly impossible geologic formation had been created with the alien Sekirei ship strangely embedded was perhaps the even bigger mystery.

At any rate, however odd the 400 foot high hill seemed as it poked up out of the sloping fluvial plain of old sea sediments encompassing its base, it was looking extremely good as the site of a makeshift yet very cohesively integrated fortress that might be very tough for the attacking alien newts to breech. Now, if Gunny Sledge could just get a little more cohesion in its defenders building the damn hilltop fort as well as get Wilson and Buzzard to shut the hell up, get them out of their resigned to die funk, and work harder, maybe his strange small ray of survival hope would grow a bit.

"Geez, Jack," Buzz muttered with one eye on a peeved Gunny walking away from them along the east side of the fort's inner redoubt walls. Their platoon commander was heading towards the redoubt's rear northern entrance and the mortar crew setting up on the header platform above it. In and around the redoubt below there was bustling activity, loud calls, and an overall sense of grim urgency that Buzzard and Wilson totally ignored. They kept their eyes glued on their unhappy sergeant.

"Why does Gunny keep chewing on our ass? We did our bit in helping Miss Riko move the entire arsenal up here. We got the damn machine guns set up on either side of that wild looking pulse cannon like he wanted too. It ain't our fault Miss Riko and your gal pal Uzume are still bitchin' at each other so much down there they ain't got his thorn fence done yet."

"Ain't a thorn fence, ya moron," Wilson replied absently while fiddling with the rear sight adjustments on the M162A rifle from MBI's now empty arsenal he had selected for his "sniper" weapon. The calm way he and the other Marines were going about their battle preparations was in stark contrast to the loud milling chaos happening below them. Wilson heaved a fatalistic sigh before turning his head to continue his low conversation with the equally malingering Buzzard.

"It's called a cheval-de-frise and has been used to defend against cavalry charges since the early middle ages, maybe before. What they're making is maybe a taller and wider version though, and fyi, that Uzume sure as hell ain't my gal pal. Her and that snooty Karasuba bitch can both go screw. Ain't too impressed with what I'm seeing out of the rest of 'em, especially that Archer guy. Don't think Gunny is either if the truth be told. Probably why he's such a damn grouch.

"Got my eye on that there more friendly looking Natalie chickee though. Man, I don't know why she ain't got into a battle armor suit like the rest of 'em, but I'm sure glad she didn't. She's way beyond being called a fox. Perfect legs, ass, tits, face, and even got a perfectly sexy outfit. Nothing, and I mean there's NOTHING like a short miniskirt and high heel boots on a hot looking dame. Except a moron like you wouldn't know that either."

"I'm a moron?" Buzz snickered amicably in return while lounging on his haunches and still keeping a wary goldbricking eye on Gunny. "YOU'RE the one that damn near got his face slapped into next week. If it hadn't been for that tall Himeko babe healing ya, you'd still look like a red faced fat guy that couldn't even eat soup. If you're still gonna try hitting on one of these Sekirei gals, that healing Himeko is the one ya need. At least as a number two to keep your dumb butt in one piece when ya epic fail with the others like ya did with Uzume."

"Got that bitch Uzume's attention though, didn't I? First rule of finding, snagging, and shagging a gal from the Marine handbook. Get their attention any way possible, then adapt, improvise, and overcome from there. Only thing that changes is a guy's initial tactics; flowers, chocolates, booze, jewelry, sympathy, flattery, cash, jealousy, hot car, you know, the usual gigs. I was just pressed for time and went with the quick flattery/invitation drill not knowing she was so pissed off at Miss Riko. Don't make for an epic fail in my book, just not enough intel and time to evaluate approach vectors on the target. That and she's a stuck up bitch to begin with. Those take a lot of recon."

"Ain't sure a fella can treat a female like some combat objective though," Buzz frowned uncertainly. In a weird way, Wilson was actually making sense, except for one thing. "Might work with Earth girls since you claim they're easy, but these Sekirei gals can read your thoughts. What you gonna use for that?"

"Flat out open honesty," Wilson shrugged nonchalantly. "Tell 'em their attractive and sexy as hell and then openly admire their assets. Ought to get them in the mood quicker if anything."

"Oh yeah, as if that worked with that Uzume," Buzz chuckled scornfully. "Ya damn near got killed with that approach. Yer lips were bloused so bad ya couldn't even sip a beer through a damn straw."

"So I hit on a very nasty tempered bitch that was an exception to the rules. It happens once in a while," Wilson shrugged again in apparent unconcern.

Internally though, he was still pretty pissed at being knocked around hard enough to have his jaw cracked in three places. A face slap for being a boor was one thing, but busting his chops that bad out of hand? For that, super bitch Uzume just might have forfeited the backside protection of a crack shot Marine soon to be fighting above and behind her. Wilson hadn't decided about that yet since her sisters Miss Himeko and Miss Riko had treated him much, much better. Still, in Wilson's mind, Uzume needed a sharp lesson that just because she had super powers, that didn't make her a superior being, nor invulnerable. There should be a price paid for taking her anger at Miss Riko out on Jack Wilson for a harmless and even flattering invitation.

"You're still pretty pissed at that Uzume babe, huh?" Buzzard guessed shrewdly as he eyed the expression on Wilson's face. "She really busted your balls, didn't she hotshot."

"Wasn't thrilled about that, no," Wilson admitted with another nonchalant shrug. "And if the rest of these Sekirei broads are more like her and that piece of shit Karasuba, then they can all go back to where they come from as far as I'm concerned. This ain't their planet any more than those alien newts out there. Hell, if we could get off this damn island to watch the attack, I'd probably root for the newts to wipe their snooty asses out then nuke those fuckers afterward. I won't frag 'em, but I ain't sure I'm gonna go out of my way to protect Uzume and Karasuba's back when they're fighting either."

"Whoa, better not let Gunny hear that shit," Buzzard recoiled slightly in surprise. "Or any of these mind reading Sekirei allies of his either. Might ruin your totally slim to none chances with that Natalie babe too."

"Doubt it. Ain't seen all that much unity from any of them. Doubt if there would be a whole lot of weeping and wailing if Karasuba and Uzume bought the farm as newt fast food either. They can read my mind all they want about how I feel about things too. There's 7 billion humans on this planet and only 100 of them. They ain't got no right to invade any more than those damn newts, so screw 'em."

"Pretty lousy attitude for a self professed lover of all females, Jack. Kinda bigoted too. These Sekirei babes don't seem all that snooty to me for being super powered aliens. I'm thinking the problem is probably you, not them."

"Yeah? I bet if you'd take a poll of the Earth's population, they'd wanna give these Sekirei the boot off our world even quicker than me, no matter how sexy they look. What do you know anyway? Tell me something, you sack of shit love loser. Has even one of these alien gals noticed you're alive yet? Matter of fact, last month you didn't even get a hand job the night we shared a bath with the maids coming off night duty in that big, hot springs bath house near our base in Okinawa. We got pictures of you just falling asleep in an onsen packed with naked young babes, for Pete's sake."

"You bastards slipped me a mickey!" Buzz retorted irately. "And set me up to make me the laughingstock of..."

The two Marines halted their low voiced chatting when a suddenly angry Uzume snatched Riko and tossed her up against the redoubt's outwardly spiked walls directly below them. There was a loud, hollow knocking sound from Riko's hard battle suit hitting the solid, synthetic, graphene/silica/iron wall conjured by the pair earlier. Looking over the 20 foot high wall's spiked edge, Buzzard and Wilson even ceased trying to look busy as they watched the arguing pair getting ready to possibly duke it out beneath them.

Several Sekirei hurriedly eating nearby paused as the tossing action was followed by some very angry yet unintelligible hissing coming from Uzume, and low, just as angry snarls returned from Riko. That finally ended by Riko mentally flinging Uzume through the air to land at the far apex end of the compound's triangle fence. When Uzume leaped up with her battle veils ominously waving to charge back, Riko simply lifted her attacker into the air and held the now yelling, red faced, and helplessly writhing Uzume about four stationary body lengths above the tabletop hill. Then everyone stopped whatever they were doing to stare and angrily shout at the squabbling pair that was interfering with their urgent defensive preparations, especially the two jostling lines of hungry Sekirei trying to get to their hot food.

Wilson simply shook his head in fatalistic disgust. Since they were all gonna die here anyway, this was none of his business. Wishing he had the M16A's longer sniper barrel, he shrugged and returned to adjusting his rifle sights to the weapon's single point accuracy maximum of 500 meters. Sighting the ridge top of the next higher hill to the north through his pocket Bushnell laser rangefinder, he clucked softly to himself in dismay. Too far by almost 400 meters, he thought. That ridge will just have to be kept clear by the Ma Deuce, one of the mortars, or the Sekirei elementals to keep the alien newts from having an observation post up there. The best he would be able to do with his rifle would be to pick off any orange and/or gold skinned newt commanders that came into his shorter range when they attacked.

On the other hand, maybe he better re-check the sights on the two 50 cal. machine guns like Gunny had ordered. These naïve Sekirei couldn't handle two pissed off females of their own, let alone be responsible enough to keep a crucial overlooking ridge clear of spying enemy eyes.

"If those shit head lizards had any brains, they'd attack right now," Buzz observed sourly as the mutually accusing but at least lower in volume bitching between Riko and Uzume continued unabated. "What those aliens waiting for Jack? And why they just sitting way out there and making all that rhythmic racket like they're pumped up bullfrogs in a swamp or something? That's getting on my nerves, ya know? And pissing me off. Why don't they just attack already?"

"Who knows? They're fucking aliens," Wilson sighed as the Sekirei earlier pointed out as the leader named Kazehana flew over them and began loudly berating Uzume and Riko. After several sharp words, a stomping foot, and then more scathing commands from their Pillar, the squabbling pair sheepishly returned to more slowly finishing the compound's cheval-de-frise, albeit with obvious continued unhappiness between them. Wilson shook his head again at the lack of any real fighting harmony in these Sekirei before continuing his answer to Buzzard.

"Those newts obviously got their own ways of attacking and fighting Sekirei, and Sarge is real sure they know what they're doing from long experience. Maybe us moving from the old MBI base and the Sekirei coming up here from the central plain threw them a surprise curve they gotta talk over. Could be they're simply psyching themselves up and us out. Or they're waiting on their artillery or something. As long as they stay way out there making noise, they ain't here trying to eat us. Besides, if there's as many of those bastards coming at us as Gunny thinks, it takes time to organize and form up massed ground troops. Don't matter who they are. The main thing is we're getting some time to get set up here and get some more food pressure cooked in those heated vats under the ship's nose for these Sekirei."

"Man, I smelled the rice and that nasty ration gel stuff they took from the ship's emergency lockers that the robot boiled together," Buzz sniffed in disdain. "I sure ain't eating that funky shit. Smells just like what made the old blind guy call out 'HELLO LADIES' as he walked past a summertime fish market. Those old MRE's we found in the MBI arsenal smell better. Probably taste a helluva lot better too, and every gyrene knows they've always been crap. Wouldn't mind having that multipurpose robot though. Son of a gun looks down right handy, especially when it comes to maybe keeping my uniforms pressed and shoes shined."

"You're gonna use a high powered repair robot from a very technically advanced alien race to just shine your damn shoes?" Wilson turned his head to gape at Buzz in disbelief. "Ya know, I may be a total stupid screw off as everybody says, but sometimes you make even me feel like a total genius."

"What would YOU do with it, ya sick pervert?" Buzz recoiled slightly in defense and raised a scornful eyebrow. "Run it around a shopping mall to take up skirt panty shots of Sailor Moon type gals?"

"Hmmm, hadn't thought of that, and now that you mention it, I wouldn't mind seeing up Natalie's short skirt either," Wilson nodded with his had cocked sideways as he considered the suggestion. He glanced at Natalie now also talking quietly to the still fuming Uzume and Riko at the northernmost end of the compound. Couple of real head cases there for sure. Oh well, again, none of his business as long as they finished the ultimately doomed compound's spiked fence.

Looking all around him with a critical eye, Wilson idly wondered how in the hell those two Sekirei and their Kuruse pal could take atmospheric and ground elements around them and use them to simply conjure stuff up. The 20 foot high, 40 foot wide, and 60 foot long redoubt so rapidly built onto the northern backside of the slanting ship's nose was actually an engineering marvel with its 5 foot wide and outward spiked walls. Using massive, interlocking building blocks of some dense polymer material literally pulled out of thin air and mixed with pulverized rock, the fenced compound's inner, open roof redoubt had been built by Uzume and Riko in less than fifteen minutes.

Immediately after, a large, flat, connecting platform made from the same dense polymeric mixture joined the southern walls of the redoubt to the embedded ship's exposed but canted nose. The pulse cannon and the Marines' heavy machine gun weaponry had been placed on that platform to cover their Sekirei soon to be fighting below them as well as provide protection from more air and artillery attacks.

Then, after Gunny had quickly described and drawn what he wanted, Uzume and Riko had started building the 12 foot high cheval-de-frise to enclose the ship and redoubt. The spiked fence was also made of the same dense, graphene/silica/iron mix used for the redoubt's walls and looked like a round, continuous log that had long, thick, and crossed spears jammed through its center. 6 foot off the ground, the central log also had tall, vertical sharp spikes with opposing thick lower rods driven down into the hill's bedrock to firmly anchor the thorny looking fence.

The surprisingly sturdy and heavy cheval-de-frise was about 120 foot long on each of it's east and west sides with an almost 80 foot length across the triangular hill's southern base in front of the rock ship's protruding nose. The attacking newts would have to climb the hill's sloping base, then climb straight up the remaining 200 foot high, three sided sheer cliffs above. As a final barrier, the cheval-de-frise should prove daunting for the attackers to get over it even if they did have suckered digits.

It might, Wilson decided as he critically eyed the compound's fencing, withstand the heavy newts' weight, slow them down more, stand them up, and expose their vitals and heads as they tried to come over its spikes. Then the three bladed pikes that Kuruse had conjured up and soon to be wielded by the Sekirei close combat types could do some real damage; hopefully without exhausting the Marines' ammunition nor the elemental Sekirei's strength fighting above them. They, along with Sekirei "snipers" stationed on top of the redoubt's walls, would be killing any attackers overflowing the three ranks of close combat Sekirei fighting behind the fence below them.

So, Wilson mused gloomily, they were gonna live or die behind Gunny's odd looking triangular fence built around a rectangular box with no top. At least that box had a decent latrine that had somehow been hastily built into the redoubt's east wall and had just as mysteriously been connected to the rock ship's interior plumbing. The compound had interior and exterior protection as well as hot chow and a place for the occupants to relieve themselves in relative safety. Still all that luxury was mighty poor comfort and cover if those alien newts had anything resembling long range artillery or a pulse cannon or two of their own. Nuts. Who was he kidding? They were all gonna die, especially him with a rapidly growing case of blue balls.

Unless of course, he could put a really good move on the very delicious looking Natalie for a secluded quickie somewhere inside the ship before the fighting started. Except, he hadn't been allowed in the ship, and it seemed to be crowded from the talk he had overheard. Oh well, there had to be a way to hook up with Natalie. Gunny could think they were actually gonna survive this mess and later go look for alien technology if he wanted. Jack Wilson just wanted one last shot of some hot nookie before he died.

"You're right about one thing, Jack," Buzz observed as if reading his buddy's mind when a gust of the overhead heat dome's created wind blew Natalie's cape sideways and slightly lifted the skirt of her crimson battle uniform. "Love a long legged gal in high heel boots and short skirts. That's damn sexy right there, I don't care who you are."

"Yeah, as soon I can, I gotta get next to her and make my pitch," Wilson agreed while ducking his neck to get a better viewing angle and silently urging the wind speed to increase. Naturally, this action made the two totally distracted Marines lose track of their sergeant for several crucial seconds.

"You two rubbernecking and gold bricking Moe Rons listen up," Gunny's sharp voice cut in as he approached, grabbed their craning heads, and knocked their skulls hard against each other. Wincing in pain and quickly rubbing their stinging scalps to alleviate their instant throbbing, both corporals sighed, exchanged aggrieved looks, and turned to look up at their predictably irate Sergeant. Gunny refrained from any further physical castigation and immediately got down to business.

"Keep your damn helmets on after this, ya dipshits. No telling what those newts will throw at us up heah or when. Buzzard, you're gonna be my loader on the east side Ma Deuce. We got all our ammo boxes stacked along the redoubt's inside walls underneath the firing steps and their loopholes. It's been decided by the Sekirei's Leader Archer that some of those Ashikabi guys that SAY they can shoot are gonna use some of our spare M16 rifles to add to our firepower. Some of their other guys found some extra handguns in the arsenal, but they all look mighty shaky with 'em to me. I've been told those boys' main job will be to bring more ammo up to us on the wall tops and keep us supplied when the heavy fighting starts.

"For now Buzzard, y'all get your ass down there and give those guys on the firing steps a short course in loading and firing the M16 to make sure they can possibly hit something besides their Sekirei's butts. Don't get shot in the process either, boy. That will really piss me off, and I'm already thinking I need to really kick your ass hard just for general purposes. Make sure the ammo runners know what kind is which too."

"You're gonna give loaded M16s to that bunch of young looking noobs, Sarge?" Buzz's eyebrows shot up and his mouth dropped open in gaping amazement. He craned his neck to look down at the young looking Japanese guys milling around below in the area between the ammo boxes stacked along the redoubt's walls. They mostly looked and sounded like a flock of gabbling, young, and lost geese. "They even speak English? Hey, are we that damned desperate?"

"A couple of them can understand you, and they'll interpret for the rest. And yeah, we're that damn desperate," Gunny Sledge nodded in further long suffering at Buzzard's immediate whining and ignored Wilson's derisive and fatalistic sounding snort.

"One guy named Seo said he'd been trained to shoot back in the old days when the MBI base was being used to raise, school, and train these Sekirei in isolation. From what he says, the whole island was pretty much run as a giant armed camp after a couple of failed invasions and a lot more infiltration attempts. At any rate, we may have the best Masada type defense I've ever seen with my own two little ol' eyeballs heah, but we still got exponentially worse Roark's Drift odds. If those kids from Tokyo can kill a few newts for us, then who knows, that's a few that just might tip the attack in our favor."

"Masada? Roark's Drift?" Buzz asked in puzzlement. "Those something hopeful that we gonna actually win here?"

"Not really," Gunny shrugged and shook his head cynically. "Masada was a tabletop hill with a walled fort in Israel where 960 rebel Jews withstood 15000 Roman troops and auxiliaries for a year or so until April 16, 73 A.D. Then they all committed mass suicide rather than be captured. Roark's Drift was in southern Africa during the British/Zulu wars.

"On Jan 22, 1879 and facing a massed melee attack, 104 English soldiers stood behind a wall made from sacks of corn with an inner redoubt of stacked biscuit boxes behind them. They held off 4,500 Zulu warriors armed with spears and obsolete weapons for almost 24 hours. However, if they hadn't been relieved the next morning by a large column of English soldiers, they would've been wiped out since they were running out of ammo. But, we ain't got no relief column coming."

"You're right," Buzz scowled and snapped his fingers in disappointment. "Doesn't sound hopeful at all."

"The point is, bub, being up here and barricaded might buy us some crucial time," Gunny explained as patiently as possible. "We just might be able to hold out long enough for the Sekirei to save their Mother. Then Missy Riko and others that are able to fly could shag all our butts out of here. IF, that is, you two shit heads will do as you're told for once and get with the program heah. Of which I'm getting mighty tired of carrying part of you two clowns' load. Now get your ass down there and give those Ashikabi guys a quick course on the M16; single shot only to kill and only when they got an open look. Especially target the orange and gold command type bastards if they see any, but make sure they understand that they can't just be spraying wasted ammo all over the damn place and maybe fragging our front line troops in the back. Can do?"

"Can do, Sarge," Buzz nodded, but the tone of his voice was more skeptical than hopeful as he slouched away. Gunny Sledge shook his head and then narrowed his eyes in determination. If by some miracle they got out of this mess, he was purely gonna square that meat-headed idiot away and make a proper Recon Marine out of him or die trying. He turned to give an equally sour and determined look at the obviously gloom filled Jack Wilson.

"Wilson, I want you to help Staff and me show the close combat Sekirei the basic pike fighting points of those three bladed poles that female named Kuruse conjured up for them. They are real close to being a modified trident called jumonji yari we saw in that Tokyo museum, but a little longer and heavier maybe. The hand grips, foot stances, side slashes, pole control, and killing thrusts will be almost the same as we use in bayonet and pugil stick training. It's the best we got on short notice like this, but these Sekirei learn damn fast because they can read our minds. Just keep it simple when you demonstrate."

"Awww Gunny, I ain't done with sighting in the Ma," Wilson began peevishly, but he got cut off.

"Stow it, you damn deadbeat. You should have had that done already. It can wait now. What the hell's the matter with your brain, boy? We got a bad situation heah that demands some urgency out of all of us. That even includes malingering shits like you all. Now you get your damn head out of your ass and show them Sekirei the basics!"

"What the hell for, Gunny?" Wilson gloomily scowled up at his platoon leader. "We're fucking trapped like cornered rats up here, and you think these squabbling Sekirei and their oddball drones called Ashikabi are actually gonna last ten minutes when the real fighting starts? They're worse than civilians!"

"They're all we got, and don't underestimate 'em. Even cornered rats can put up a damn good fight. Now, just like we talked about earlier, tell your Sekirei those newts got a long sticky tongue that's gonna be their actual primary melee weapon. That needs to be chopped before the newts can snatch defenders over our cheval and crunch them in their jaws. Those sucker like digits on their front limbs are secondary threats that can snatch them quick too.

"The quickest kill will be a thrust up behind the newts' lower jaw into their weak point between their eyes. Never into their mouths where a pike could get trapped short between their teeth and yanked away from the defender. Then that weaponless Sekirei will be exposed to the next newt behind. We'll have spare yari along the redoubt's walls, but the point is to get and keep those newts defensive as much as possible and backed up to where only the front ones can actually fight.

"Emphasize the importance of your Sekirei working together with their immediate neighbor in sideways chopping with their pikes' two lower blades. The first rank of Sekirei will have to keep their attention on their enemies in front of them too. If any newts get past, then they'll just have to trust and rely on their second and third ranks behind them to defend their backs as well as their elementals and us above them. They'll also have to trust their two flying platoons to fill any sudden gap in their front line and to meet massed charges in one spot. Got it?"

"Got it, Gunny," Wilson sighed at another useless obstacle between him and chatting up Natalie before the fighting started. He then nodded affably for Gunny's benefit since it wouldn't be his ass standing in front of those big wide mouths full of sharp teeth with nothing but a lousy, three bladed long pole. Gotta hand it to these untrained Sekirei totally willing to mix it up like that though, Wilson conceded silently. They certainly didn't lack for sheer fighting guts, but the odds of any of 'em actually surviving? Slim, real slim, and heavily in favor of zip and zero.

"Good," Gunny replied easily, but he wasn't fooled by Wilson's seemingly sudden change in attitude. "Now, take the close combat group in front of the ship's nose and give them the basics. I'll be working with their second and third ranks too. One last thing you rotten ass Romeo. Get your horny eyeballs off that Natalie. Nobody will say for sure, but I gather that she's just some kind of a solid, 3d computer and sensory projection from the ship, not a live female. Now move. We ain't got much time. I gotta go talk to that Archer guy and give him our defensive sitrep."

"Moving," Wilson also nodded in sour acknowledgment. Natalie was not a live female, but just a super computer projection? Man, what rotten damn luck was that? If there was any... Wait. Hell, if she was anatomically correct, then she just might be the ultimate girlfriend! Wouldn't have to feed her, buy drinks, or even worry about catching any kind of sex disease or little biting critters. Wouldn't have any too clingy emotional involvement from her afterward either, AND she couldn't read his mind! Now that he thought about it, there might even be room enough for a nice concealed quickie below the ship's nose and screened from view by the big cooking vats. Kinda like a pervert getting lucky on a crowded subway train in Tokyo as all their more pervy Japanese anime and manga seemed to suggest happened all the time.

Slightly more cheerfully and checking on Natalie's current location, Wilson slung his sighted rifle over his shoulder and headed for the steps to go down into the redoubt. He cast a long wary look back to see Gunny approaching the mixed group of the Sekirei leadership standing around and in front of the pulse cannon on the ship's nose.

In the group's center was the tall, broad shouldered, athletically fit looking guy his Sekirei had called Cash Archer. Wilson had to admit the more handsome guy looked fairly impressive in a black t-shirt and blue jeans, for a jock type anyway. Yet, despite the obvious welcome for Gunny in Archer's deep blue eyes and the friendly almost relieved expression on his regular features, the three white streaks in Archer's curling brown hair made him appear overall to be a really odd looking duck to Wilson.

Now what in the hell did that screwy looking, jock type moron actually have that Wilson didn't? Well, sure, advertising execs could put him on the cover of GQ and sell extra ads, but one look at the guy's too friendly and mild smile should tell any gal he was no bad ass fighting man. Just a big weenie looking drink of water really, even if he was a reported stud in bed. He, Jack Wilson would bet every dollar hidden in the false bottom of his foot locker that Archer didn't know half as much as him about pleasing a female. Yet the oddball ballplayer had eight of these sweet looking Sekirei cookies eating right out of his hand. So that pacifist sonofabitch civilian had to have something going for him, but what?

On the other hand, that Uzume and Riko were Archer's headaches as was that too spooky Karasuba. That lavender eyed Miya didn't look all that damn friendly either. Jury was still out on the one called Kazehana since she and the two other Sekirei beside her hadn't taken off their helmets, but all three had to have really nice big boobs from the way their battle armor torsos were curved. Archer had to REALLY have something extra about him to keep any of that Amazon looking trio interested in him. All the other Sekirei and their Ashikabi seemed to kowtow to Archer too as well as his eight member "Prime Circle", whatever the hell that term actually meant.

So, Archer had to have some manly something that he didn't, Wilson conceded in jealous disgust. Not that it really mattered since they'd all be dead in a few hours anyway, but unlike Archer who would probably be puking his guts out in fear when his demise happened, any alien newt eating Jack Wilson was gonna get a grenade exploding in its gullet and/or guts. He fingered the two old "pineapples" he had clipped to his chest rings. He would hopefully have a quick last second or two to yank their pins before any alien jaws claimed him. Then there would be a whole planet full of unfulfilled females robbed of Jack Wilson's manly love.

Well, he knew what being a Recon Marine had meant when he volunteered, so there was no use in bitching and crying now, nor letting any of his teammates and even any of Gunny's Sekirei allies down, including that Karasuba and Uzume. Wilson shook his head in more fatalistic disgust as he turned away to descend into the redoubt, but the fact that he had reaffirmed himself as Recon and not some dumb ass civilian had lightened his dark mood a little.

Pushing his way through the mostly young looking Asian males intently listening and watching Buzzard's M16 demonstration, Wilson suddenly came upon two female Sekirei. One was a pretty and petite blonde kneeling down in her black battle suit but not wearing her gloves and helmet. The other was a very pale skinned, facially plain looking gal with short gray hair and pretty green eyes only wearing red satin bikini panties and a matching demi bra featuring her fairly impressive cleavage. She was sitting on a wooden ammo box beside stacked pieces of body armor and with her butt padded by her folded Lycra body suit. Her long, muscular, yet very shapely right leg was extended on the box. Wilson noticed the pretty kneeling blonde was slowly rubbing her spread fingers over the bigger and nearly nude Sekirei's badly swollen right knee and even more swollen and twisted ankle below.

The Recon Marine paused to unabashedly ogle the gray haired gal's exposed assets and then watch a few seconds as the hurt Sekirei's painful looking swelling around her right knee began reducing at a supernaturally fast rate. The oddly twisted, bruised, and swollen ankle seemed to magically straighten and align itself too, but the swelling and discoloration wasn't receding as quickly as the injured knee. Bones had been broken in that ankle, Wilson realized, not just torn soft tissues. The pretty kneeling blonde was another healer then, just not quite as fast as the super babe Himeko.

Interesting, but he noted neither showed any interest in him at all. Both gals looked definitely doable in the sack, yet neither Sekirei was as flat out sexy looking as Natalie, although gray hair had a definite hot, mating wildcat vibe about her. Looked good in her underwear too even if she was as plain faced as his ex-girlfriend on Okinawa. His eyes briefly wandered to the big metal claws leaning against the hurt Sekirei's ammo box seat. Probably another super fast and strong weapon user like those snooty ass bitches Uzume and Karasuba. Was gray hair some Sekirei kind of Wolverine wannabe?

"If I was, then I'd be healing myself." The gray haired female spoke suddenly in husky, pained amusement just as he began to turn away to look for Natalie. "What are those things clipped to your bad self's blouse, soldier?"

"Recon Marines ain't fucking common soldiers," an instantly peeved Wilson snapped back automatically, yet he paused as her question struck him just as unfavorably. These battle naïve Sekirei didn't even know a damn grenade when they saw one? Another negative thought struck him. If gray hair was super fast and super strong, what was she doing sitting in her skivvies and getting healed here?

Maybe these Sekirei weren't nearly as good close combat fighting allies as Gunny seemed to think, especially if he was assuming all their strength and speed were on a par with those two bitches Karasuba and Uzume. Wilson's eyes once again predictably traveled north from gray hair's swollen knee and finally up to meet her suddenly measuring gaze before he gave his answer.

"They're old style grenades to ruin some damn alien newt's digestion after my ammo runs out. So you super Sekirei ain't all that super, huh? How'd you get so badly hurt and not eaten?"

"Went north to help cover Muts, Oriha, and their gang's retreat with Miya, Tsukuimi, and Toys. A bunch of us got acid slimed by those toothy bastards. Then I slipped on some wet ice and fell off a cliff. Miya carried us back when she arrived. What's with your lousy attitude towards us Sekirei, bub, especially Zoomer and Blackie?"

"Just ain't too impressed from what I've seen so far, especially from those two short tempered kooks," Wilson shrugged indifferently. "Mostly though, it looks like you Sekirei rely way too much on your individual powers and not nearly enough on each other. Command, control, and communication suck worse than your teamwork too. Way too self confident. I heard a bunch of ya recently attacked a Tokyo compound all hell for leather and head on without doing a decent recon or any cohesive battle planning. That kind of dumb ass thinking and battle drill got one of ya killed, probably needlessly from my experience. Same damn stupidity is gonna get us all eaten here for sure too. How did acid slime get tossed at you? Those newts get that close to throw or spit it, or they got artillery?"

"Well, artillery of a sorts," Gray Hair replied slowly with a very hurt expression on her plain features as she stared more intently up at him. "Some of them can spit up and shit different kinds of weird gel sacks and then fling 'em. Some that hit us contained acid slime and some flamed when they burst, but Tsukuimi washed and doused us all. The newts launch those gel sacks using their back legs and long stretchy looking bands, sorta like slingshot catapults."

"Interesting. Their range?"

"Got a range of maybe 3 or 400 meters. Some other kinds of sacks they hold in front of them as shields against our ranged fighters. Shiina's decay attacks didn't affect them at all, and neither did Muts' trance powers. They also spray something with their constant croaking that acts like a misty anti-freeze all around them that Akitsu had a lot of trouble using. Then those acid and fire gel sacks helped them eat, melt, and then rapidly knock Akitsu's ice walls down into Muts' crevasse and turned her ice barriers into a damn bridge. We had to retreat fast before they swarmed us, but the icy cliffs were really slick by then, so quite a few of us fell. Our battle armor kept all of us from being killed, but a bunch got banged up pretty bad. Our first battle contact with the Rigelian newts was pretty much a total fiasco."

"Sounds like it. 400 meters, huh?" Easy sniper kill distance for him, Wilson mused to himself. Huh. So that was why the newts were just sitting out there. They were simply croaking out enough biological shields and ammo for the assault as well as anti-freezing the central's plain's atmosphere. Damn. So they did have a form of light artillery, but it might be easily deflected by Miss Riko and/or negated by some water user named Tsukuimi, at least for awhile anyway. Too bad there was still some suborbital drone bombers inbound from the States and the pulse cannon needed clear airspace to deal with them. Otherwise Miss Riko could make some kind of dome over the compound against the newts flinging their acid and napalm sacks.

He wondered how the newts had developed such varied natural weaponry. It must have taken millions of years of adaption, and how did those specialized gel sack shields work for the newts anyway? Pretty screwy stuff, Wilson scowled, and it sounded like the alien newts relied almost totally on low tech, even primitive yet effective biological weapons systems, but on the other hand they had space travel? That didn't make much sense, but probably more than snooty ass, super powered, and untrained Sekirei being pretty much worthless in a pitched battle; mainly because they didn't know jack shit about real battle drill teamwork even after growing up together on a military base.

"You really got a pretty low opinion of us," Gray Hair said with a slightly wounded pout. "We can fight, and better than what you think."

"Yeah? Well, you're gonna get a chance to prove it real soon," Wilson sighed cynically in open disbelief. "Otherwise we'll all be royally screwed when the Ma Deuce ammo runs out. I've seen Miss Riko fight and Mrs. Karasuba and Uzume move as well as their disunity. Can you fight better than them?"

"Well, uhhh, no," Gray Hair admitted with a small wince, "but they're in a Circle that hasn't been properly meshed yet. Five of our Circles are though. And we've fought together a lot better than what you've seen so far. I'm Haihane by the way. This is Madoka. You are?"

"Corporal Jack Wilson, Recon Marine."

"Corporal, please do not judge the rest of us in comparison to Karasuba and Riko." The blonde healer named Madoka spoke softly in an oddly stilted manner for the first time without looking up from her healing ministrations. "And Uzume is much, much nicer than what you have experienced. She has suffered a very great emotional hurt and is having difficulties in dealing with it. She really deserves your heartfelt forgiveness and highly skilled protection."

Haihane raised a slightly surprised eyebrow at Madoka's refined style of speech, then shrugged in acceptance. Sekirei, just like humans, came in all flavors; classy and refined, common, and crude low lifes.

"Yeah? Well, it's gonna take one helluva apology from her for my forgiveness," Wilson snapped back spitefully despite Madoka's sweet and inoffensive tone. "I've already decided I'll protect her and the rest of you the best I can anyway because I'm Recon and Gunny made us allies. But the way I personally see it, none of you rookie ass Sekirei actually deserve our help here if you can't put your damn emotions and egos aside and fight for each other whether you like one another or not."

A loud roaring burst up into the northeast sky came from the pulse cannon above them. Those supposedly "soft" Sekirei types must be targeting more incoming drone bombers, Wilson thought instantly. Several of the young guys Buzzard was training dropped their rifles to cover their ears and ducked for cover in fright. Ammo clips and a few more M16s clattered to the redoubt floor as Buzzard shouted in total outraged dismay to startle others. A few managed to hold onto their rifles however, and these began razzing their more sheepish looking counterparts now scrambling to retrieve their weapons and ammo clips. Wilson shared a look with Buzzard as both Marines rolled their eyes and shook their heads in disgust. Man, Wilson suddenly decided, he had to get out of here and chat up Natalie for a quick screw before one of these jumpy nimrods accidentally shot his balls off.

"Marine, you are one sick horn dog," Haihane chuckled up at him. "But you're my kind of low life and brass balled guy. Too bad you've got the psychic power of an udon noodle and a hundred years too late to wing me or any of our more pervy Sekirei."

"So the thing you gals judge the most in a man is his psychic power? Sounds like a pretty stupid way to pick a lover to me. Especially if ya choose a guy older than my damn grandpa who hasn't had a hard on for over twenty years, or maybe some fat, balding dude that has a hair trigger, pinkie finger sized dick and can't even frigging fight let alone run two blocks. And wing? As in becoming a lifetime partner with one of you alien female freaks?" Wilson snickered scornfully. "Man, if that ain't a loser from the get go!

"Hell, even if by some incredible miracle you Sekirei get off this lousy island and the newts' invasion is destroyed, you alien freaks and your guys are gonna spend your lives dodging and hiding out from Frankenstein hating mobs with pitchforks and torches. Human nature is what it is, and it ain't gonna change. Every country on Earth is still gonna try to steal your technology and dissect you into little DNA pieces to see what they can use to gain an advantage. No thanks on that! Both of you might make a pretty decent one time fast screw, but winging either one of you for a lifetime partner is the last thing Jack Wilson would ever do. And the last a lot of other human guys on this planet would do too, probably most of 'em."

"Geez! Touché!" Haihane recoiled slightly at the intense sincerity of his totally open and honest yet highly negative feelings. It made her blink at the realization that she actually didn't know much about the Earth and its population as a whole, particularly as to how Sekirei and their Ashikabi could ever live peacefully among them. Battle survival worried her greatly, especially since the real power of her Circle had been broken with Saki's death, but now a long, peaceful future life was also worrisome.

"What you SHOULD do, Corporal Jack Wilson," Madoka added almost tonelessly and again without looking up from her healing efforts, "is stop wasting your time, thoughts, and efforts on random females and especially Natalie. You are deeply in love with that onsen bath house maid named Kaiyo on Okinawa and have been for over a year. Do you best now in training our close combat fighters, and if we do survive this battle, go to Kaiyo, and confess your heart. Do not worry any longer about your family in New Jersey rejecting her, nor her family rejecting you. Stop seeking substitutes for your true heart's desire for long love and happiness. You are a weapons master of great courage and will; fearless and loyal as a Samurai. Use those qualities to win Kaiyo, the one you truly desire for a life mate."

Haihane turned to give Madoka a look of open admiration despite being a little intimidated by the blonde healer's more refined manners and sweet, classy way of speaking. A very powerful psychic in her own right, Haihane had read none of that intimate information below the crass Wilson's leering appreciation of her mostly exposed body, let alone anything much more than his shallow scorn, peevishness, and resentful spite towards all Sekirei and Uzume in particular. Wilson, however, wasn't nearly as appreciative of having his deeper emotions publicly exposed, even if it only was to Haihane sitting so nonchalantly in her sexy red underwear.

"That bullshit right there is what would ultimately get you Sekirei hunted down and torn to pieces, Blondie. None of that is any of your damn business. Just because you got the power to read minds don't make it right to arrogantly go where you ain't invited. Or for Uzume to bust a guy's jaw for a little compliment. You Sekirei might kill a lot of humans coming after you with your super powers, but you'll wear down eventually and get picked off, pretty much like the newts are gonna do to us now."

"I meant no offense, only to bring peace to your heart and mind," Madoka paused to look up at him. Her troubled light blue eyes held his for a few seconds before she added, "We Sekirei live for deep, abiding, and satisfying love. It would be very sad for you to deny Kaiyo yours and you not to have hers."

"Kaiyo wanted me to leave the Marines," Wilson scowled. "Ain't spending my life with no damn female thinking they gotta completely rearrange mine for their happiness. Think I'm gonna stay in love with a gal after she cuts my balls off and totally fucks up my life? Nothing deep, abiding, and satisfying about that is there? What YOU need to do is take care of your own freaky alien love life and leave mine the hell alone."

A long silence ensued after Wilson bit back more sharp and resentful remarks because Madoka had silently winced and looked quickly away. Must have struck a nerve there, he decided, and Blondie probably wasn't near as happy as she preached. Well, screw it. He was wasting time here with these two dead ends. There were Sekirei to train and a lot of damn newts that needed killing before he went down. And he was still horny.

"As if any of us are actually getting off this damn rock anyway," Wilson finally grunted in turning away, but not before giving the kneeling Madoka's obvious rear curves a last appreciative once over. Busy body mind reader, huh? Well, read this, baby. You got a really nice looking ass, and you can just kiss mine.

Wilson then deliberately concentrated hard on images he had seen in a very graphically illustrated magazine of ancient Japanese techniques of Kinbaku rope binding. He headed for the redoubt's northern exit thinking over the kinds of very ecchi and s&m things he'd like to try with her and Haihane while using Madoka's healing powers to keep him hornier and harder than a three balled billy goat all night long. Behind him he heard Haihane crudely teasing her healer.

"Why you blushing so much, Mado-chan? Oh wow! That pervy stuff actually looks like a LOT of fun to you too, doesn't it! Whoa! That's cute and sexy Girl! And I'm damned impressed with how well you heal as well as how deep you read the guy's mind too! No offense, but if he'd had the psychic juice, that rude and crude son of a gun would have made one helluva hot and YOUNG Ashikabi!"

"I am not offended, and he is not all that ill mannered, Haihane. My Ashikabi is an American also. They tend to be very open and blunt, only seeming rude when that is really not their intention at all. However, Corporal Wilson does crudely dislike us Sekirei other than as sex objects and is very disgruntled with our current fighting disunity. Soon all our lives will be greatly imperiled. You need to concentrate more on what he knows about yari combat, killing our enemy as team members, and his Samurai determination to do battle," Madoka's softer, defensive, and yet chiding voice still carried to Wilson. "Not the sexual acts in his thoughts to embarrass the two of us, nor the sad ways that warrior is breaking his own heart."

Haihane concentrated hard after she also spotted a quick, small, private smile in addition to Madoka's continued blushing when her reply was finished. She suddenly realized just what that small self-satisfied smirk on the blonde healer's lips implied. Haihane had always known that Madoka had been winged by a much older and long married schoolteacher, but now it was obvious that guy was well acquainted with exactly what "healing" was most effective to keep a male's flagging spirit from cutting short a night's festivities.

There was no embarrassment in Madoka either. It seemed Corporal Wilson was also a hundred years too late to harass Madoka with anything sexual, including Kinbaku and other very ecchi acts. Her dead bond mate and their American Ashikabi must have made sure of that, in spades from what Haihane was reading in Madoka's blushing emotions. In fact, Wilson's pervy thoughts had actually turned Madoka on as much as they had also interested Haihane.

It made sense now that Haihane thought about it. Mado-chan, one of the first Sekirei MBI had released, had spent months winged to a sexually active and long experienced man, not some almost asexual and/or young virgin weenie like a few other male Ashikabi. Now wasn't all that amusing as hell, Haihane grinned inwardly, AND here might be one VERY interesting and powerful possibility for Seo to re-wing and fill the gaping wound in his Circle caused by poor Saki's tragic death. Haihane quickly blanked her mind as she had a self serving thought about Riko teaching her pudenda nerve trick to Seo and his Circle to possibly use on Madoka and re-wing her. Or should they do that, even if they could, no matter how much overall sense that made for Arch's eight circle battle group?

Unaware of his visit's much wider effects on the two Sekirei, Wilson snickered knowingly to himself at Haihane's exclamation and Madoka's cool return. So Blondie wasn't all THAT refined, eh? And Haihane was even less? Well, good for them except they would both be dead soon too. Dismissing them as just another pair of oddly warped alien weirdos and walking on, Wilson passed a much younger, blonde Sekirei girl obviously working in conjunction with an older female on healing the bloody shoulder of a big, gray haired, sour faced male Sekirei.

The wounded guy was swearing softly to himself as he lightly slapped a long sheathed sword against the redoubt's wall above him. It appeared he wasn't too impressed with their chances of leaving Kamakura Island either as he kept repeatedly muttering to himself and then forcefully said what sounded like, "Taki, I knew it. I KNEW it, and I TOLD them. You heard me tell them."

Wilson ignored the trio's sudden pause and subsequent intense stare at him as he passed and kept walking, but nodded in respect and appreciation for his own healing at Himeko near the entrance. She was reducing a large, nasty looking bump on the skull of a younger, smaller, and effeminate looking Sekirei male. Other hurt females sat patiently nearby conversing in low tones and awaiting their turn for healing. They also all paused to give him a frowning and highly contemplative stare.

Wilson shook his head in disdain while giving them a quick, scathing once over and rolling his eyes. Here was some of Gunny's front rank troops? What a frigging joke! These also had to be more members of the wounded from the northern band of Sekirei that had earlier gotten badly knocked about after their cut and run retreat. So they probably at least KNEW their current situation was as hopeless as Wilson did, especially since these dumb ass Sekirei refused to get unified for their own damn defense. Well, screw 'em and their unhappy looks. All gonna be dead soon anyway, and truth was truth no matter how THEY wanted to deny it. Archer's aliens won't last even fifteen minutes when the fricken newts hit. They'll get what they deserve for being such snooty ass boneheads, and then their precious Prime leader would be newt food real soon after.

Exiting the redoubt and not even aware that his negative, scornful, and yet professionally appraising thoughts about their fighting ability and survival chances had caused great concern in all the now badly stung and oddly silent Sekirei in the redoubt, Wilson turned to the left and immediately bumped into Natalie.

"Hey there, beautiful!" Wilson exclaimed in instant, well practiced, and sunny smiling lounge lizard mode.

"Oh, my name is actually Natalie, but Beautiful would have been a nice secondary choice for me," she returned promptly with a pleased smile. "And you are one of our new Recon Marine allies, correct?

"Correctomundo! Samurai Jack, that's me!" Wilson returned with a grinning wink. No time to be subtle, he thought quickly, nor cutely innovative. Besides, her facial expression looked more sexually naïve and clueless than the heroine of the Rocky Horror Picture Show. "And hoping to be your VERY close ally very soon too. So, tell me, how did a sweet and sexy lady like you wind up in a place like this?"

"Specifically or did you want a shorter and more general explanation only using approximate units of English measurement?" Natalie's big brown eyes locked onto his with an inquiring yet nevertheless still very pleasant expression. Had she been as equally pleased with his suggestive compliment? Wilson couldn't tell.

"Uhhh, general is fine," Wilson smiled as disarmingly as he could. English units? "And then let's discuss you and me doing a little modified stick training behind the cooking vats."

"Oh, okay," Natalie nodded agreeably before launching into her more "general" explanation.

"I, an elite trained Sekirei as The One Who Kills in my Circle, was terminally wounded in battle and chose to become a colonizing Womb Mother rather than buried with honors. On my first interstellar mission, I crashed into this planet's Pacific Ocean in the area off the southeastern coasts of what would later become Japan. I came to rest on the west side of the Pacific Plate that was and still is subducting under the Eurasian Plate of the Earth's moving mantle. Hence, the entire volcanic island chains off the Eurasian continent being formed with trench seas between them, i.e. the Sea of Japan, South China Sea, and Philippine Seas.

"However, off the southwest coasts of Japan there is also the subducting Philippine Sea Plate. The eastern side of the Philippine Plate is a convergent boundary with the Pacific Plate and both subducting at the Izu-Ogasawara Trench. Incidentally, and pardon my aside, this is also a major occult Ley Line intersection if you are a fictional Harry Potter and Harry Dresden buff. It is along the activity of this boundary that the area containing me and later named Kamakura eventually appeared northeast of modern Okinawa and the Bonin Islands and yet just west of some those intricately interacting subduction zones."

"I see," Wilson leered suggestively at Natalie's magnificent chest a few seconds. "I love seduction, and being seduced by a pretty woman too. Actually, seduction is what I'm MOST interested in right now. How about you and me do like that old Doctor John tune about the topic and..."

"No, SUBduction, not seduction," Natalie frowned slightly in confusion as she interrupted him. "Are you not familiar with basic plate tectonics, or should I elucidate further on this topic as well?"

"Uhhh, I had a course in structural geology and plate tectonics in college," Wilson backtracked a little and decided to buy a little more time to think of another approach angle that had less chance for scientific interpretation. "Please continue. I must have misunderstood."

"I will try to enunciate more clearly," Natalie smiled pleasantly in return, "and I'm very pleased to know that you human warriors are at least learning the soft quasi-sciences.

"Now, as to how this Island came to have me embedded and later discovered is thus. Unknown ages ago when I crash landed and sank to the ocean bottom, I came to rest in a small area near what would later become one of the combination subduction fault's peripheral and minor basaltic magma producing cracks. I was then approximately 3/4ths lodged in hot lava that cooled quickly. That lava later became a small upthrusting plug along that crack."

"Well, imagine that! Now upthrusting in a crack is just what I'm talking about! So let's..."

"However, that minor volcanic crack went dormant when bigger cracks to the west released the area's magma pressure until Aug 20, 1998. That was when an earthquake of 7.1 on the Richter Scale occurred in the Bonin Islands chain south of Japan. The results of that earthquake were missed by most scientists but not Minaka Hirohito and Sahashi Takami. Have you followed me so far?"

"Uhhh, yes, pressure released," Wilson nodded while trying to evince genuine interest and at the same time searching for a way to wind this up quick and get on to his main topic of interest, namely how anatomically correct her female form was made and would she prove it to him by relieving the aching pressure in his damn gonads. Natalie, however, blithely continued while using very general units of measurement as requested.

"Good. During that quake the small Kamakura Island area was suddenly uplifted 500 feet or so above sea level, or as Takami later described in her notes as if a small basaltic bubble of the Earth's mantle had been popped. She also recorded that when Minaka and Takami arrived on the island Jan 26, 1999 that something seemed very geologically weird, even impossible.

"She assumed a volcanic island should actually have an active volcano or two, except upon testing she found that all the small, northern volcanic peaks of the island had been inactive for more than 1000 years. Also, the central and southern fluvial plain and bases of the peaks obviously had sea sediment covering, but the exposed peaks didn't."

"Really? That's incredibly informative, and I'm very interested in exposing a couple of peaks on this island," Wilson knowingly smirked while eyeballing her exposed cleavage to give her a very strong hint as to what peaks he wanted to see. He leaned his left arm against the redoubts wall to one side of Natalie's head in a classic male seduction pose. "And exploring a couple of valleys too. Do you think we could re-enact such a thing, say behind the cooking vats?"

Natalie frowned slightly once again as she momentarily considered this possibility before continuing.

"That doesn't sound too logical since there is little sand sediment left on top of this hill. Only enough to smooth over the basaltic rock actually. That's because Takami later deduced that the island's northern peaks and hills became bare because the loose sea sediment covering them was massively eroded by the outlying high volume rain bands of super typhoon Zeb during October 1998. Massive mudslides are the only logical explanation as to how our fort is on a bare, roughly triangular, basaltic tabletop of a 400 foot high volcanic upthrust hill. It also explains why a sloping fluvial plain surrounds this hill halfway up all the sides of the mostly perpendicular rock cliffs above.

"That was how Takami finally explained her and Minaka finding Kamakura Island upon landing on the shores of the south plain at the current site of the MBI base. They explored to find the southern and central plain is approximately 4 miles long and 3 miles wide while north of my location are higher volcanic hills and peaks in an area about 6 miles long by 5 miles wide."

"Takami the scientist, huh?" He said absently just to let her know that he was listening. Man, he was getting nowhere fast here. Think, dummy, think! Adapt, improvise, and overcome!

"Yes, Sahashi Takami the MBI scientist. Anyway, she became intrigued by the incongruity of a lone, tabletop, basaltic butte on the northern edge of a central fluvial plain. There they found another smaller yet obviously foreign rock formation thrusting out at yet another geologically impossible angle of about 12 degrees right in the middle of the butte's tabletop. When they approached and Minaka's mind resonated with mine, I opened a portal under my rock hull's exposed nose."

"Under the, where the cooking vats are now, right? Great! How about we go there now? I'll say the magic word for you to open up for my exposed..."

"Oh, no, that portal was secured years ago! We're using the one under the redoubt's stairs now," Natalie smiled in beatific innocence. "But this most generally explains how I am here now and was discovered in the middle of a hill which is very similar and comparable to Gardner Butte in the Spanish Peaks of southeast Colorado, USA. The difference of course is that this location is on the north edge of a roughly pear shaped island's central plain on the northeastern edges of the Bonin Island chain in the Pacific Ocean.

"Is this general explanation sufficient in details to answer your original question, or do you wish a much more in depth treatise using much more precise metric measurements, standard GDP locating to three decimals, and extrapolated atomic time scales based on Strontium 90 decay?"

"Uhhh, yeah, I mean no." Wilson cocked his head sideways in growing frustration, but he wasn't giving up, and time was getting short before Gunny started checking up on his whereabouts and training progress. Time to get specific and damn any negative consequences. "Your answer was delightfully enlightening. What I'm really interested in learning, Natalie, is if you are anatomically correct? And could I explore your nether parts with a little exploratory upthrusting of my own?"

"Well, I'm as anatomically correct as ancient Sekirei science could engineer, but my embedded nether parts are submerged approximately 20 feet below the island's water table and not available for human exploration. I can provide a visual schematic of that area including the new salt water batteries I'm currently using as my main power source since my solar panels have been boxed for transportation."

What the hell? Wilson blinked at her response. The hull extended 20 feet below the water table? How damn big was this frigging ship? At least 5 maybe 600 feet long? Forget it. It didn't matter. The only thing that did was his nuts hurt.

"Ummm, what I'm trying to say, babe," Wilson finally decided to just go for broke while throwing a quick glance around for any snitching Marines while phrasing his request as scientifically explicit as he could, "is that I'm a physically horny human male with an aching hormonal backup in my testicles. I'm asking if after I give some Sekirei a brief training session in pike fighting, maybe you'd like to provide some quick relief of my sexual condition out of sight of everybody, and the only place I can think of is behind the robot's cooking vats, or hell, now that I really think about it, even in the latrine for Pete's sakes."

"Oh," Natalie blinked in naïve surprise then in understanding. "OH! Oh, so that's what you wanted all along? I'm sorry I misunderstood! Well, certainly I can have that provided that for you after I do a quick research on bathroom usage for that purpose! There really isn't much time though. I believe the Rigelians will attack very soon. After your training session, you and your comrade Pete Sakes should both proceed to the latrine for a much more private accommodation than behind the cooking vats. The latrine door can be locked. Ummm, for additional privacy, I believe you should choose a password for the procedure once inside."

"Uhhh, Recon is the Word, babe! And that's what I call a cooperative ally a fella can really get behind and..." Wilson began happily, but he stopped short in total surprise when Natalie simply vanished in front of him. Damn! A password? For a lousy quick and sleazy latrine screw? That was a "procedure" needing research? And why and where had Natalie gone?

He looked all around at the different scenes of increased activity in his view. She was nowhere in sight. Now what the hell? In the north apex end of the fort's compound, he could see that quite a few close combat Sekirei types assigned to front rank defense were grimly gripping approximately 12 foot long and bladed tridents with balancing butt counterweights. All were grouped around his older staff sergeant giving them the basics of thrust, slash, and parry techniques. Some appeared to be totally familiar with the weapon already, and the rest seemed to grasp the rudiments very quickly just as Gunny had said they would. No Natalie with them though.

Beyond the staff sergeant's group and under Gunny Sledge's supervision, a second rank of Sekirei with whips, long strings, and even elongated sleeves were simulating the catching and entwining newts long enough for a third rank of halberd and lance wielding users to land a quick killing blow. They all seemed to be practicing with unusual intensity now for some reason, but Natalie wasn't among them either.

Okay, Wilson wondered briefly, now what? Well, he'd just go train his group real quick and then loiter near the latrine afterward in hopes Natalie, the anatomically correct computer simulation, would reappear for the "procedure". After all, she had said certainly. All he had to do was stay out of Gunny's sight in the interim. What else could he do?

Less than twenty minutes later, a baffled Buzzard watched a whistling Wilson cheerfully climb the redoubt's steps and head for Buzzard manning the east wall's machine gun. Wilson paused to adjust the sling on his bayonet equipped M16 before squatting down. A few long seconds of silence ensued as the pair stared out over the central plain to watch the alien Rigelian newts still massed and croaking loudly but unmoving in the distance.

"All right," Buzzard scowled in irritation. "What gives, Jack? You actually hook up with that Natalie babe?"

"In a way I guess," Wilson sighed contentedly in return. "She had the robot make one helluva automated glory hole in the redoubt's latrine right below us. Ain't quite sure what was on the other side of the wall that intersects the ship's exterior, but it was soft, hot, wet, tight, moved, and sucked like a high powered shop vacuum. That was good enough for me. Drained my nuts down to raisins for another really damn fine use of that robot. Much better than 'hey Joe, me ichi ban ficky fick all night Joe' that costs fifty bucks back on Okinawa."

"No shit? Hot damn! And it's totally free? That sounds a LOT better than the artificial vibrating vagina I bought in a Tokyo porn shop!" Buzzard stood up suddenly. "Man, my folks came from Poland, and there's an old Polish proverb that says never turn down any kind of screw 'cause it might be your last. And if any situation qualifies, I'm thinking this is it. I gotta try that hole out too!"

"After you lock the door, the password is recon," Wilson informed him smugly. "Then the hole opens dick high on your left."

"Where the hell you think you're going Buzzard?" Gunny demanded as he suddenly appeared behind the pair.

"Gotta hit the latrine real fast, Gunny, because I'm a Pollock," Buzzard announced as he did a sharp pivot and hustled towards the redoubt's steps. "Be right back."

"Who gives a shit if he's Polish? Hey, are you two sick pups all squared away?" Gunny asked Wilson suspiciously while giving Buzzard's retreating form an even more jaundiced and frowning eye.

"All squared away AND rounded off, Sarge," Wilson replied contentedly which did little to reassure his platoon leader.

"Your Sekirei get the basics of their three bladed pikes?"

"Yeah, no sweat. You were right. They caught on damn quick. Hell, they might even kill a bunch of those damn newts in the process, but we're still screwed, Gunny. Some of us more than others though."

Gunny Sledge gave the still smugly smiling Wilson a long and cynical look of appraisal. Then, with an equally critical eye, he made a 360 degree sweep of the entire triangular shaped compound. Along the almost finished cheval-de-frise, front rank and pike armed Sekirei were taking up their positions about five feet apart. The middle of the east side was anchored by a male named Amebane. Benitsubasa anchored the west side, and one called Musubi had the base center under the ship's nose. Behind them were the much smaller second rank "catchers" and the still fewer third rank "finishers". The Sekirei "snipers" who threw ranged weapons were taking their stations along the top of the redoubt's walls along with the elementals that had been designated as counter artillery and air cover.

The pair of super speed "flying platoons" of Sekirei that mostly used swords and lances had taken opposing and outward facing positions on either side of the pulse cannon. Karasuba led one, and the big male named Mutsu led the other. One gray haired female in a Lycra body suit and apparently going to wield long hand claws was kneeling beside Karasuba and hastily snapping her battle armor back on. Sledge wondered why she gave Wilson a huge grinning wink, but Wilson only shrugged with a bland expression of innocence.

Uzume and Riko also got a narrow eyed look from the Recon Marine leader. Whatever they had been arguing about must not have been totally resolved since they were definitely struggling in combining to finish the apex of the cheval-de-frise. Sledge then gave a sideways glance at Cash Archer standing on the ship's nose and flanked by Kazehana and Natalie conversing with him in low terms. The trio was staring out at the central plain to the south at the alien newts still massing but immobile in the far distance. Hopefully, Archer's Circle were more prepared to do their parts than their two feuding Sisters.

Sighing in resignation that he had done his best, Sledge then sat cross legged on the sandbag behind his machine gun to begin the usual nerve testing wait for battle. He had done everything he could to increase their still admittedly minimal chances of a successful defense against a head on melee attack. They had a much more defensible site. Sekirei had been armed, organized, and fed as well as given a simplified and workable battle plan. Now it was up to their individual guts, overall fighting spirit, and willingness to fight for each other and their oddball Prime Leader.

Gunny wasn't worried about his Recon Marines though. Corporal Jack Wilson might be the biggest deadbeat, boneheaded, sexually obsessed, and malingering asshole Gunny had ever known, but the absolutely fearless sonofabitch was hell on wheels in battle. And if all the Sekirei could read and glean anything from the mind of a very sick pup named Jack Wilson, which they certainly had from what little Gunny had overheard coming up here, the one thing they had totally focused on was Wilson's absolute rock willed determination to kill as many alien newts as he possibly could before he died.

Oddly too, and thanks in large part to their and especially Madoka sharing all they had seen in his mind as well as Haihane's impassioned urging for teamwork, Wilson's earlier stroll with his negative, pervy, yet informative thoughts and comments to, during, and from his training session had swept through the preparing Sekirei like wildfire. Still puzzled somewhat for the reason behind it, Gunny could sense a marked improvement in their cohesive attitude as the Sekirei took their battle stations, and thought maybe, just maybe, the hill defenders' overall chances of survival had now weirdly expanded into a little bigger ray of hope.

***scene break***

Mortal fear was an odd thing, Cash discovered. It wasn't like normal everyday fears of failure, of not "measuring up", of rejection by the opposite sex, of being humiliated or made to look like a complete moron and/or fool in front of people, or of even hurt badly in some endeavor. Nor was the fear of imminent death like any other soul robbing phobia or nameless terror from the depths of some inner private hells. This very deep, dark fear of being eaten alive by alien monsters was a whole different level than any causing the usual stumbling, bumbling, and mumbling about in confusion and uncertainty. This kind of mind numbing terror was the inability to move while gasping for breath and not voiding himself. The odd thing was that this fear of certain imminent death wasn't causing many around him to react the same way as he.

Kazehana was understandably tense beside Cash on the nose of the ship's hull, yet she was simply staring out at the noisy enemy massing in the far distance on the central plain. Aside from having her stubborn Ashikabi exposed like this, she otherwise felt fairly composed to Cash. She was, however, also feeling slightly frustrated and puzzled at how her attempts to disrupt the swelling ranks of alien newt warriors by her wind powers was being thwarted.

Nothing had worked; not even her most powerful and compact Flower Whirlwinds. It was as if the aliens were using their sucker like digits to literally grasp the ground and each other. Since the massing alien newts hadn't started to advance, it would yet be a while before they got in range of her up close and more lethal Wind Swords. Cash couldn't tell exactly, but he sensed that Kazehana was supremely confidant that she was going to kill a LOT of these slimy aliens before she went down, if she ever did. Maybe that was the source of her calmness.

Karasuba on the other hand was highly excited and tensed to spring into action with her four member "flying platoon" that would fill in any front line gaps when combat started. It was as if she had no thought of eventually being overwhelmed by sheer numbers and ripped apart into tasty pieces of bloody meat. Karasuba's only outward concession to her possible fate was to turn and give a few appreciative, even proud, and slightly smiling nods at a very stoic, almost serene, and patiently waiting Akitsu standing on the ship between her and Kazehana.

"You knew all along they had big numbers on us, didn't you Aki-chan," Karasuba said softly as more of a statement than a question.

"Yes, I knew," Akitsu turned to smile sadly at her bond mate. "But I am going to die content. My Husband and Ashikabi loves me. He accepted me even when I was broken, and I have a bond mate that did the same. For me, that is more than I ever dreamed. Inside I am happy, and I will be sure to kill you so you won't suffer if taken."

"Uhhh, thanks... I think," Karasuba did a small double take of amused surprise at the firmness and resolve in Akitsu's voice before she added dryly, "Just don't be too quick on the trigger, Tex. Let me whack a bunch of those slimy shits first, okay?"

"Okay," Akitsu nodded sedately in reply before returning to stare at the distant, croaking, black, roiling mass forming on the southern edges of the central plain.

Overhearing their exchange, Cash frowned in concern and glanced around. He just couldn't shake the overwhelming feeling of fear that he was experiencing. He had never considered himself a mewling coward, but man, he needed help here. He closed his eyes and let his mind sense the feelings of his other five Sekirei.

Toyotama, still in the throes of battle lust from the northern group's fighting retreat, was softly cooing through her clenched teeth while shaking in eagerness to let her lance skewer more alien warriors. Her raw emotions were totally locked into kill mode. There was no fear in her at all, but even after eating a lot of the robot's funky smelling hot rice and ration mix, she was still kind of hungry.

Miya was muttering to herself in extreme anger and frustration that the loud croaking/droning of the far off Rigelian warriors was creating dissonant sound waves that negated her sonic attack. Every time she had slashed her sword at the formation's center, their loud, synchronized, rising, and falling, ummmMMMWWWHHAAAaaaaa sound had increased in intensity. She could see the air rippling from her sonic attack waves about halfway over the central plain before the effect simply disappeared. Still, Cash could feel that Miya wasn't fearful in the least, just pissed at being thwarted.

Down inside the massive walled redoubt, Himeko was working very rapidly and with clinical efficiency. She, along with Kusano, Madoka, and Taki of the Mists were healing the remaining wounded and solo bonded Sekirei that had been carried south from Mutsu's lost battle for control of the northern peaks. Himeko's emotions were full of compassion and concern for the wounded, however she felt satisfaction that they were healing very rapidly thanks to the four healers' meshed powers. Himeko was, however, very unhappy with her Ashikabi. It bothered her greatly that Cash had left the ship's protected interior to stand exposed with Kazehana, but Himeko was not fearful for herself at all.

Cash could also sense that Riko was still upset about something, very upset actually, but he felt no fear in her, and for once her unhappiness wasn't directed at him. Neither did he feel anything from Uzume other than her usual hot anger; anger apparently still directed at Riko, or was she pissed at the alien warriors not attacking? Or both? He couldn't tell. Most of all, he felt little from Natalie other than deep, mourning regret that she hadn't self destructed days ago and spared her children and Cash's lives, but again no fear for herself. Wait. He could also sense that Natalie was almost frantically searching for ways to get his Prime Circle properly meshed with their full fighting potential realized, but was getting frustrated that she hadn't found any yet.

Cash shivered in spite of his clenched fist fight for emotional control. How could everyone else within their hastily built and soon to be beleaguered hilltop compound keep so calm? There was plenty of grim industriousness displayed in the Marines and the Sekirei's defensive preparations, even some satisfaction, but no one was quaking in fear. Maybe it was because none had ever experienced being eaten alive before, nor feel the swooping alien monsters talons and sharp beaks ripping into their flesh with excruciating pain that...

Wait. Swooping alien monsters with talons? Beaks? His rational mind struggled with the extreme irrational fear he was continuing to feel. From what Cash had seen on Natalie's monitor screens when Miya had recently flown the repair robot around the island's interior and exterior, the multicolored salamander creatures swarming to attack didn't have talons and beaks. They didn't swoop either. They swam and crawled. Predatory birds had talons and beaks of course, but why would Cash fear them? Was he somehow connecting to some emotional sub level of their alien newt invaders?

Frowning even more, Cash tried extending his senses beyond his Prime Circle Sekirei. There was still a deep grieving sadness in Haihane and her Sisters. Oriha's Circle was exhausted and hungry and a bit discouraged that their attempts to seal the northern peaks had been defeated so easily. Mutsu was highly pissed off as was the recent norm for him. Shiina was very disconcerted that his most deadly decay attack had been easily thwarted by some kind of weird looking gelatinous sacks being held in front of the attacking newts. The other Sekirei were mostly apprehensive for their Ashikabi's and Prime Leader's lives, but not that much about their own. Most were still kind of hungry and a little tired, and some very unhappy at being surrounded here, but none could be said by any means to be experiencing mind numbing fear over being ripped apart and eaten alive.

Blocking all emotions from everyone immediately around him, Cash expanded his senses. From the northern end of the island, he had been feeling very strong, dark, but amorphous pressure in the back of his mind for several hours now. He strained to go beyond the mental sensitivity he had experienced right after his last wild night in bed with Miya. Yes, he could sense the ravening hunger of the massing newts to the south and great anger at being restrained from seeking fresh meat, but that was all. Wait. There. To the east and also west were many minds trying to overcome their fear of being eaten alive! And trying hard to conceal their fear from, from...who?

Suddenly, the strong and dark pressure Cash was mentally experiencing to the island's north coalesced into intense hatred, highly excited anticipation, rising anger, and then shocked surprise? Cash focused hard and now felt the strong emotions coming from the north turn from being unexpectedly discovered into even more intense anger and hatred as well as hard determination to kill. Cash caught another deeper feeling of fear that surprised him before all contact abruptly ceased.

Then the many totally fearful minds to the east and west also turned angry, hateful, and very determined. The synchronized vocal chorus of massing newt warriors to the south increased in volume as all external fear Cash had finally identified as not his simply drained away. Now he could sense two massive armies of ravenous newts rising from the east and west side ocean depths. Their hunger was immediately taken under control by the more determined minds above them and groups began moving through the holes of the Sekirei ice wall around the island. This must mean that the awaited assault would begin very, very soon.

_"Cash!"_ Natalie's frantic mental call washed over him. _"Cash Darling! Answer me! What's __wrong? Darling, what's WRONG?"_

Cash hastily opened his eyes to see that Karasuba and Akitsu both had their faces within inches of his. Kazehana was also staring up at him in concern while tightly hanging onto his right bicep. Toyotama had crowded close behind her bond mate Kazehana, adding her hand on Cash's arm in concern. Natalie's simulacrum was also anxiously tugging on his left bicep before he understood. He must have totally retreated into his mind, blocking out everything and everyone while trying to focus and concentrate on the invading emotions of their enemies. In doing so, his Sekirei had felt his usual presence within their minds diminish drastically.

"Sweetums, what the hell you doing?" Karasuba demanded before Kazehana could do the same.

"Uhhh, from the east and west I was feeling this really intense fear of being eaten alive," Cash tried to explain sheepishly, "by big birds, and then I think I made contact with the overall head newt somewhere up north."

"Birds?" Kazehana exchanged glances of surprise with Karasuba. "Big birds? There's no birds on this planet that could attack those huge amphibians."

"It's possible Cash-chan tapped into the deepest levels of some ancient ancestral memory stored within the Rigelians," Miya observed quietly. "We Sekirei also pass those kinds of memories through our specie's DNA, much more than humans. I have experienced this."

"Yeah?" Karasuba grinned in approval and then clenched a fist in triumph in front of Cash. "And maybe those killer birds were our Sekirei forebears! What else did you sense from the big boy up north?"

"Well, other than being very, very wary of exposing his ship to our pulse cannon and especially to a Sekirei electronic manipulator like Matsu, he was simply full of hatred and eagerness. Then he was really surprised I could sense him at all, let alone that I actually found his location." Cash gave a slight apologetic shrug as if he had done something very basic and stupid like not covering first base during a bunt.

"Matter of fact, I think I just really pissed him even off more when I did because I forgot to keep my mind blocked. Anyway, after that I could feel him take outright control of his warriors without bothering to hide himself any longer, and he that wasn't scared of fighting Sekirei at all. He wants us all dead as quickly as possible."

"Heh, the feeling's mutual then," Toyotama scowled before vehemently shaking her lance at the central plain to the south. "Let 'em come! The quicker the better!"

"Well, I think they're done waiting any more because I REALLY pissed that main," Cash began before the very protective Uzume slammed into his back, encircled him with her arms, and drove the breath out of his lungs. Her white battle veils simultaneously wrapped tightly around them both so tightly that he couldn't draw in any air.

"JOE! JOE!" She anxiously half shouted into his right ear to make his eyes cross and body abruptly stiffen in shock. "What happened? Are you okay? JOE! SAY something!"

"Can't... breathe..." Cash gasped for air as he tried to jerk his head sideways and alleviate the sudden ringing in his right ear. "Uzi... stop..."

"Let GO! You're choking him!" Himeko callously grabbed the back of Uzume's neck with one hand and thumped her knuckles off the top of Uzume's head with the other. The sound of Himeko's chastising whack sounded like a coconut getting tested for ripeness with a baseball bat. It knocked Uzume half stupid and made her reel back unsteadily on her feet, but her protective veils around Cash did loosen to let him suck in some air.

"Owwww! That hurt" Uzume turned her head to give Himeko a blinking, wounded look.

"Let him go, you dope! And get back to work! Finish that weird fence!" Himeko ordered imperiously while muscling past Uzume and the other Prime Sekirei. She took Cash tenderly into her arms while gazing with concern up into his eyes. She brought the fingers of her right hand to Cash's temple and began gently probing his mind. The ringing in Cash's ear immediately stopped, and he felt her calm healing warmth infuse his whole body, but he also felt Himeko's weariness.

"I'm fine, honey," Cash moved to gently disengage himself from her while giving each of his Sekirei a look of reassurance. He then Norito kissed Himeko to give her strength back and then Toyotama, Miya, Kazehana, Akitsu, and Uzume before giving one to a smirking in anticipation Karasuba.

After Karasuba let him take a breath, Cash looked over her shoulder at Riko who was worriedly staring at him from several feet away with her mind shield down. Cash made a quick hand motion to beckon her to him, but after a quick glance at Uzume, she silently shook her head. Riko then leaped back to where she and Uzume had been hurriedly anchoring the apex of the triangular shaped, multi-spiked barrier that Gunny Sledge wanted around the hilltop compound.

Cash sighed and shrugged at what he had felt from her. Oddly, Riko wanted his psychic energy saved for her Sisters when the fighting really got intense and tiring. She didn't feel like she deserved anything extra until she could make Uzume believe in her again. Neither did Uzume. Damn, Cash thought, now what was the answer for this mutual stupidity? Riko was too powerful to ignore and let stay depleted of crucial energy when things went critical.

"Scared of big ancient birds, huh?" Karasuba, a little more approving of Riko's apparently open attitude, mused as her grin turned a little mischievous. "Mums, can you find a recording of a hunting bird for me and set up some loud speakers? I'm thinking we can use that when the time comes."

"I'll find one," Natalie nodded while frowning slightly at Riko and then turning a raised eyebrow look at a wincing Uzume who was also turning to leap away. It was easy to read that the two were still hotly feuding about crossed purposes in their relationship. If only there was some WAY to get her daughters fully meshed!

"Lover," Kazehana, her big, dark brown eyes still filled with concern, reached up with her free hand to caress Cash's cheek. She was reading a deeper puzzlement in Cash. "Are you really okay? What else happened?"

"Sweetheart," Cash began uncertainly as he knew this was going to sound weird. "The really odd thing about what I last felt from the main alien newt up north was, ummm, and it's gonna sound kinda screwy, but uhhh, for some reason I think he was scared to death of ME!"

***scene break***

Oddly, after Cash had royally pissed off the main enemy commander, it was calm, cool, and reserved Miya who barely handled the ensuing long and nerve wracking wait for the Rigelian massed ground assault to begin. Kazehana, Karasuba, Akitsu, and Toyotama formed a loose and idly chatting group on the ship's nose to keep an eye on the stationary distant enemy, but Miya stood silently several feet away from her Sisters.

Her attention also focused on southern plain, Miya missed the fact that Kazehana went strangely silent with her head down and shoulders slightly hunched for several long minutes before finally nodding. Karasuba and then Toyotama followed with similar body language after separate long silent sessions. Then all three finally resumed their chatting in a much more subdued fashion while occasionally casting surreptitious glances at Miya now visibly growing more agitated; pacing back and forth, muttering to herself, and swishing her bared sword in short arcs by her right leg.

The island's sudden, prolonged, exhausting missile and bombing attack earlier had been met with a scrambled and hurried response leaving no time to think but only a few minutes to react and fight. In addition, superficially meshing with Matsu's coolly analytical and calculating mind had pushed Miya's deeper and more self castigating emotions aside to accomplish the island's air defense. Matsu's calm influence was no small thing either since she was Number 02 after all, but when the airborne attacks had pretty much ceased and the move up to their current hilltop fort had been accomplished, Miya's deeper emotions slowly combined with white hot anger and eventually rose up to almost overwhelm her.

Her three nearby Sisters thought Miya was worked up over their seemingly reluctant enemy, but actually, Miya's growing anger during the extended wait was directed more at herself than the stationary Rigelian newts. She had really only been moderately pissed about their enemy's ability to thwart her long ranged sonic attacks. She had then been resigned when the time came to just use her powers of flight, super speed, strength, and superb sword skills to go on an extreme, up close killing rampage worthy of her Number 01 abilities and training. In that manner she would destroy the newts' unified advance and open up opportunities for the other elementals' long ranged attacks even without her deadly sonic waves cutting swaths through the massed aliens' ranks. She would just have to wait for them to get close enough for her to attack effectively.

However, during the more than hour long, nerve twisting wait before the Rigelian advance started, it was the occurrence of a small series of events that struck Miya deep into her heart and made her go upon a dark journey of introspection that resulted in her getting extremely angry at herself.

Naturally, Uzume and Riko's earlier sudden mutual tantrum during their building of the Marine sergeant's spiked fence had been the first incident. While gritting her teeth in disgust at her two younger Sister's immature bickering at a crucial time, the first self castigating thought had hit home that both were the way they were because she, their former Pillar who should have taught them better, had years ago abrogated her responsibilities in a totally selfish pursuit of love with Takehito. That monumental error had been badly compounded by her totally withdrawing from MBI, mourning her ex-husband, and living a still self serving lifestyle ever since.

Matter of fact, all the Sekirei now facing ultimate danger around her were not a true battle group capable of easily defeating the menace before them because they had been raised and taught individualistic falsehoods by Minaka's MBI, not the truth of their true meshed heritage by Miya. Thus, all their continuing emotional damage, being ill trained, and not being inter meshed as well as being trapped here today rested squarely upon Miya's head and now her badly abused conscience.

Yes, she had apologized to Natalie and forfeited her position as Pillar. Cash had kept her in his Circle and meshed her with Natalie, but none of that had fixed the long term and extensive damage she had caused in Natalie's children. Each potential death today, she realized painfully, even her own, was her fault, and that realization hurt her still wounded and remorseful heart badly. It also pissed her off that she had been so blindly stupid for so long, and that really rankled now.

Then the ever and obnoxiously self confident Karasuba had so easily chatted with Akitsu about the unbelievable numbers of newt warriors massing on the southern edge of the island's central plain. Their casual comments to each other were just another reminder that Karasuba's mutually fond, admiring, caring, and easy going relationship with her bond mate was much, much better than what Miya had so far formed with Himeko. The stilted and restrained bonding between them certainly couldn't be blamed on the very easy going and soft hearted Himeko either, but only directly on Miya's inability to break down her long practiced and self defensive aloofness from any kind of emotional contact from anyone. That realization when listening to Karasuba and Akitsu had been another dagger into Miya's self recrimination and added to her now inwardly directed anger.

In addition, Karasuba's mere existence continually mocked Miya about how she had wasted so much of her failed life and love on a non Ashikabi; one who had actually preferred the younger Sekirei's lovemaking to Miya's. She and the mocking Karasuba had both known his true preference all along although Miya had fought hard to deny the fact within and without.

It also hurt to know in Miya's heart that Karasuba's current relationship with Cash was also more emotionally closer, satisfying, and secure than Miya's. But again, whose fault was that? The more reserved Old Timer who really couldn't compete with her younger, less inhibited, and more openly intimate and loving Sisters in Cash's bed, that's who. That ongoing sore and intensely jealous point and internal disgust also threw more fuel onto Miya's rising self anger.

A few moments after Cash had discovered the main enemy newt's existence and location, an almost weeping with concern Himeko had very blatantly taken advantage of her influence upon Cash's soft heart. Although he had been determined to join the ammo runners in the redoubt, Himeko softly but firmly cajoled/manipulated him into returning to the ship's much safer interior to sit with Kouji at the control room's console. Himeko's ability and action had underscored how she had a much more tender, loving, and intimate relationship with Cash than Miya. Again, now that Miya thought that incident over, it added more self recriminating fuel on Miya's rising inner anger for even being jealous of her bond mate.

If all that hadn't been enough, there was still the old and still bitter inner wound that Miya had initially caused Natalie's damage and crash millenia ago to directly lead to why they were all going to be desperately fighting for their lives today. Those facts weren't really all that surprising since she had barely made it through her schooling and combat training as One Who Kills on her home planet in the Sekirei Empire. Much more had been expected of a daughter of the ruling elite, but for whatever genetic reason, Miya had always been a too emotionally reserved and then panic prone under stress type of oddball.

Her childhood and then her advanced training peers and instructors had always known of course. That was why Miya had never been accepted into a circle when young, nor assigned to an elite combat group after graduating. She had actually been quite lucky to even become an altered womb ship Pillar which was actually a discreet form of one way exile to some far flung galactic colony. Even so, that had still eventually outed Miya as the totally aloof oddball and epic failure she had always been. Even now awaiting a possibly hopeless battle, her current peers had not really accepted her as one of them.

To be totally honest, Miya clenched both fists as the final realization suddenly hit her, the fact that she and her life long emotional shortcomings had never been able to fit in anywhere she had been were also the main reason Cash's Prime Circle had never meshed properly. Well, poor Riko's severe emotional problems had contributed too, as well as Kazehana, Toyotama, Karasuba, and Uzume's, but it had really been Miya's own rampant insecurity, hydra headed jealousies, and duty shirking guilt that had denied Cash his meshed Circle.

As the former Pillar, she had always had the psychic power to help Kazehana bring them together, but had unconsciously withheld it in opting for bitchy, self justifying criticism of her Sisters while dodging any more dealing with her badly flawed character than what had already occurred with Cash. Now, Miya realized, the ongoing shallowness of her true being was also about to kill them all. This brought her agitated pacing to a stiff stop.

Standing almost rigid in her heightened emotional state while staring at the distant enemy, the now self enraged, self loathing, yet narrow eyed Miya was the first to see the shimmering mottled mass of Rigelian warrior newts begin a curious, very slow, and totally synchronized movement towards the Sekirei's fortified hill. Miya's eerie growling hiss through bared and clenched teeth alerted those around her that the fighting would finally be starting. On the other hand, it looked like it was going to take quite a while for the Rigelian massed assault to get into optimal killing range. Everyone in the fort then joined Miya's riveted attention on the hard to detect movement in the distance.

On all fours, each alien was advancing a right front and left rear limb, stopping for a full second, then moving their opposing limbs. Large gel sacks were clamped in their teeth and being shaken very rapidly, but that didn't stop nor diminish their guttural, synchronous, and modulated croaking. More and larger gel sacks were being carried in a rapidly undulating fashion on the newts' backs. The newts' protective sacks made it very hard for the elemental Sekirei to visually focus upon and thereby effectively thwarted all long range attacks. A blue green mist swirled in the heat dome breezes above the newt warriors who steadily advanced in that slow halt step while remaining in highly organized ranks from the east, west, and south.

Miya eyed their visible but ponderous three prong attack on the island's central plain. Common sense dictated that the newts up north were now on the move too, or already had been and still hidden due to the longer and rougher terrain distance they had to travel. Perhaps that had been a delaying factor in the newt commander's coordination of his forces so that they would all reach the hilltop at the same time. The deliberate slowness of the Rigelians, however, began to also enrage Miya further as if they were mocking the hilltop's Sekirei defenders and specifically, her.

"Geez!" Toyotama gave a sigh of nervous exasperation. "At that rate it'll take those slime balls another hour to get halfway here! Let's go get 'em!"

"No! Toys!" Kazehana laid a gloved hand on her overly tense bond mate's right arm to restrain her. "Attacking their strongest formation piecemeal is exactly what they want us to do. Remember what Sergeant Sledge said about killing them together as efficiently as possible while conserving our energy and his Marine's ammunition in doing so. In here we can eventually force them to expose themselves on a more numerically favorable killing basis for a much longer period of time. And time is what we have to buy for Mother to get her anti-matter core sealed and gestalt transferred. To do that we have to stay and fight together. Now settle down, will ya? Go get some more food to eat! And please bring me back a couple of snacks and something to drink!"

"Oh all right!" Toyotama groused in disappointment but nevertheless turned to obey before pausing and asking over her left shoulder, "Water, hot tea, or some sport power drink?"

"Power drink, Toys," Kazehana replied without thinking and then sighed in wry self amusement. Funny. She hadn't even thought of asking for a bottle of booze. Maybe there was hope for her Public Obscenity image yet. And perhaps really desperate situations like this brought out the better sides of her warped persona; might even make her a little better Prime Pillar someday if they survived, maybe. With this thought, she felt Cash's amused and warm approval caressing her mind as she cast a quick measuring glance at Miya. It was obvious that desperate situations were not bringing out the best in the former stern, ruling with an iron ladle, and hanya tossing landlady of Maison Izumo though.

"You're doing just fine as Pillar now, babe, the best I've ever had. And I think your front AND back are your best sides already, not obscene at all." Cash's baritone voice sounded in her earphones to make her smile at his simple and suggestive praise. Compliments of all kinds had been given to her all over the world, however the difference was Cash's honest sincerity wasn't simply being employed to simply bed her with no intention to take any responsibility the next morning.

"Don't get too smug about me down there, Lover," Kazehana said teasingly after she had chinned her helmet's microphone. So Natalie was relaying all of his Pillar's thoughts to him as they had just agreed upon then. That was very comforting. "I still have all kinds of naughty thoughts. And there's all kinds of obscene and non Prime Pillar things I'm going to do to you privately and publicly with both those sides if we get away from here."

"You mean when, and please," Cash's chuckling reply echoed in her ears. "I'm scared to death of the aliens as it is. Further terror by my Pillar will be severely punished by a hair grooming with one hundred very slow strokes of a big brush while you lay naked across my lap. Then no nookie for you afterward."

"Yeah right, as if," Kazehana snickered lightly at him even thinking he could deny her or even get away after turning her on like that. "And if that's what you call punishment, Lover-kun, then you better get a more ecchi repertoire for when this Kazehana of the Winds REALLY turns her wilder sides loose!"

A highly agitated Miya unsnapped her helmet and jerked it off rather than listen to any more of Kazehana's infuriating light banter at such a time as this. To do so would only completely snap what control Miya had been able to keep on her pre-battle rage and highly on edge nerves. Miya took several deep calming breaths in an attempt gain better control. Shakily, she put her helmet back on and snapped it down tight, but she almost tore it off again when Toyotama returned a few short minutes later.

"Geez! The food line was lot shorter than the one to the latrine! Those Marines must have really small bladders or something. Here's your drink and snacks, Onee-chan!" Toyotama casually tossed the items to her bond mate. "What's this about being punished with a hair brush by Master? Can I get some of that action too? Heh, remember how we all used to line up in the morning before school to let you brush our hair? You always did Riko and Uzume first, but I was always right behind the Lightning Twins and Himeko. I LOVED it! Master! After you brush our hair, can we get both get sporked too?"

"Stop that! Quit horning in on my gig, you lewd hussy!" Kazehana affectionately hugged her bond mate before Cash could answer, "but thanks for the food and drink. And now that you say it, a good mile high sporking does sound pretty interesting!"

"Hey! Onee-chan! Can we watch you guys get punished?" Haihane called from her position across the ship's nose. This prompted more good natured catcalls from all around the compound and even some fairly embarrassing suggestions as to what items Cash should really use for his Circle's punishment as well as several innovative ways to employ them.

Now Miya's teeth audibly ground together in further exasperation. The always free wheeling and laid back Kazehana was getting all the love, affection, and respect that should have been hers as Cash's Prime Pillar, but she, Miya, didn't deserve any of it, now did she? And today she was most likely going to die a life long failure.

It was all just too much to bear. Unless, she could use her death to atone for a lifetime of inadequacy, missteps, failure, and self involved decision making? She could hurl herself at the advancing newts and slash their forward defenses so rapidly and badly it would create huge gaps. The the others could then...

_"Miya." _Natalie's soothing and calm yet disapproving mental call cut though Miya's raging and now almost totally unbalanced emotions. _"I'm watching you, listening to your thoughts, and you KNOW better. Also, even from inside my hull Cash can and will simply drain your psychic powers if I see you try to leave our fort. I have opened a private channel for you to speak with him. Activate your helmet's microphone."_

As if ice water had been suddenly doused upon her, Miya froze in place for a few seconds before obeying. Cash could drain a Sekirei's power like Seo except he didn't need to be in physical contact? And then redistribute the power he had taken to another? So that was where the psychic boost had come from when she, Matsu, and Kazehana had been meshing to knock out the incoming missiles and bombers and gotten drained. That was incredible growth in him.

"Hey," Cash's almost whispering yet warm voice softly greeted. It was the same voice he had used after they had made love for the very first time on the bullpen pitching mound in the Tokyo Dome. It instantly charmed her anew, but also made her feel ashamed of her still roiling emotions.

"Y, y, yes?" Miya stuttered in wary embarrassment, fearing to say more. His mind was shielded! Why? Was he angry with her? He should be. Was he going to rebuke her? She had almost lost it after all and deserved his displeasure. Why hadn't he spoken earlier, or had he used her agitation to explore the dark depths of her mind again? She had been so distraught that she had forgotten that he was always monitoring her emotions. After all, his warm presence in her mind was her new norm; so much that she had forgotten he was even there when her self anger had started building. She had to concentrate to feel him except right now she couldn't read his thoughts. What about the others? Surely Kazehana, Akitsu, and Karasuba could sense...

"One time," Cash began speaking neutrally as if he were some old, long experienced pitching coach visiting the pitching mound to settle the unfocused emotions of a young pitcher being badly knocked around by the opposition. It had certainly happened to him often enough.

"One time when I was pitching in a spring instructional league, the batter hit an easy pop foul with two out in the ninth when we were ahead, and then this pelican came flying out of nowhere to eat the ball. The umpire ruled it no pitch, and two batters later I lost the game. Man, was I pissed at that pelican, ya know? So you know what I did?"

"Uhhh, no, what?" Miya finally asked after Cash had paused long enough to make her know that he expected her to speak. What did his have to do with the Rigelians advancing to attack them?

"It was in St. Petersburg, Florida, and after I showered, I took a cab to the beach. The waves coming in off the Gulf were about thigh high so I went wading in the surf. Did you know when you stand still on the beach with the waves breaking and receding over your feet, they kind of get sucked down into the sand? And heck, you could get really stuck like that if you stand still in one spot for a few minutes, but those waves, especially those long rollers way out, they're really peaceful to watch. They even seem to suck all the tension out of you if you watch 'em long enough. Then there's nothing that can make you feel happier and calm inside than observing the sun set into the ocean."

"I, I've seen that once," Miya returned hesitantly, "on Okinawa's Emerald Beach."

She didn't elaborate since that had been on her honeymoon with Takehito, and they had been more interested in the bedroom than the island's scenery. She didn't want to dwell on her dark past any longer either, not with Cash focusing his rapidly growing empathic talents on her still disjointed mind.

"Well, I was wondering if sometime you and me could take a walk on St. Pete Beach when the sun sets? You could wear a sexy bikini, and I promise we'll go out far enough into the waves so you won't get embarrassed when I put my hand down your pants to cop a sweet feel."

"Wha, wha, what?" Miya shuddered slightly in surprise and then squirmed a little inside her battle suit as that mental imagery and even warmer caressing of Cash's presence flowed into her mind. He wanted to touch her? Really? He always casually touched and hugged his other Sekirei very easily, not her. Matter of fact, he had hardly even looked at her since their wild night of fusion. Why was he talking like this now?

"I, I don't understand," Miya whispered as the realization sank in that he was truly serious and not simply being light hearted to calm her down. This made some of her guilt laden rage and self loathing begin to simply ooze out of her as if Cash was some kind of emotion sucking vampire.

"Well, there's no way a horny goof like me could ever walk hidden in the ocean waves with a super hot and pretty babe in a bikini without molesting her a little, right? Especially if we're already lovers. Would you want me to do that with you, Miya?"

"Uhhh, uhhh, YES! Yes of course, my love, but, but," Miya broke off and frowned in pleased confusion. Cash actually wanted to spend lovey dovey time with her! She could feel his sincerity that he did! But what about the advancing Rigelians and the extreme danger they were in now? And the fact that her emotionally protective facade of stern discipline and stony faced aloofness had kept his Circle from being meshed to defeat them? As well as keeping his eight Circles from forming an effective battle group? And, most of all, that his other Sekirei were a lot more sexually appealing?

"But what about your Sisters?" Cash finished her thought after getting Natalie's help in reading Miya's mind. "Well, I'll leave that to you, honey. Tell me. Would you prefer it just be the two of us, or would you want the others to share that kind of intimate time with us too?"

It was a loaded question, Miya realized instantly. If they got out of this current mess by some miracle, then his Circle would definitely get properly meshed sooner or later, and EVERYTHING would get mentally and emotionally shared at all times then. Individual intimacy with him could still be individually enjoyed the same way that Sanada and his Circle took turns, but they were still highly tuned to each other. Cash was actually asking how much or how little she truly desired his Prime Circle to be a meshed team, whether loving, living, or fighting together. There could only be one answer if she wished to remain in his Circle in the future as well as keep her sanity now.

"I DO want our Circle meshed, Cash," Miya began to tear up in long held and stuttering frustration. Suddenly, a large and evil looking hanya mask with bleeding eyes formed above her. But different from times past, this one was was entirely focused upon the one who was involuntarily casting it. "But I'm too, too da, da, damaged! I project calm, but I'm actually insanely jealous inside, and, and, insecure, and defensive, and, and I've never been able to fit in anywhere in my entire life! I know YOU can see this! Please don't hate me!"

"Awww hell, I'll never hate you, honey, and yeah, I know that last not fitting in feeling real well," Cash chuckled ruefully, "but, ummm, listen and calm down a little. I need your opinion. I've been thinking about all of us for a while now, especially Riko, and just now you too. We're all such a bunch of emotionally screwed up oddballs, ya know? Even Natalie.

"So, after I felt that main newt's mind up north and how really alien it felt to me, I could still sense he then literally took control of his entire army and easily meshed them together with just one lousy thought. But to do it he used his and all his newts' shared anger, fears, and their primal desires to eat. That gave me an idea. I bounced it off Natalie, and she thought it might work. What if we sorta did the same thing?"

"Share our anger and hunger?" Miya asked hesitantly, but she was also instantly intrigued. Cash had possibly found a way to mesh his Circle in spite of their, and especially her, weaknesses?

"Well, not exactly, uhhh, but our other negative emotions. I was thinking more of sharing our deep insecurities because we all got so many. Using them as our common binding elements like the main newt used his troops' anger, fear, hatred of us, and hunger. We'd be trying to turn our biggest and mutual emotional weaknesses into our strength, see? To override all the things that's been hindering our meshing. We can't used shared group sex like Seo and Mikogami and Kouji did, because, well, I'm just not built that way, and you guys don't get along well enough to begin with, right? I know it sounds really dumb, but, uhhh..."

"No! Cash! It's, it's," Miya seized on the idea as a small ray of hope surged through her gloom and then searched for a description. "It's, it's brilliant! I'm not sure how we can do it right now though. I mean, the Rigelian newts are moving. And, and, well Uzume and Riko are still pretty unhappy."

"Yeah, I know," Cash's voice now had a very rueful tone, "and I gotta sort that out pretty quick somehow too, but I'm working on it. For now, uhhh, would you help me and Natalie out a little?"

"Yes, of course, what should I do?"

"Well, I want you to just be completely, and I mean completely open with your Sisters while I deal with Uzume and Riko. You still have more raw psychic power than all of them, Miya. I need you to use it to quickly share your deepest insecurities and let at least Karasuba, Toyotama, and Kazehana reciprocate theirs with you and each other. Then maybe Himeko, Natalie, and I can take it from there with the Akitsu, Uzume, and Riko before the newts get here. But I want to start with you Miya, and get your psychic powers flowing in the most positive way we can for the others."

"Oh, oh my," Miya bit her lower lip and squeezed her eyes shut in instant embarrassment and self loathing fear. This meant another self debilitating and debasing round of being mentally nude in front of Kazehana, Himeko, and especially Karasuba. Also, there was no doubt now that Cash had finally zeroed in on who was mainly responsible for his Circle's continued fractured state. Deep shame gripped Miya so that she wanted to weep in humiliated frustration. The misfit, hanya ridden oddball that she had always been was going to be totally stripped bare and, and... simply shattered.

_"I will be with you, Miya,"_ Natalie encouraged softly, _"and sharing all of mine too. Cash will hold you to him too. He's strong enough to protect you and preserve your sanity. Trust him fully, and take heart in the fact that our husband has the wherewithal to grow and learn even from our enemy. This is our chance to get rid of all those deep burdens that have so plagued us all individually, and then we can move to the true shared happiness, mutual comfort, and love of our Ashikabi as all healthy Sekirei Circles have always enjoyed."_

"Miya, honey," Cash's soft and tender post coital voice was back to pour soothing and even binding warmth upon her tortured mind. "I'm a whole lot better at baseball and not all that great in geometry, so forgive my simple Euclidean logic when I say every point on a circle is equidistant from its center. No point is better or worse, and all are needed for completion. The only difference is actually positional, which viewed from the center is meaningless. So, as far as I'm concerned, that makes all of you my Prime Pillars. You've got nothing to be jealous about, or embarrassed, or feeling inadequate, torn apart, or anything. You have the same radius from my heart to yours."

"That, that's sounds kind of, ummm, is hokey the right American slang word?" The still barely functioning and clinical side of Miya made her bite her lower lip in nervous amusement despite her overall fierce inner turmoil that was now flirting with full blown insanity. Cash correctly sensed that her amusement was an unconscious self protecting ploy by the still rational part of her mind to keep control. He quickly shifted from the mathematical analogy he had thought would appeal to her logical side and went with a more self deprecating and candid emotional approach.

"Really? Damn, I was kinda proud of that geometry thing when I thought of it. Okay, look, we both know we aren't near as emotionally close to each other as we both want to be. You being older and as powerful as you are still intimidates me in some ways, and I know you feel left out and stuff, but dammit, we're on the same team and always will be. To be totally blunt, those things really don't matter. The main fact is that you all got your different strengths and weaknesses, but Little CJ orgasms the same regardless, hard, and he ain't got a preference when it comes to who, where, or how with any one of you, got it? The only difference is how emotionally fulfilling that is for each of us. Do I please that part of you, Miya?"

"Yes, very much!" Miya blushed in further embarrassment, "but since I'm such an old, stuffy, and even bitchy..."

"Doesn't matter one bit," Cash cut her off forcefully. "You definitely please me too. Besides, you can cook and none of the others can if you need a misogynistic boost. Hey, the others got their deep emotional problems too, Miya, and in their minds just as bad. Trust me. I can FEEL them.

"Karasuba HATES her small tits. Toyotama thinks she's too big and muscular to be attractive. Himeko thinks she's too plain looking. Akitsu fears she's too damaged and dumb to keep my interest. So does Natalie. Kazehana has almost no self confidence and that constantly eats at her. Uzume thinks she's way too much of a bitchy tomboy to hold my love, and Riko, geez, Riko's got a giant combo of crap eating away at her. Hell, I've been the biggest loser I know for my whole life, but dammit, I'm now sure with your psychic power we can use all of that emotionally insecure stuff to finally bind us together! We just all gotta be totally willing to do it is all. So how about it?"

"I, I," Miya swallowed hard.

_"Trust him, Miya!" _Natalie pleaded urgently._"Let go and trust him! Trust your Sisters! Trust your Sekirei heritage to live for love! Don't stay enslaved to your inner darkness! Love, Miya! Cash's LOVE will heal you! But you must let go, put your past away to start anew, and give everything to him to be free! No more pretensions! No more false facades, unbearable envies, and bitter regrets!"_

Miya shuddered as Miya's words hammered at her deepest core. Freedom. Totally free to love and be loved. Yume's sweetest dream could actually come true? For her? Yes, she wanted that more than anything, and had to try for it no matter what. She let go like she had let herself fall backward off a high cliff. Miya opened her mouth and panted slightly as she felt Cash's mind catch and then actually latch onto hers in a protective way. He wouldn't let her go totally nuts. There was no revulsion or condemnation in his protective mental embrace either. This was beyond his "tuning' of her mind to his. This was as if he had moved in with her, sharing every room, nook, and cranny of her inner being. It was so, so... so relieving.

The image of her and Cash standing together in soothing ocean waves and almost nude came back to her. She let her desire to have that intimacy fill her mind, but sensed that Cash still couldn't read her thoughts. Suddenly, she wanted his answer to a very ecchi question. Miya blushed hotly as she heard her own deeply embarrassed voice stutter in sort of a weird, out of body, observing way.

"Fr, fr, front or back?"

"Huh? What do you mean?" Cash's semi puzzled voice was also filled with pleased approval.

"When you, when your hand molests me in the ocean. Will, will it be down the fr, fr, front or b, b, back of, of my bikini?"

"Well, ummm, damn, uhhh, Honey. Which would you prefer? I, uhhh, hey, does that mean you're with me on this now?"

"I'll take a front shot, Wolfie!" Karasuba announced gleefully and so loud it hurt Miya's ears, "but trust me! The Old Timer wants a back poke. She LOVES it there except she's too ashamed to admit it!"

"I'll take the back too, Master!" Toyotama chimed in excitedly. "I LOVE your long sexy fingers!"

"I want you to feel me up BOTH front and back, Lover!" Kazehana announced even more forcefully and yet still had a very sultry tone in her voice as she added, "and I'd even go last, ummmm."

"NATALIE!" Miya burst out in extreme indignation. "You said this was a private channel!"

"Dammit Natalie!" Cash groaned. "You said I would be talking to Miya!"

_"You did! And it was a private channel, just for the six of us,"_ Natalie replied smugly. _"After you told me your idea and since we don't have much time, I decided to start breaking Miya's barriers with these three first because she always kept them away from her the most. Her relationships with Himeko, Uzume, Akitsu, and even Riko are much friendlier. And I'm not doing this to save myself from the Rigelian attack. This must be done to keep you alive, Cash Darling. Do you understand? My daughters must keep you alive no matter what happens to me! You MUST keep him alive, Miya! Now stop feeling sorry for yourself and use your powers for it!"_

Totally stunned at what was happening to her and how she had been manipulated by the sneaky Natalie into finally being so completely humiliated and exposed to her Sisters, Miya sank numbly to her knees. Her eyes registered that the mist covered Rigelians were still slowly advancing in precise unison and perfectly dressed ranks from all three directions. Their incessant croaking had gotten somewhat louder too. That all registered in the clinical and logical part of Miya's trained to kill brain, but the emotional part was in surprised shock. Suddenly, Karasuba's grinning face appeared before her.

"Come on, you old bat. Snap out of it! Natalie got us pretty much the same sneaky way, but just a little earlier is all. You just had to stew a little longer until Wolfie could nail down and then dredge up the really deep stuff you been beating yourself up with. I'm on your side here, ya dope. You think I WANTED to admit your tits look a whole lot better than mine as well as the fact you got more power? And you're smarter too, dammit! We NEED your power to start meshing us together Old Timer. I NEED you. Without it we're screwed. And we gotta save our man!"

"Yes! We gotta!" The kneeling Toyotama's face appeared to Miya's left. She was joined to the right by Kazehana with her faceplate flipped up. Her head was cocked to one side, yet she was nodding in silent agreement.

"We HAVE to start totally meshing like we should somewhere, Miya," Kazehana almost whispered. "I'm in over my head, always have been, and you know it. Please help me!"

All three of Cash's Sekirei had their mind shields completely down and mentally inviting Miya to join their new Sisterhood of Shared Insecurities, pleading actually. Miya fell forward to all fours to begin weeping in relieved acceptance as Kazehana and then the other two leaned in for stabilizing physical and emotional support. The four Sekirei females, even a slightly snuffling Karasuba, then found that sharing a good stress relief cry actually helped.

This was the moment that Buzzard emerged from the top of the redoubt while looking over his shoulder at all the Sekirei atop the redoubt's walls that were grinning at him. He tripped over weeping Miya's right foot now extended somewhat behind her and clumsily stumbled the remaining distance to the east side machine gun. There he was greeted harshly by a very irate Gunnery Sergeant Sledge.

"What the hell, Buzzard? It takes that long to go to the lousy latrine? Those damn newts are on the move now, you dumb shit!"

"There was this Amebane guy in front of me, Sarge," Buzzard stopped a few paces short of his position and even slightly recoiled back one to stay out of easy cuffing range. "Musta had a hard log to pass or something. Rotten ass was in there for almost twenty damn minutes, so it really wasn't my fault. I swear it wasn't my fault!"

"Hey Gunny," Wilson frowned slightly as he suspiciously eyed three of that clown Archer's Sekirei kneeling together several yards away with a fourth on all fours. Also, he was deflecting attention away from Buzzard before the idiot gave away their latrine's secret.

"Do those gals look like their glowing a little to you? What the hell they doing? Is one of 'em barfing or something?"

Gunny turned his very peeved attention away from Buzzard to look with concern upon members of Archer's elemental team seemingly having more emotional problems at an even worse time. The Marine platoon leader rolled his eyes in exasperation as he saw that the obvious mental case Miya was the one doing the toilet bowl worship pose usually assumed after a nasty all night drunk.

Sledge had seen her wild eyed and almost crazed demeanor earlier in talking with Archer and trying to assess his Prime Circle's true combat potential. Each supposedly as individually powerful as Miss Riko, he felt overall that Archer's discordant acting bunch had small potential to raise his battle survival hopes much, if at all. He had left that conversation privately thinking that these Sekirei were almost as frustrating to be around as Wilson and Buzzard, let alone watch them so mentally unprepared to fight a pitched battle. Nothing he had seen out of any of them since had changed that opinion for the better either, especially from the highly agitated Miya acting like a first class nut case.

"Let me have your Bushnell rangefinders, Wilson," Gunny sighed while shaking his head and standing up. "I'm gonna use 'em to get an estimate of how soon those newts will get heah."

"How'd it go?" Wilson muttered to Buzzard when Gunny had walked away to stand on the southern leading edge of the ship's nose to view the enemy's progress. "Get your rocks off?"

"Oh yeah, and how!" Buzz grinned as he lewdly grabbed his crotch like a very outdated Michael Jackson wannabe. "Worked like a charm once that damn Amebane pervert got out of there. Sumbitch must have an iron dick. Then guess what. I just ran into your Natalie babe down by the redoubt entrance watching her robot set up some really huge loud speakers on each side of the compound. I asked her what the hell they were for, and she said Mrs. Karasuba wanted them for something."

"So?" Wilson frowned irritably. "What do we care about that?"

"Well," Buzz returned patiently with a very self pleased expression on his face, "I asked Natalie if I could use those speakers too. She acted very distracted, and I had to ask her three times before she said okay. Then I gave her my cell phone and asked her to have the robot hook it up to play my super ring tone. It's gonna be great!"

Before Wilson could verbalize his intended scornful retort about anything Buzzard had that could actually be called super, music began blaring out of the robot's newly installed speakers. It was generated by a full orchestra playing a tune with a snappy, multiple violin driven intro combined with a catchy, old time, British club beat. Amidst the following and smooth syncopated notes from the horns, woodwinds, and other string sections, a singing male's rich baritone then reverberated out over the island's central plain and eerily echoed back from the northern hills and peaks. Everyone within the Sekirei compound, even the mutually sniffling Miya, Kazehana, Karasuba, and Toyotama, were now standing and exchanging looks of amazed puzzlement while they all listened to the lyrics of the song's first verse.

_"__We're no strangers to love. You know the rules, and so do I. A full commitment's what I'm thinking of. You wouldn't get this from any other guy."_

"What the HELL did you do, you moron?" Wilson gaped up at Buzzard in total disbelief. He got a beatific smile of smug self congratulation in return.

"It's my ring tone!" Buzz chortled jubilantly as he began brandishing the universal one fingered bird with his right hand towards the alien newts massed in the east. "I've used it for twenty years!"

_"I just wanna tell you how I'm feeling. Gotta make you understand. Never gonna give you up, never gonna let you down. Never gonna run around and desert you."_

"You call THAT music?"Wilson made a face of total repugnance. That shit was beyond bad, way past outlandish, and maybe even on the other side of truly sick far enough to actually be called evil. Hell, even old rap was better.

"I'm Rick Rolling those fucking alien newts!" Buzz began laughing at his own odd sense of humor while adding his left forefinger for a double salute and doing a little mocking jig with his feet in time with the tune's beat. Naturally, all the Sekirei were staring at him as if he had totally lost his mind, but some oddballs like Haihane and a few others were grinning and nodding in approval.

"That'll teach them lousy alien shits to piss ME off with their damn synchronized croaking!"

_ "Never gonna make you cry. Never gonna say goodbye. Never gonna tell a lie and hurt you."_

"Are you NUTS?" Wilson began but went momentarily silent to do a fast double take between Buzzard and the still distant warrior newts. What the hell? "Wait. Well, I'll be damned, Buzz. Those fuckers have stopped moving! Hey! Did they stop croaking too?"

No sooner had Wilson's last words been uttered than the still highly charged up Miya became a shadowy, sword slashing blur around the ship's nose. Wave after crisscrossing sonic wave went ripping south, east, west, and many compass points in between. They violently burst the newts' protective gel sacks and blasted into the ranks of the stationary and now silent warrior newts who were just standing. It was as if they were oddly spellbound by what they perceived as some very weird, totally alien, and echoing auditory sensation.

Perhaps the leading contender for the top spot on the "Worst Song Ever" list was something never before experienced, and the Rigelians and their commander had briefly frozen while trying to decide whether it had potential as a heretofore unheard weapon. Or was it simply some new type of debilitating mass terror especially designed to cruelly torture amphibian hearing organs? It didn't matter for the results were the same. Miya slaughtered the frozen newt warriors even though they were still over two miles away.

She wasn't the only long ranged Sekirei elemental to seize upon the Rick Rolled newt commander's fatal lapse of concentration. Only a few heartbeats behind Miya's attacks came large and powerful whirlwinds from an arm waving Kazehana to rip row upon row of the now exposed newts' precise ranks skyward. Those that didn't get immediately fried up in the island's heat dome were simply popped out of existence by Shiina's sweeping decay attacks as they fell back to earth.

Hibiki and Hikari stood away from the pulse cannon to attack in a much wider, less precise, but just as effective fashion. Chain lightning crackled around and through a 270 degree arc of the massed warrior newts' suddenly wispy and disrupted green mist. Many of the Rigelians, who then looked like they had just accidentally pissed/stepped on the electrified third rail of a subway train track, shuddered into electrocuted spasms of glowing orange before imploding.

Riko also instantly utilized her rapidly expanding/collapsing air bubble trick on a much larger and distant scale than what she had used fighting her Sisters in the base gymnasium. The resulting thundering blasts wiped out huge circles of the Rigelians whose rear ranks had by now turned and begun rapidly scuttling in retreat to escape the virtual storm of long range death that had descended upon them from the six Sekirei elementals. This was done while emitting dense protective clouds of their curious green mist to hide behind as they hurriedly moved to reform their now badly broken and gaping ranks.

However, thousands upon thousands of mottled newt minions on the central plain had lost their immediate commanders of few and also dropped their gel sacks. They did not flee nor fart any protective mist either. These milled about in total disarray either trying to eat one another or begin a loose swarming charge towards the Sekirei fort. Long tongues flicking in and out to track the hot scents of live meat, most of the wildly charging newts suddenly shape shifted slightly and modified the joints of their limbs to begin galloping on all fours like horses. Though not quite as fast the mammal they were imitating, still the aliens' speed of approach increased greatly, but they were without their front protective gel sacks and visually obscuring green mist.

Although Miya, Kazehana, Shiina, Riko, and the Lightning Twins were now panting in exhaustion, Homura, Tsukuimi, Karasuba, and Akitsu stepped up to halt the enemy's charge. Huge dragons of superheated steam boiled down the hill's three slopes. Flight after flight of arrow like shards of ice followed to skewer those newts that hadn't been simply cooked out of existence. Gunny dove for his trigger position and yelled for the other crew to open fire. Then the heavy chatter of the Marine's two machine guns simply obliterated the rest of the hapless newts still able to run. None even made it to the sloping apron of fluvial sediments surrounding the hill, let alone to the rocky cliffs leading to the fresh meat above. Soon there was nothing moving on the central plain except slightly swirling dust clouds kicked up by the guns' heavy caliber bullets.

Meanwhile, the older staff sergeant's mortar crew above the redoubt's exit began putting rounds on the hilltop ridge to the north as the machine guns spat death in the other directions. The mortar ammo exploded among a large gang of gold skinned newt commanders of many trying to observe the chaos that had been caused by the alien music weapon as well as the Sekirei's new defensive position. The newts imploded into wisps of orange mingled among huge clouds of roiling dust. Then Taki laid down a heavy hanging mist to the base of the northern hill that effectively blocked further sight observation by any newts that had survived the Marine's onslaught.

A sudden quiet engulfed the Sekirei fort broken only by Miya on all fours again and panting hard from her extreme exertion. Wilson and Buzzard exchanged looks of blinking awe as they stared at her.

"Note to self and to you too, ya ditzy Rick Rolling moron. NEVER piss that one off," Wilson observed dryly, but before Buzz could do more than simply nod in agreement, the other Sekirei began loudly and jubilantly cheering their elementals.

Gunny Sledge began automatically changing out the now hot barrel of his Ma Deuce and reloading, but paused to see the top of the redoubt now crowded by the gleefully shouting Sekirei and their Ashikabi. This would simply not do, and somebody had to say so. He sighed and shook his head before standing up. He pointed at Kazehana slumping heavily into Toyotama for support to gain her attention. Kazehana's head came up, but whatever Gunny was going to say to her was interrupted by a helmet-less Uzume flinging herself to her knees and formally bowing in front of Gunny, Wilson, and Buzzard.

"Thank you so much for helping us defend our Ashikabi! And, and I'm so sorry I lost my temper and hurt Wilson-sama so badly! Please forgive me and take care of me! Sumimasen! Sumimasen!"

"It's all right, ma'am," Gunny frowned while rubbing his jaw and searching for a better reply. For all the years he'd been stationed in Okinawa, he still had never gotten used to the extreme politeness of Japanese culture. Giving up, he turned a very jaundiced eye to a suddenly flinching Wilson and made a pointed chin gesture for the Corporal to respond instead. Wilson eyed the kneeling and obviously very troubled Sekirei with a little justifiable caution but with a lot more suspicious cynicism.

"Uhhh, hell Miss Uzume," Wilson began gruffly while wondering what the hell had gotten her so all fired concerned about apologizing to him? Since the newts never got close enough, he hadn't even fired a shot, let alone second guess his earlier decision to protect her back when the close combat fighting started. Had that mind reading Madoka babe been sticking her nose into his business again and blabbing about it? This so called "apology" felt a little phony coming out of nowhere like this. There was probably an ulterior motive here somewhere.

"Our butts are on the line here too, see? And, ummm, I was out of line too, but Miss Himeko done healed my jaw, so, uhhh, I guess you and me are pretty much square."

Other than that for Gunny's and the much nicer Miss Riko's sake, Wilson added mentally, you can go fuck off bitch. And fucking grow up. There was always a steep price to pay when some one loses their temper all the time and goes around beating the shit out people. It was usually paid in the loss of respect from the people they cared about the most. He ought to know as often as he'd been locked up until he'd finally learned how to control himself a lot better.

Wilson turned and shrugged at Gunny to indicate that was all he had. It was the Sergeant's show from here on. Whatever else followed here to get these rookies off their false victory high and ready to fight the real battle to come required leadership. And hell, no one had ever said Jack Wilson was any kind of leader type. Other than Gunny, he barely tolerated sergeants, and man, he simply despised officers more than too bitchy females as well as civilians that didn't know a damn thing about making war. After a long pause of silence, Wilson finally made a small hand gesture to indicate he thought his Sergeant needed to step out and say the obvious to these greenhorn kids since their Archer and Kazehana leaders hadn't.

Gunny heaved a sigh at the woeful lack of true leadership amongst the Sekirei as he took a few steps towards the center of the nose platform and looked around him. The Sekirei and Ashikabi immediately went silent as their eyes riveted upon him.

"Folks! It ain't pie and ice cream time yet! We're still in for a long hard slog heah! We may have just smoked a hundred thousand or so of them suckers in a few minutes of fighting, but I figure that ain't even one percent of what they're gonna throw at us. We bought a little more time when they made a little ol' mistake is all, and that's good for us. But really dumb and bad music ain't gonna work twice on 'em. Whoever can, y'all need to help your big gun elementals recover however y'all can do it. And don't forget we just seen those newt bastards can run pretty damn fast. Save your strength, and expect a really hard massed charge when they get close next time. You Ashikabi guys better keep your butts and heads down in that redoubt from now on too, ya heah?"

After he looked at the obviously tired Kazehana to get a silent nod of agreement, Sledge abruptly turned and went back to finish rearming his machine gun, leaving his audience to also nod grimly among themselves.

Wilson made a sour and cynical grimace when Uzume finally looked up him with a highly troubled expression. He could instantly see there was no true contrition in her eyes for breaking his jaw. Nor was she begging for his back up protection. She had, Wilson realized, only publicly went to her knees here because she feared losing more of Archer's respect for her ball busting bitchiness that must be an ongoing thing. If that was so, then it was little wonder to Wilson that the weenie ass Archer obviously preferred hanging around the much more gentle, mature, and truly compassionate Miss Himeko a lot more than having to warily tip toe around a bratty, temperamental kid like Uzume. It didn't take a fairly insensitive guy like Jack Wilson to notice Archer's unconscious body language preferences right away either.

As if stung, Uzume leaped up away from him with her lips clamped together and fists clenched. Then with her eyes quickly averted from him, Wilson watched her stiffly retreat to kneel beside Miya now being clasped and steadied by Himeko. Well, if the shoe fits, bitch, Wilson almost snickered out loud. That last highly pained look he'd noticed on her face was better than her apology as far as he was concerned. Wilson also noticed that the one called Taki and the girl Kusano were simply touching Riko and the male named Shiina nearby to Himeko. So all the healers had arrived, eh? Maybe they ought to all get together and take another look at Uzume's hair trigger temper, unless of course one of the healers was just as full of themselves as she was.

Speaking of which, he turned slightly to see that the blonde Madoka was kneeling beside the Lightning Twins who were now sitting on the pulse cannon's anchoring sand bags to recharge as quickly as possible before any more air threats arrived. Kazehana, Mrs. Karasuba, and another shorter one with what had to be a very impressive set of tits inside her battle armor were leaning heavily against the cannon yet calmly awaiting their turn to be rejuvenated.

Strangely, the almost domestic quality of the scene made Wilson idly wonder what Kaiyo was doing right now on Okinawa. Probably folding the clean towels that had come out of the onsen's big industrial dryers in preparation for the evening visitors to the hot spring. When he noticed the mind reading Madoka looking at him and smirking, he deliberately recalled the mental image of Buzzard dancing around and flipping the bird with both hands towards the alien newts. Maybe, Wilson sent a spiteful thought, the dumb shit had Rick Rolled the wrong damn aliens.

Madoka flushed and looked away after apparently reading his mental message. He, Jack Wilson, may be fighting along side of them here, and still probably dying, but that didn't mean he had changed his pretty low opinion of any future sharing of his home planet with a mind reading alien freak that simply couldn't tend to her own damn business. Nor did he have to offer a jaw breaking super bitch his forgiveness after a phony apology either.

"You are one dumb, sorry assed excuse for a Recon Marine, Buzzard," Gunny observed quietly as he worked with expert speed. "And one very lousy judge of music, but that worked out pretty good. And maybe I was a little wrong about how we can't kill those bastards fast enough, just like I was dead wrong about them not coming at us over them high peaks and hills to the north. Them elemental Sekirei were pretty impressive for that quick hit also, more than I expected for sure. From what I've heard out of the other Sekirei I trained earlier, things would go one helluva lot better for us if we could just get 'em all cooperating like that all the time, especially that weird Prime Circle of theirs."

"Yeah," Buzzard agreed affably while picking up spent brass for Miss Riko's box.

"I'm thinking that's what ya get with a bunch of insane, ball busting females fighting each other for attention from one weenie ass guy, no matter if they're human or not." Wilson sniffed sourly before he turned away to use his Bushnell rangefinders and keep watch on the distant regrouping newts.

A few yards away Uzume, Miya, and Himeko overheard him and visibly drooped at Wilson's all too accurate assessment. They exchanged wounded and highly embarrassed looks that the crude and lewd Wilson had been able to cut right to the heart of their meshing problems so quickly. Cash's Circle had read the resentful and even damning thoughts and emotions of the other Sekirei quite clearly for some time now too, but none had articulated it so damningly as the sour natured Marine.

After several long minutes of conversing quietly among themselves, Miya staggered up and took several steps towards the three Recon Marines while unsnapping and removing her helmet. Instinctively she had stayed grounded and poured all her energy into killing, but even so her powers had drained much too quickly to leave her legs feeling shaky. Still, she had opened up the Rigelian ranks for others to attack successfully, and for the first time on Earth, she had felt like part of a team. More importantly, she had been cheered for her efforts by the other Sekirei and had felt their pride in her power and abilities. She had finally fit in somewhere and now been simply accepted for what and who she really was, not as what others thought she should be. It felt …. good... very good.

"I am Number 01 Miya." She paused to send Wilson a quick glance, but his usually acerbic thoughts while looking at a Sekirei for once were neutral. "We want to thank you and Corporal Wilson for your help in assessing our weaknesses. It's always good to get fresh eyes looking at things. My Ashikabi also asked me to thank you again for all the professional help you've given us, Sergeant."

"Corporal Wilson heah, is one of my problem children, same as Buzzard." Gunny swung a very jaundiced eye towards Jack. Now what had this damn piece of work been up to behind his back? More importantly what had he done or said to "assess" these Sekirei with "fresh" eyes to gain their thanks, or had that been sarcasm? Or had he royally pissed them all off as usual, and this Miya was here to head off future unpleasantness?

"I must declare I can count on 'em both in a fight, but someday soon I'm gonna make proper squared away Recon Marines out of 'em, ma'am. If they have offended in any way or do so in the future, please tell me. Hopefully, if we live, I might have a chance to pound their pointy little heads down to where their helmets fit like a Marine's should."

"Well, good luck with that. My Sisters and I just wanted to make sure you knew we really appreciate your help. And our Cash just said to tell you that he believes we're going to rally here. I think that's some kind of baseball term indicating winning optimism because we're working very hard on getting much better cohesion within our Circle and with the others too."

"Ma'am, does that include Missy Riko and that Miss Uzume?"

"Uhhh, yes," Miya grimaced slightly in dismay at yet another precisely placed thumb upon a very sore Prime Circle spot. "Cash and the rest of us are working on that problem too, Sergeant."

Gunny Sergeant Sledge cocked his head and looked up at her in quiet appraisal. So she was Number 01? She had truly proved to be an individual battlefield power like no other he had even seen, but like he had thought about Sekirei in general, very high energy, very fast fizzle. What good would that be for hours and hours in the very hard fighting to come? He hoped the close combat types had a lot better stamina, and the elementals had brains enough to pace themselves. Even then, things still looked very bleak indeed.

And Archer was predicting a rally huh? As if they were in some damn baseball game? Without one of his biggest hitters healthy? Why hadn't all this been fixed a lot earlier? Maybe Wilson was right about that Archer fella being a weenie jock loser after all. He sure hadn't shown much as a battle commander and cohesive force for his people so far.

On the other hand something had happened to this lavender haired and hard eyed little beauty. Earlier, a different looking Miya standing beside Archer had appeared to be almost an extreme nut job, but now Sledge was actually seeing a much more calm sanity in her lavender eyes, facial expression, and body language.

Good to hear and see, he supposed, but way too damn late for any real comfort since the Rigelians had quickly reformed and were on the march again. This time the newts were moving a lot faster initially and looked as if they had wisely used that first setback as an informational probe of the Sekirei's new defense setup. The newt commanders were not dummies, and they knew they still had overwhelming numbers on their side.

Gunny didn't know all that much about baseball, but he was pretty sure being ahead late in the game was a whole lot better than playing from behind, and statistically, most rallies came up short. War wasn't near as forgiving for one side being behind in the killing curve. Nor was it a polite game with any rule other than kill or be killed.

"Working on the problem. Well bless your heart, that right there almost makes me feel plumb hopeful, ma'am," Gunny finally shrugged amiably, but to the now calmer Miya, the odd tone of his voice sounded very skeptical at best. So were his thoughts as he yanked the cocking lever on his machine gun.


	36. Chapter 36

**The Game Changer**

**Chapter 36 – Deciding Pitch, Back Door Slider**

A sudden slashing stab of raw, snarling hatred momentarily stunned the rear depths of Cash's mind like a high fastball aimed at beaning him in the head. Trying to save himself, he instinctively ducked, turned, and somehow threw up a mental shield around not only him, but all the Sekirei, Ashikabi, and humans on Kamakura Island as well. He didn't have a clue how he had done it though. It was sort of like a mentally wincing bubble to get out of the way of that bean ball while at bat and trying to bunt. It still hit him hard in the back of his mind.

Cash caught himself from falling by instinctively gripping the back of Kouji's chair in front of Natalie's control room console. Damn that had been bad! And baseball sneaky too; kinda like a catcher throwing behind a runner leading off first base or maybe a back door slider off the lower outside corner coming back over the plate for a called strike three. Cash staggered, held on, and blinked rapidly since the sneak attack had totally shaken him inside and out.

After a few seconds of getting his physical balance back, he put up a quick facade of calming emotions downplaying the assault's effect for his Prime Circle and Natalie as they all yelped mentally in alarm. He did this by inexplicably concentrating on the soothing image of what he had wanted his original "Shinto Dawn" painting to look like when finished. Troubled and still anxious about the sudden sharp pain they had felt him suffer, nevertheless they all returned to killing newts when the pain was masked from them. Then, still reeling, Cash tried to regain his mental equilibrium, refocus on his main objective, and clear the now very fuzzy cobwebs fragmenting and blurring his thought processes. Uhhh, what in the hell had been or was his main objective?

Many moments later Cash was still trembling slightly in total shock and surprise. He hadn't even thought about being the target of a powerful psychic attack, let alone prepare for one! That sneaky bastard newt had hit him from behind too!

This was just too much. Especially from the one Rigelian main enemy operative who had just gloried in the fact that he had blown up Cash's father and four of his female Circle as well as eaten them all afterward. And now that Rigelian had broadcast that he was relishing the moment when he was going to eat Cash and his Sekirei as well? Those revelations had now left Cash's mind calm and comforting on the surface for his Circle's sake, but it was still in total turmoil beneath. Something had to be done to stop that crazy assed killer newt. The prick.

Cash tried to focus his still crossed eyes on Kouji sitting down before him and monitoring Natalie's control screens. The back of Kouji's lime green t-shirt had a black lettered phrase, "Never trust an atom since they make up everything." What in the hell did that have to do with baseball types of sneakiness and, and whatever he had been doing? And why was everybody around them cheering so loudly?

Well, that atomic pun did make more sense than the electric blue shirt the Ashikabi genius had worn yesterday that had vaguely proclaimed "E=MC 2 Hammer Can't Touch This!" or the iridescent pink shirt the day before that had proclaimed "It's Amino World Without Chemists". Not that Cash understood a tenth of whatever Kouji was actually saying verbally at any given time to begin with, let alone his weird t-shirt science puns. Cash gripped his aching skull with both hands and pressed while squeezing his eyes shut and blocking out all sight to remember … uhhh, what had he been doing just now?

Geez, that Rigelian must be a total putz as well as sneaky prick attacking from behind like that, Cash heaved a confused mental sigh of disgust as his memory failed him. The alien was just another playground bully type actually; much like all the playground bullies that had continuously tried to beat his ass in elementary school just because his insane mother had named him "Cash".

Besides, his Dad had been dead for almost two decades, and Cash had never been an unhinged vengeful type, let alone scared of what "might" happen to his body AFTER he was dead. Who cared? So the Rigelian's personal threats were pretty much lame that way, but Cash was greatly concerned for his Sekirei. They had to … had to … had to what? And how had that alien putz attacked his brain like that? Wait. All around good guy, social moron, and aspiring professional pitcher Cash Joseph Archer was going to be killed and eaten by an alien amphibian putz? Man, that sounded like a bad episode from some really cheesy manga like the old "Freezing" series and its main hero named, named, …. whoever.

On the other hand, who was the real total putz here? Without the help, advice, direction, morale boost, and added firepower given by Gunnery Sergeant Sledge and his Marines, all human/Sekirei life would have perished on Kamakura Island hours ago. And it wasn't Cash's fault either. He had TRIED to tell Natalie time and time again that he was just a hick gaijin from Springfield, uhhh, ummm, wherever, and he was no military commander. He HAD tried, right? And now his brain felt like soda fizz? Maybe he could pop a few bubbles in there and make his head feel better, maybe? And make him think a little more clearly? Okay, okay, putz, let's figure out why you are here and then go after what you are supposed to be doing.

Well, the TRUTH had always been that he, Cash Joseph Archer, had come to Japan to simply play baseball and learn to thrown a lousy consistent strike. He had never wanted to become the leader of a bunch of world protecting aliens that were mostly female. Nor, thanks to Riko's unwelcome exposure of him to a bunch of lovesick Sekirei, the brain scrambled Ashikabi with a fractious harem of eight of them AND their living spaceship's Prime Leader for crying out loud.

Even Agnes Mortenson would be laughing her ass off at that last concept if she knew about it. Well, she had laughed at him for performing worse in bed than the Muckdog's back up catcher, so did that really count against him for being a total naive putz now, let alone a total, Prime Leader, battle commander bust? Yeah, it did. He should have known enemy alien putzes like the Rigelians wouldn't play by any rules.

Now he was thinking better. Face it. As any kind of battle leader trying to save the Earth from ruthless alien invading amphibians, Cash decided, he was certainly no sleek and chic Ultraman defeating various monster kaiju in Japan. Nor was he any 25 story high, multi-armed Jaeger robot valiantly delivering destruction to various monstrous "Pacific Rim" threats rising from the crevasses in the ocean depths.

The scene of the mean, slimy, and evil amphibian monster visually lurking below the canal water from the old horror movie "The Host" weirdly came to Cash's still fuzzy and fizzy mind. Then of course the monster naturally began eating all the Asian kids throwing beer cans and beer nuts into the canal to feed it. What the hell had those dumb shit kids been thinking? Even he knew better than to stupidly "tease" some lurking blood thirsty horror from the deep, or to "go outside to just look around" in a sleazy zombie flick, or even "go down into the basement" to see why the lights were flickering in a 3D ghost/slasher/chain saw movie.

He was no fricken ninja hero, not when it came to being eaten by monsters, slashed to bloody pieces, and/or turned into some brain devouring zombie. Gads! That all really sucked! Man, any stupid manga fan or maroon who watched bad sci-fi/horror movies and anime TV series for years and years should have learned at least that much.

Hell, as hero material, Cash readily accepted the fact that he wasn't even in the same league as the lowly and insipid Captain Planet fighting off the dastardly pollution plans of Hoggish Greedly by using the most inane and maybe even the single worst, ho hum, magic catch phrase ever, "The POWER is yours!"; which had for decades been voted more totally lame and irritating than the Green Lantern's stupid lamp chant for Pete's sakes.

Those really dumb power phrases were at best distracting and always made him lose focus on the cartoon and comics' plots anyway. In fact, thanks to that last alien mental attack, Cash now couldn't even focus very well on his beloved Sekirei defending themselves from the invading Rigelian newts above. Maybe he needed his own power phrase for them now? One to at least keep him and his Kamakura Island folks from becoming amphibian snack food? Something to do with his pitching maybe, ummm, like "Hey! Fork YOU, Newt!" Ehhh, pretty lame, and did newts even play baseball?

How about "To infinity and," NO. That had been done, badly too. Didn't even apply, actually. Ummm, "Do you feel lucky, Newt? Well, DO ya?" Nah. Dirty Harry had actually known how to fight and at least fire a gun. How about "EAT This!" or "Kurae!" for his mostly Japanese speaking Sekirei and Ashikabi. Nope, that was so trite and over used so much that it was now listed in Japanese manga and anime as a bad stock phrase as well as a dumb TV trope. Damn. What could he use?

Even old Ultraman's "Shuwatch!" hadn't been all that helpful, because who in the hell even knew what that dumb word even meant? Whoosh! Maybe? How could a hero get more power from yelling whoosh? Besides, with all his super powers, and did that old time Japanese hero ever have a bunch, Ultraman could only stay in Earth's atmosphere for 3 lousy minutes. A very major weakness, right? Worse than a befuddled gaijin base ballplayer who could only think of "Go Team Love!" as his best super power, magic catch phrase; which was much better that "Hey Swing Batter!" or even "Well Done You!" or, or, nuts. He was lousier with power phrases than he was with understanding vague t-shirt puns, tracking bad manga plots, and being a schmuck Prime Leader.

He'd be better off trying to temporarily sing the damn invading newts to sleep or something like that Marine had done. But what song to use? Did something worse/more effective than that Marine's goofy ring tone of "Never Gonna Give You Up" actually exist?

As was wont to happen when inundated by long term and even sudden female emotional duress, lack of sleep, and facing situations he had absolutely no idea how to handle as well as being mentally beaned by an alien putz newt, Cash's stressed/attacked/fuzzy mind continued to wander into the truly inane aspects of what he was experiencing. Dammit, he had to snap out of this! His Sekirei were fighting and, and, say, was Rick Atsley's annoying Rickrolling tune really the worst song ever?

Man, it had some very stiff competition for that dubious honor; especially from a true rock and roll aficionado such as Cash claimed to be. Starting with the Beatle's "Ob-La-Di" in 1968, "We Built This City" by Starship in 1985, "Who Let The Dogs Out" by Baha Men in 2000, "Friday" by Rebecca Black in 2011, and "Hot Problems" by Double Take in 2012, there had been a whole lot of total music disasters and epic fails to make a fella's ears bleed, eyes cross, and send his mind into the depths of tone deaf hell.

Once heard couldn't be unheard either. Kinda like seeing and then unable to render unseen one of Kouji's weird t-shirts. Bad music was just annoying and even sickening noise that always lingered in his brain like the rotten fish smell from a tuna casserole meal prepared by his insane mother. Just like those fool Beastie Boys fighting for their right to party back in 1986. Morons. Never did like much of anything those dumb shits had put out. Matter of fact, there were so called music "artists" whose whole ensemble of their collected releases vied for the absolute bottom feeding worst stink of the world's music industry.

Anything done by The Bieber, Limp Bizkit, OutKast, and/or Kylie Minogue, Cash mused darkly while staring without seeing at Natalie's control room videos relaying the raging battle going on above him; especially that too repetitive "ear worm" thing titled "Can't Get You Out of My Head" from 2001. That had driven him half nuts and ruined sleep for weeks trying to keep it from constantly running its sing song in the back of his brain. He actually hadn't gotten it out of his head just like the lyrics had promised. It was still in there, waiting to leap forth and screw his concentration up for weeks and weeks again. It was much worse than that truly annoying "Hey Ya" ditty too.

Of course, the badly aging Snoop Dog and especially that total old ass clown Vanilla Ice were down there on the laughably referred to as "artists" list too. Oh wait. The 60 year old Madonna had definitely made the all time worst tune list by her 2018 cover of "Turning Japanese", right? Or how about 50 Cent's hip hop remake of that country clunker "Achy Breaky Heart" in 2015? Now there had been a total bow wow that had made Kylie Minogue's big ear worm hit actually palatable. It had even made "PONPONPON" done by Kyary Pamyu Pamyu somehow pleasing. Now that he had thought about it, maybe Minogue's song wasn't all that bad after all.

_"La la la … la la … la … la la…_" started resounding inside Cash's still badly unfocused brain. Rats. It was back, and he just couldn't seem to pull it together here at all. His Sekirei were in mortal danger, and other than "Go Team Love!", he could give them no help at all! And he HAD been helping them by, by …. dammit! What HAD he been doing? _"La la la … la la … la … la la …"_

He absently wondered who kept yelling at him that his brain was too blurry while calling him Cash Darling_. _Were there other ear wormed music critics around here somewhere?

"Yeee ouchhh!" Something blunt and hard jabbed Cash in the left buttock, a second later poked him again in the crack of his ass, and then stabbed his right butt cheek harder. What the hell was THIS? Another sneak attack from behind by that prick newt? Cash tried to relieve the sudden and painfully invasive pressure on his backside by twisting sideways in Natalie's too crowded control room. Everyone around him went completely rigid and stared in silent shock at his loud yell of pain.

Cash looked down to give a very wounded and automatic frowning scowl at an unknown, young Japanese male Ashikabi. The culprit behind Cash was holding onto the front end of a long, very thick, cable looking thingy that vaguely resembled twisted copper electrical wires except there were multicolored strands of something else that looked quasi metallic twined in them too. Other young Ashikabi were also carrying the long heavy cable behind the first kid and lined down the passage way leading into the ship's lower depths. They looked on in horror that their actions had inadvertently hurt and distracted their Prime Leader from mentally controlling the defenders' efforts in Kamakura Island's desperate battle. As one they dropped to their knees and bowed while saying sorry and begging loudly for forgiveness.

"Prime Leader-sama! Makoto ni moushiwake gozaimasen!"

Totally nonplussed and somehow actually recognizing that phrase from an old Samurai movie as uttered by an underling who had REALLY screwed up, Cash blinked at the scene before him. Everyone in the control room had also went to their knees in contrition. Some were shouting "Shimansen!" and others the less formal "Gomennsai!" Even Kouji twisted in his control room seat to give him a silent look of surprised and apologetic agony. Cash inanely noted the front of Kouji's shirt had a picture of Chuck Norris only recognizing Ah!123 as the element of surprise in the periodic table. Cash made a mental note to have Namiji discreetly improve Kouji's screwy wardrobe if they survived this battle.

Geez, Cash then wondered in bafflement as he looked around the crowded and now kneeling control room, did all these poor deluded folks think he was something special? They actually thought he was mentally coordinating their Sekirei's battle efforts and while also fighting the Rigelians on a psychic plane above them all? And his concentration had just been broken? Looking them over he instantly sensed that yeah, that's exactly what they were all feeling. This was REALLY just too much.

"Hey, uhhh, guys, no harm, no foul!" Cash reached down to grab the first young Ashikabi's left bicep and yanked him gently upward. "Say, uhhh, just what are you doing with this heavy cable thing anyway?"

A string of fast and unintelligible Japanese came back in disjointed chorus from several of the leading Ashikabi cable carriers. The rest of the crowd stood up with relieved and too hopeful expressions on their faces. Cash then felt the weight of the emotional confidence they had in him and his Prime Circle to save them all. Damn. If they only knew the truth, and then wondered if any of them had any pistachio nuts. He always chewed those between innings of a game when he had trouble in remaining focused on his pitching. He didn't actually LIKE pistachio nuts all that much, but hey, anything to improve a guy's concentration, right?

"They got nuts?" Cash asked an instantly puzzled Kouji who decided his Prime Leader was just having his usual translation troubles and had confused cables for a slang word denoting male testicles.

"Ummm, they ARE male and have balls Cash-san, but no, they were saying the CABLES have been demanded by Miss Riko-san," Kouji hastily translated from his seat, "but they don't know why other than it is urgent. Natalie-san's robot freed this and other cables from her second inoperative ion engine for them to take top side, but the cables are heavy and hard to control and turn. That is why they accidentally poked you, Cash-san. They are very, very sorry."

Now what in the hell was Riko up to now? Cash could feel she was still pretty pissed off at Uzume over... over... what? Over something that was pretty blurry like both were purposefully hiding it from him, that's what. Riko was also very frustrated about something being way too inefficient. In addition, she was flicking away incoming gel sacks being used as artillery upon the tabletop in nominal concert with Miya and Kazehana. She was also slamming newts onto the spikes around the north end of the spiked fence's apex. In addition, a part of her mind was performing mathematical, chemical, and physics calculations that felt like total gibberish to him, but damned if he could tell what she was actually intending to do with any heavy cable. Cash wondered if Natalie knew.

_"I can't read Riko's thoughts clearly because she's never been meshed to me and her Sisters, and she's too busy to talk to me,"_ Natalie responded instantly. _"Your mind seems very blurred now too, Darling. Are you all right? If so, I suggest we let Riko fight as she can. Her tama is healed, and her heart has always been yours. Whatever else she has planned must be something to aid our fight, Cash Darling."_

"Yeah? Oh, yeah, yeah," Cash replied out loud and then became aware of the young Ashikabi still looking up at him in blinking expectancy. He belatedly nodded, smiled, and bowed his head a couple of quick times at the lead cable kid as he realized everyone in the control room was also still looking at him in silent expectation. He moved aside and waved a hand for the cable guys to pass up into the redoubt with their burden. Several on the end didn't look young at all, however. One looked like a wizened, hunched over, yet grinning grandfather with way too thick glasses and certainly not an Ashikabi.

"Who the hell is that guy, Kouji?" Cash pointed at the old man hustling past with the other cable carriers. At the total bewilderment of his tone, the cable guys stopped dead in their tracks once again as had everyone stirring in the control room.

"He's a Yakuza forger that lived in the warehouse we used as a hideout before we came to Kamakura Island," Kouji explained patiently. "He's forging baseball cards of your career now to sell for a fortune after this battle is over. Him and some of his gang stowed away on Mikogami's yacht because the cops and MBI troops had the warehouse and waterfront district surrounded. Apparently these old Yakuza guys figured they had better odds of staying out of prison and/or surviving with us than staying there to be scooped up after we left. There's a few other civilians that came along for the ride for various other reasons. Some of the Ashikabi had family members they are responsible for too. They're all back there helping out as much as they can and in the cheering section now."

Still feeling very light headed, Cash tried hard to keep a mask of thoughtful cheerfulness and confidence on his facial features at this news. They had civilian stowaways here in the ship he had known nothing abut? Helping and cheering the fighters above? And even they had confidence in him too? Why hadn't he been told about them? Had they all been properly informed of the dangers before leaving Tokyo with the Sekirei? There was still a battle going on after all, and they could all be killed for Pete's sakes! And as Prime Leader they were looking to HIM for... oh yeah, what was happening with the battle?

"Tell them all to, uhhh, ummm, just carry on, Kouji, okay? Uhhh, say, any long range threats still coming at us?"

After barking out a string of commands in Japanese to restore the control room's new normal cheering chaos and get the cable carriers and various food, drink, and ammo support teams hurriedly moving again, Kouji pointed to one video screen up and to his left.

"Cash-san, there are one Russian and three American suborbital ramjet bombers circling the globe that missed their initial attacks for some reason. Perhaps they malfunctioned, or maybe their GPS target locators were scrambled by Matsu-san. The Chinese, Russian, and Indian fleets have all withdrawn and are now circling about 25 kilometers or 15 of your miles out. They all have small unarmed drones patrolling just beyond our ice barrier and observing the alien newts' invasion. Should those small drones be allowed to come closer?"

"As long as they're unarmed, why not?" Cash shrugged as a little more of his mental dizziness began to subside. Matter of fact, it felt like his ability to sense emotions all around him had somehow gotten better. Now why was that? What had that newt's sneak mental attack done to his brain? Make him more sensitive and aware of his surroundings in a very expanded way? What were those dull little lights making three separate slow circles on the fringes of his mind? Were they psychic human minds in the invading naval fleets? Could he touch them?

"Are you sure, Cash-san?" Kouji looked up at him with raised eyebrows and yet had a trusting expression on his face as well as matching emotions in his mind. Matter of fact all the people in the crowded control room were giving him the exact same looks and glances of confidence and trust. Weird.

"Well, yeah. I think so, Kouji. Look. I mean it's not like those folks out there in their war ships got no idea there's something really screwy going on here now, right? Nor ignorant of their past participation in it? Which, I believe was forced upon them by deception and alien influence. I'm actually feeling an overall sense of shame and shock out of all of them now. I also sense that they're not being controlled by the main newt up north either. His concentration is totally pulled into an area of his own creatures just outside the ice, coming onto, and now actually on the entire island itself. So let those navy guys from different countries learn what's actually going on. But, uhhh you know, if it looks like those fleets are gonna use those drones to target new missile attacks, then let's take 'em down then. Where are those two American carrier task forces and that atomic sub Mutsu put to sleep?"

"Ummm, the one Yankee fleet coming from Subic Bay is still almost 400 of your miles south, southwest. The one from Honolulu is still east, northeast of here and about 500 miles out. Neither have begun flight operations other than defensive fleet air cover. The nuclear submarine surfaced briefly hours ago approximately 40 miles north, northeast, but heading for us, then later it dove deep. Also, four of its cruise missiles targeted the base of our ice barrier by the newts' initial breech near the MBI docks. Those missiles from the sub mainly massacred newts more than doing any real damage to the barrier itself. The Yankee sub has since stayed deep and out of contact."

"So that sub wasn't and still isn't under Rigelian control, and is actually helping us," Cash rubbed his chin uncertainly while unaware that many behind him had clenched and pumped their fists in silent triumph and mouthing "Yoroshii!" in Japanese, and a few "YES! All right!" in English.

Their Prime Leader had wrested mental control of a dangerous American submarine away from the alien invaders as well as the five combined attacking fleets! The incoming bombers and nuclear missile barrage had been totally thwarted by his Sekirei too! They would definitely WIN this battle now! Their focused and powerful Prime Leader was doing his best and would lead them to victory!

"_La la la … la la … la … la la …"_ once again began sounding anew in the corner of Cash's still somewhat distracted mind. Kylie Minogue's repetitive tune had once again begun its insidious echoing as if he'd be doomed to go nuts singing that to himself for days and days. While reaching out with his mind again to explore how far he could sense other psychics, he began pensively pacing behind Kouji in Natalie's control center. Cash's eyes, ears, and paranormal senses finally started operating a little better again as if he were concentrating on throwing his next pitch for a strike. However, this was only partially true as "Can't get you outta my head" lyrics was still ear worming him. "_La la la …"_

The yammering, yelling, scuffling, groaning, and cheering in the ship's control room also became louder as the physical battle support and watching of Natalie's video screens went up in intensity. Cash tuned all that out as best as he could. Maybe his concentration was returning without any pistachio nuts?

The scuffling of bodies moving around and behind him to do this or that in logistical ammo, fluids, and food assistance for the fighters above them was also distracting. He even got jostled a few times, but it didn't register. Cash had mostly blocked all that out in an attempt to once again concentrate purely on what he was seeing and hearing in Natalie's monitors and Kazehana's helmet as well as what he was feeling in his emotions.

"_Can't get you outta my head. Boy your loving is all I think about." _Irritated with the distracting tune,he tried harder to listen and see what was going on above.

A strange baseball comparison struck him as he listened to Kazehana give verbal orders to her various sections to counteract sudden concentrations of newts at different spots around the compound's fenced perimeter. She was also directing relief and healing efforts. His Team Love was on the field above him and playing their hearts out for their head coach below and their team leader Kazehana. They were also getting knocked around pretty badly by the newts' long tongues and powerful limbs even as the Sekirei's long three bladed weapons were killing them. He immediately realized that this was a VERY close and hard fought contest.

The more Cash thought about it as he listened, it seemed the worried, tense, yet hopefully confident and loudly cheering atmosphere inside Natalie's hull was a lot like being in the more powerful visiting team's dugout defending a one run lead in the final game of a championship series. He could sense the bright mental lights of his psychic teammates in here with him, a brighter cheering section of linked Petals down in the stasis tank, a stadium crowd of fans watching the game out in the naval fleets, and a huge TV audience tuned in by satellite all over the world, or at least little lights of interest that he could sense on Okinawa, nearby islands, and even Japan.

Funny. He couldn't sense the enemy newts very well now at all, and there looked to be about a bazillion of them making their slimy way towards Natalie's fort. Now why was that? Were they all being shielded by the main newt? Hey, could he somehow attack back and break the main newt's command and control of his troops? Was that the main objective he had working on before getting blitzed in the head? No, it had been, had been, what?

Cash tried hard to remember as he watched his Sekirei slaughter the attacking Rigelian warriors being shown on Natalie's video screens. Those scenes were being computer integrated from her offspring's Karasu battle helmet cameras. The sights and overall scene above was almost mesmerizing. The Sekirei were getting badly pressured in their defense, and it looked like any minute now the game was going to break one way or another.

To the still slightly dazed Cash, the feeling he was having while watching was kinda like the home team now had the bases loaded and a full count on their best hitter at the plate. The next pitch was going to potentially decide who won or lost the inning, game, and the entire series to claim a world championship, and in this case, possession of the entire planet Earth for humans and Sekirei or the amphibious Rigelian invaders. No one at this point, not even Cash, really cared who on their visiting team would be making the deciding pitch or play. It just had to be made for the win.

After all, nobody on any baseball diamond trying to win a game worried about how smart, dumb, fat, skinny, tall, or short a fellow player was. Neither was it really important what any visiting athlete's skin color, native language, or religious preferences happened to be, nor if the truth be told, what socially mild shenanigans or political hijinks were being committed off the field and between games.

All the visiting coaches and teammates wanted to know and experience was if the player could hit, throw, and catch the damn ball well enough, or as well, or hopefully better than the rest of them, and in doing so, coordinate with them to maximize good scoring and defensive efforts often enough so that their team would win this current game. All the other dross in an individual player's makeup became totally irrelevant when the ump started the game; and especially at the end with the game on the line.

A case in point was Number 13 Amebane. Cash had earlier heard several snide asides that nobody on the whole freaking planet actually liked the arrogant little shit. It was rumored that he treated his female Ashikabi like barely tolerated but necessary dirt beneath his feet and actually called her derogatory names in public. There was no topic where his opinion was less than the superior one, and despite his seemingly outward quiet demeanor, he wasn't afraid to forcefully prove his superiority. In short, he was a nasty, misogynistic, bloodthirsty, sadistic, pushy, and mouthy little boor the other Sekirei and Ashikabi on Kamakura Island had studiously ignored ever since their arrival.

On the other hand, Amebane used his super strength and speed to kill the very first Rigelian newt warrior that had popped his slimy head up over the hilltop fort's south edge directly under the ship's nose. Number 13 had then become a virtual whirling dervish in wielding his 12 foot long and three bladed weapon. Barely had one newt frozen and started to glow orange from a head strike than two more on either side suffered the same fate. The little Sekirei male became a blurred, super duper, newt killing machine.

Not only did Amebane almost effortlessly defend his 5 foot swath of the cheval-de-frise, he was all at once up and down the entire 80 foot length of the hill's fenced south side poking, slashing, moving, and supporting those fighting along with him as the gel sack slinging and slime covered newts tried to swarm over them all. He killed so well and so fast that everyone in the control room with Cash started lustily cheering for "Amebane-sama! Amebane-sama!"

Benitsubasa, possibly the second most overall generally disliked Sekirei, or at least battling Karasuba for the position, also proved to be a miniature dynamo in battle. The little pink haired sprite positively raged up and down the east fence while anchoring the center of her line also. She too was now being lustily cheered by her former detractors. Cash actually flinched a little at the decibel volume generated by her fans yelling "Benni-san! Benni-san! Benni-san!"

However, as long minutes of initial hard fighting then went by, the loudest cheering was then being performed by what seemed to be a small but synchronized cheering group organized as a personal oenden with its danchou leader Minato rooting hard for none other than his "Musubi-chan! Musubi-chan!" He and a few others were stomping their feet and beating on the control room walls with their fists in unison as if they could urge the semi ditzy, shrine maiden Sekirei to greater newt killing battle heights.

Musubi wasn't quite as quick as Amebane nor Benitsubasa, but she apparently had equal their strength and an internal diesel engine that was simply built for long endurance. Also as a newt killer and center anchor for the west fence line, she was a prodigious weapon wielder in that she could continuously guard 3 of the five foot wide positions at once with little effort. Thus her west line of 24 Sekirei could rotate out, rest, recover strength from the healers as well as get bumps and bruises tended, snack, drink, and then plunge back into the fray more smoothly than Benitsubasa's 24 team on the east and even Amebane's team of 16 on the south.

Directly behind each fence line of fighters were teams of two "catchers" or "yankers" that used their mid range strings, wires, whips, and even prehensile cloth sleeves to catch and pull the newts swarming over the top of their lower mates to attack. The big Whip Twins, Mitsuha and Mitsuki, worked behind their Circle Sister Musubi. Kaie and Shijime covered Amebane's line, and Sai and Natsuka backed up Benitsubasa.

Once bound and yanked down, the newts attempting to avoid, leap, and just go over the front lines were quickly "finished" off by a third Sekirei behind the yankers. These were halberd wielding Namiji on the east and Midorino on the west while behind the south line Yashima simply bashed newt heads with her massive hammer. Those enemy Rigelians not killed by the front line or their catcher and finisher backups were picked off by the Ashikabi firing through their redoubt's holes and the 6 Sekirei "snipers" and 9 Marines on top of the redoubt's walls.

It was all very encouraging to observe on Natalie's viewing screens. Even more encouraging was the fact that all the Sekirei had seemed to quickly grasp the Marines' total team fighting concept needed to deal with the newt onslaught.

From Kazehana's helmet camera, Cash watched as Mutsu's "flying platoon" of sword fighters, with Mutsu leading and Ikki, Kaho, and Shi following, launch to the south line and relieve a quickly exhausted Amebane. Less than a minute later Karasuba launched her "flying platoon" with Toyotama, Uzume, and Haihane to help relieve Benitsubasa. As several other front line fighting Sekirei staggered back for rest, recovery, and even healing of more bruises inside their battle armor, their relief stood in for them. The Recon Marines and Ashikabi above them on the redoubt then started laying down short bursts of covering fire into the small gaps appearing along the line, trying very hard to conserve their precious ammo.

The Sekirei "snipers" on top of the redoubt walls also began temporarily defending adjacent sections of two along the fence lines for rotating relief; Oriha the chakram thrower and the song mesmerizing Kuno on the west, Kuruse conjuring/slinging her small tridents and Kaho the knife thrower on the east. The south was being relieved by Akitsu's deadly daggers of newt ripping ice and Yahan teleporting above a newt, attacking with her daggers, and then just as quickly teleporting away.

Kazehana, Miya, Riko, Shiina, Tsukuimi, and Homura dealt with the incoming gel sacks and occasional slime ball of a rolled newt slung over the top of the cheval-de-frise. These were enemy attempts to create bigger gaps in the Sekirei lines than could be easily covered. Occasionally, these six elementals would also simply sweep the entire hilltop free of the constantly hissing, growling, and croaking newt warriors with a short hard burst of their maximum powers. This occurred when the Sekirei lines began looking too ragged and all needed a small breather to regroup for the next onslaught. The killing ground also needed cleaned often by the elemental Sekirei to solidify their line fighters' footing as well as keep the air cleared of the dying newts' bowel emissions of green mist.

This was because massive newt killing was actually pretty messy. Perhaps half the attackers were nicely turning orange and imploding when killed, but the rest that suffered massive mortal wounds didn't die so cleanly nor in a pleasingly aromatic fashion. The fort's basaltic rock base was also constantly being subjected to newt entrails, chopped limbs and tongues, foul smelling ichor, and blood as the hacking Sekirei weren't always getting nice, clean thrusts up into the newts' weak point between the eyes. Taking heed of Riko and also Miya's tactics and when convenient, the front line Sekirei were simply yanking down and skewering the Rigelians newts onto the spikes of the cheval-de-frise to further slow the attackers behind.

Those wounded and impaled newt warriors then hung on the fence spikes, writhing helplessly while hissing, croaking, and grunting in pain. Some were summarily yet only partially eaten by their cohorts behind them before they too were killed, yet this still left chunks of bleeding amphibian meat on the spikes and slimy, treacherous footing beneath. When needed, Homura worked hard at flaming the rock base below the spikes clean as Tsukuimi hosed the slimy and slick newt offal outward, but that quickly tired both of them.

Seeing the problem, Kazehana moved to correct this and another major weakness in the spiked fence defense. The newts were also coming up and sliding their teeth clenched gel sacks at the feet of the front line Sekirei as well as using their long slimy tongues to jerk the defenders off their feet. The bursting acid and flame gel sacks did no damage to the Sekirei battle suits, but they did obscure vision and make their footing even more slick.

Also, the Marines had no hard body armor like the Sekirei. Some Rigelians riding on the backs of their cohorts as they came up over the lip of the tabletop were throwing several small, wickedly spiked balls of some kind of hardened gel instead of the usual softer, exploding and/or corrosive gel sacks. These spikes were obviously being used to specifically target the exposed Marines on the wall tops who spent more time ducking than shooting. Those spiked weapons and gel sacks would have also devastated the Sekirei if it hadn't been for them wearing Riko's Karasu battle armor.

Those glaring defensive problems were quickly corrected by Riko and Uzume building three waist high, half cylinder barriers atop the redoubt walls to partially protect the nine Marines and yet let them fire their weapons over them. A taller thin wall was added behind to somewhat protect their backs from whatever spike balls the over worked elemental Sekirei missed in deflecting away and over the opposing sides of the fort. The larger gel sacks were much more easily kept away from them by the elementals, but the Marines were still doing a lot of wary eyed, small spiked ball ducking as they fought.

Then Riko and Uzume hastily conjured a perimeter encircling, slightly outward sloping, half wall below the fence's central log to stymie the newts' low attacks as well as keep the bloody and slimy newt detritus from messing up the defenders' solid footing. It then became much easier for Homura and Tsukuimi to keep the fort's perimeter killing floor stable, but even that tired them out to where they were constantly leaping to the healers in the redoubt for a power boost. As were many of the high powered and elemental Sekirei, Cash realized.

He let his clearing mental senses hone in on his strong connection with Himeko. Yes, there was his soft hearted healer. She was weakening in power already, and her Norito had worn off. As the main healer revitalizing and healing the weary and wounded fighters and also boosting Kusano, Taki, and Madoka's energy, the demands on Himeko had been heavy, heavier than any other Sekirei trying to husband their strength.

He should have sensed this sooner, Cash mentally kicked himself. His Silky needed him, NOW. Even so Cash realized with an inner sinking sensation that overall, Team Love was losing. Without relief, the continuous onslaught of never ending numbers of newts would eventually overwhelm their ability to regenerate power and strength, and then their defenses would catastrophically fail. Worry about that later, you putz, he counseled himself. Do what you can now to help.

"Minato!" Cash turned and bellowed over the cheering and bustling mob between them. Keep your face and body language looking confident, Cash reminded himself again. Take care of the now, and worry about the near future when it came. Giving Himeko a big power boost was an immediate necessity, despite it meant him disobeying her order for him to stay in the ship below. He was Team Love's Prime Leader, right? Able to make crucial decisions when the truly desperate need arose? Desperation was fast approaching unless he did something.

Besides, just like any rubber necking rookie standing in front of a pro team's locker room mirror in his first professional uniform, Cash also wanted to see first hand what his new team looked like in action while out on the field. What the hell? He had never actually SEEN a real battle before.

"Minato! Follow me up into the redoubt and give Kusano and Taki another Norito! Find Madoka's Ashikabi to give her another one too! We have to keep our healers' strength and powers higher and help them perform longer! I will re-power Himeko!"

"HAI!" Minato yelled back in understanding and began pushing his way toward the passageway leading up and banging into the still struggling cable carriers as he went. As they both moved, Cash reached out to lightly siphon some psychic power from everyone in the ship's control room and even from the Petals still linked down in the stasis chamber. He would give this to Himeko too. As both Cash and Minato came within 50 paces to the entrance of the redoubt, the din of battle from the cries of fighting Sekirei and the weapons firing became almost deafening.

"Shoot that orange sonofabitch to my left Wilson!" Gunny Sledge's bellowing voice rang out from above. "Pump a couple of grenades into that big mound of newts building right behind him too! Staff! Get those yellow bastards off that north ridge! Kazehana! Tell that Taki gal we need to keep that hill socked in with fog so they can't use it as an observation post!"

"Ouch! Hey!" Buzzard suddenly yelled in angry dismay. "Those dirty sneaking newts on the west side are high lobbing those damn spike balls at our backs now!"

"Dammit Buzzard! Sweep that empty brass aside later! And keep your damn butt down if you don't want it spiked! Why in the Sam Hill does there always have to be one total MOE RON with his Shoot Me Heah ass up in the air during a fire fight?"

"Hey Sarge!" Wilson shouted back almost gleefully as he squeezed off a killing shot as directed and then snatched up a loaded grenade launcher. "Ya know, I don't think this crazy island likes us! It seems to me a fella could get killed up here pretty damn quick!"

"Shift right twenty! Up fifty! There's another mound forming! Buzzard! Get down into the redoubt! Tell those Ashikabi guys to use single shots! And get ammo! Get more 50 cal ammo and grenades up heah right away! West side! Shoot, shoot shoot! Don't let 'em mound up out theah like that! I purely don't like what I'm seeing all of a sudden now! They're up to something new!"

Himeko met and blocked a now excited and highly curious Cash just inside the entrance under the stairs leading to the redoubt's top. Now how had she known he was coming? Had Natalie snitched on him? And what was alarming the Marines? Without her helmet and gloves, Himeko was still a very imposing sight wearing her black Karasu battle armor and that very wicked double sword of hers strapped to her back. The gray haired healing Sekirei also had a very stern, one eyebrow raised expression on her hollow eyed face as if to ask him where in the hell did he think he was going?

Minato pushed past, but Cash was simply not going to be allowed into the chaotic redoubt's yammering, swearing, grunting, and sweating mass of Ashikabi. These were either shooting newts along the east and west wall's firing steps or wrestling ammo boxes open to be carried up to the Marines fighting above them. Neither was Himeko going to let her Ashikabi see and worry over the Sekirei wounded that they were healing at the northern entrance. The bruising fence battle was proving very brutal, but luckily not fatal to any Sekirei, yet. Cash needed to focus on his end of their defense, not hurting his tender heart unnecessarily. Nor did he need to be a useless battle spectator that needed extra protection.

This last had come from Kazehana but had been readily group endorsed by Natalie, Miya, Karasuba, Toyotama, and Akitsu. Himeko didn't say anything. Conversation was virtually impossible amidst the din of the yelling Ashikabi and firing of their rifles below as well as the heavy chattering of the machine guns above. Added to this was the loud explosions of the mortar and rifle grenades continuously sweeping the hill's ridge to the north and now the central plain. Naturally, Cash still wanted to SEE first hand what was going on, but Himeko moved again to block him from going past her.

She finally gave him a wan smile and reached to embrace him, turning her lips up to his for a Norito kiss. Reaching out with his senses, Cash found and snagged a little more psychic power from the combined fleets standing off Kamakura Island and fed some directly to her while sending the rest to Natalie to pass along to Kazehana, Karasuba, Akitsu, Miya, Uzume, and Toyotama. Thanks to that main newt's dastardly attack from behind, it felt like he could use almost half of those naval fleets' crews that had a little paranormal juice available for his Sekirei. Himeko's normally large, cream colored wings unfurled even larger than usual as her Norito surge and his extra externally snagged psychic energy went through her. He could feel his other meshed Sekirei's power increase greatly too, but not Riko's since she wasn't meshed to Natalie.

Okay! That had worked! Cash congratulated himself. All that was slightly encouraging right there too! Could this new found ability add another hour or two to their chances of survival, maybe? And was he seeing a slight golden glow around Himeko too? Yes! She was now in an enmeshed sharing of her emotional weaknesses with her Sisters! Wait. So was Akitsu? But how had they done that without him knowing and feeling it?

Puzzled, Cash closed his eyes to let his senses go back into his mind. Like an almost completed and blue spoked wheel, there were six of his now completely meshed Sekirei glowing very brightly; connected to him and each other with blue glowing radii and arcs while also now having Natalie's gold torus providing a well defined connection to and around each of them like a thick tire on their rim. Somehow with their powers now combined, his first four inter meshed Sekirei had quickly added their two more tenderhearted and willingly submissive Sisters to their "weakness sharing" collective without him.

Uzume's connections to him and Natalie were not glowing as brightly as her six "weakness sharing" Sisters and Riko's barely at all. Neither did either of these two Sekirei have blue connecting arcs to their six Team Love Sisters and each other. What had the two of them been fighting about? And why hadn't Riko at least wanted a Norito earlier? For some reason he felt both of those questions should bother him for some reason, but why? He tried to remember, but couldn't.

Releasing a now dreamy and half closed eyed Himeko, Cash leaned back to look over her shoulder and up at the heat domed, "Shinto Dawn" colored sky above the redoubt's open roof. Man, what he'd give to see the bright sun, white clouds, and blue sky above the Batavia ball field pitcher's mound again and have Himeko standing with him there to hear the Muckdog's fight song. How had it went? "Muck, muck, muck … muck, muck … muck … Muckdogs!" or ummm, "_La la la … la, la …"_

Swallowing hard and shaking his head in an attempt to regroup his once again stupid wandering thoughts and concentrate on whatever he was trying to remember, Minogue's monotonous and repetitive song started running through his mind again anyway. What the hell was happening inside his head? He had to get back down to Natalie's control room.

Hey wait a minute. Now he remembered something, something very important. He hadn't needed to come up here at all. He could have just pushed psychic power to Natalie and let her redirect as needed like they had before during the missile and bomb barrage. Now why had he forgot that he … _"La, la, la … la, la …"_

Man, sweet Himeko looked so great to him! Cash reached up to lovingly caress Himeko's cheeks before leaving her. As he did so, her mind must have also gotten caught by Cash's repetitive song's love mood because she automatically turned her head to sensuously brush her half open lips across his fingers. All noise faded as if he and Himeko had somehow entered a sound proofed love bubble all to themselves with the song's dinken dunken dinken dunken beat hypnotically gripping them in its romantic spell.

_"I just can't get you outta my head, boy your loving is all I think about. I just can't get you outta my head. Boy it's more than I dare to think about."_

Surprisingly, Himeko then began an echoing, eye closed, whispering sing song of the lyrics with her lips still caressing his fingertips, _"Every night, every day, just to be there in your arms. Won't you stay? Won't you lay? Stay forever and ever and ever and ever..." _

The clamor and chaos of the ongoing battle around and above Cash and Himeko abruptly crashed over their stolen moment of mutually shared, harmonious, day dreaming bliss when Natalie's mental yell of alarm sounded.

_ "Cash!_ _You're mind has went blurry again! You're being attacked by our enemy! Snap out of it, and focus!_ _I'm asking Kazehana to immediately send Uzume to you down in the control room! Please return at once so that you can try to mesh her better with her Sisters while I try to talk to Riko again! It's not safe for you to be in the redoubt! And stop singing that stupid song in your mind! It's too distracting for the rest of Team Love!"_

Cash jerked sheepishly at dragging Himeko into his ear wormed mental state. Yeah! THAT was what he had been doing! Meshing his Prime Circle for more power! Now how in the name of Chi in Chobits had he forgotten that? Man, that main amphibian newt had been REALLY sneaky! Getting Cash to lose total focus and then continuing to subtly keep directing all thoughts away from …

"Changing barrels!" Gunny's strident voice yelled out. "Heads Up! They're making some kinda big push! BUZZARD! GET OUR DEUCE AMMO UP HEAH NOW!"

Another sudden stabbing mental attack from the north beat upon Cash's psychic shield to dent it inward. This time and with some protection up, Cash flinched while squeezing his eyes shut to keep this stronger assault from breaking through and maybe even killing him. Fortunately Himeko was still with him and pressing her forehead against his left jaw and instantly helping him and Natalie mentally push back. Together, then aided by a surge coming simultaneously from a quickly reacting Kazehana and Akitsu then Karasuba and Miya, they all resisted the attacking Rigelian's mental pressure until Cash's psychic shield slowly rebounded back out. Damn, Cash mentally panted, that newt bastard was STRONG.

This attack hadn't been naturally buffered by the ship's thick hull either. Sweating from his part of the effort, Cash grimly clamped his jaw down, kissed Himeko again, tenderly swiped a loose strand of her long gray hair back from her eyes, and turned to go back down into Natalie's control room to safely meet Uzume away from the distracting battle. The sooner he could get their Prime Circle meshed to fight that sneaky newt on his psychic level, if he could, the better. And he needed the hull thickness of the ship to Faraday Psychic Cage blunt that damn newt's painful mental thrusts too.

Damn! Damn! Damn! Enough was enough! Maybe he didn't have the ability to project a counterattack, the desire went through Cash's strained brain, but there just HAD to be a way to cry Daisanji! and let slip the frogs of war back upon that damned alien amphibian! Just standing around and observing the battle like a lousy sitting duck of a target and getting his mind scrambled just wasn't going to cut it. A hand on his left shoulder stopped him as Himeko leaned in with her lips close to Cash's left ear and half shouted to be heard.

"My Love, our Blackie projects! Let's use her powers to counterattack!"

"Right!" Cash slammed his right fist into his left palm. Now why hadn't he thought of that? After all, this whole battle thing was a giant Team Love effort, even with the Marines. Now what could they use to really hurt Mr. Main Sneaky Newt's concentration up north? Something more long lasting and effective than simply being temporarily Rick rolled.

"Natalie! When she can get free, send Kara down to me too!"

"Single shots you dumb shits!" Buzzard bawled loudly at all the Ashikabi firing behind Himeko. "Conserve your ammo! A couple of you guys start picking up empty brass! Miss Riko wants it all right away! You there! Big Glasses! Help me carry this ammo box up to Gunny! You next two guys take a box up to the west side! Stack the empty boxes along the wall as protective barriers for your sniper gals to stand behind!"

Cash was bumped sideways by another gang of heavy cable carriers hustling past him and headed for the redoubt's north entrance. The redoubt was now simply a complete and mostly disorganized madhouse of activity and sound. He could feel everyone's anxiety increasing greatly too. What was happening? And why was Riko screwing around with cables now when something bad was obviously coming?

"What the hell is Riko doing?" Cash half yelled at Himeko who was now lightly pushing him back down the ship's passageway.

"She's stringing heavy cables between the front and top fence spikes all around the hill to make it harder for the enemy to get over! And slow them down more! She's reshaping the guns' empty brass into big clamps to hold the cables! Get back down, My Love! It's not safe for you up here, and we'll all spend too much attention trying to protect you instead of doing our parts fighting! Take Minato with you! His Sekirei will be worthless with him up here too!"

"Okay!" Cash nodded while frowning, but he drug his feet slightly in going. Now what the hell? Seo and Sanada and the other Ashikabi got to fight up here, not just stay and watch. It didn't seem fair just because Mutsu had to use Cash's Karasu armor, but on the other hand Himeko was right. He and Minato would be needlessly exposed and total nothing burgers in the redoubt fighting other than as empty brass sweepers, but at least they could let him SEE for just a little bit.

Oh well. Now he could at least help pump a little more extra psychic power to Natalie and have her push it out to her fighting children, especially to Himeko who was quite assuredly the pivotal piece to this whole battle of endurance now. He could easily help her with that from down in the control room now that she was Team Love enmeshed with her Sisters. There was no reason to worry Himeko and the others needlessly simply because he was curious either.

Cash began walking more purposely down the passageway, tripping over a heavy cable now strung down into the ship. As he went, he wondered why Riko needed heavy cable from the ship's bad ion engine when she and Uzume could just as easily conjure something up like they had with the fence and redoubt? That didn't make any more sense than what he could feel was her doing some very intricate mathematical equations as she worked and fought. And it felt like she was getting weaker than Himeko had been too. Maybe he needed to simply ORDER Riko to come to him and get a Norito?

""Muts! East side! East side!" Kazehana yelled urgently, then immediately gave a long scream that echoed down the passageway to Cash, "MATSU! USE THE CANNON ON THOSE PILES OF NEWTS OUT ON THE PLAIN!"

"Dammit Wilson!" Gunny's angry shout of alarm echoed Kazehana's. "Hit those new high mounds hard with the grenades! They're hiding something! Mortars! Shift targets and blast 'em too! Buzz! Reload! Reload! Holy SHIT! Everybody! Look out! 6 o'clock high! INCOMING!"

Cash stopped and turned at a new chorus of very loud cries. Dismay and alarm was sounding from all around the compound and even up on the redoubt's walls. Multiple heavy thuds began sounding against the redoubt on both sides. High squeals of pain, anger, and fear erupted from the Sekirei as well as more loud bellows from the Marines redirecting their fire to some new type of threat that was airborne from behind? Coming from the adjacent hill up north?

Cash got a big wave of intense emotion from them all that felt like rising panic because it was now raining newts down into the compound from every direction, but more from the north. Then he felt a sharp pain from Riko's mind as Kazehana shouted desperately to everyone.

"Hold Them! HOLD THEM! TOYS! ZOOMER! CLAWS! RIKO'S DOWN! SAVE HER! MIYA! AKITSU! ALL OUT POWER! HELP ME KNOCK THEM AWAY!"

The pulse cannon began a loud crackling barrage of roaring shots that were simply thunderous.

Greatly alarmed, Cash instinctively turned and took a step back up the passageway only to be chest tackled and knocked back by Minato wildly shouting, "NO! YOU CAN'T!"

Both men flailed backwards and fell just as a large ball of slime covered newt slammed down onto the redoubt's steps just a few yards away and in front of Himeko. The Rigelian warrior unfurled in a snap, scrabbled sideways, and set itself to lunge past her and down the passageway at Minato and Cash.

Himeko, mentally shouting to her Sisters for help, whipped her sword forward and set herself without seeing the back of Cash's head slam into the passageway wall behind her. Then he was down flat on his back, badly stunned again, and with the breath knocked out of him. Minato was out cold since his forehead had also hit the wall hard, and he was now laying on top of Cash like a dead weight.

Cash's eyes were open however, and he could still see up and over the unconscious Minato's right shoulder and past Himeko's head. Almost in eerie slow motion the huge warrior newt loomed over Himeko, Cash, and Minato with its toothy mouth open and long slimy tongue flicking out.

Himeko let out a feral scream of defiance. The slashing front blade of her double sword instantly slipped sideways from the reaching tongue and then with a blur thumped deep in the amphibian monster's head between its eyes. The nightmarish looking newt froze, turned orange, and imploded.

Another slime covered Rigelian came charging at Himeko before she recovered her fighting stance. Its long tongue darted out to wrap around her right forearm and yank her towards its open maw. Himeko stumbled forwards using her left hand to pivot her double blade and cut the newt's prehensile tongue. The warrior's flashing right forelimb swept sideways and drove her hard into the wall as it tried to brush past her and chomp his giant jaws down on Cash and Minato.

Cash, struggling mightily to get his lungs and limbs working and drag himself and Minato backward, saw Karasuba land on the back of the attacking newt. The impact must have loosened previously damaged snaps on her battle helmet because it flew off to land with a hollow thud against the wall beside Cash's head. The blurred blade of the Black Sekirei's katana then sank super speed deep to save her Sister and the two Ashikabi. Inanely, Cash mentally shouted "Yay! Team Love!" in relief.

When the newt imploded, the two sword wielding, gray haired Sekirei then stood, pivoted as one, planted themselves shoulder to shoulder, and began fighting hard with every ounce of speed and skill they possessed to defend the passageway now crowded with attacking Rigelians. More alien newts flying over the north end of the redoubt were landing en masse and were actually jostling each other aside while hissing and croaking loudly to get at their target, Cash Joseph Archer, Prime Putz.

Above the passageway, the intensity of fire from both machine guns, mortars, rifle launched grenades, and the pulse cannon greatly increased. The Sekirei elementals did everything in their powers to stem the sudden attack waves coming from the alien warrior newts that were now using their bodies to make giant hummocks all around the central plain. The constantly mounding newts were protecting the ones behind being used to mount and fling a full scale artillery assault of their rolled up cohorts aimed at dropping them down into the fort's redoubt. The massive numbers of the flying alien amphibians were simply overwhelming the fort's defenders ability to stop their living barrage.

Therefore, more and more rolled up balls of slime covered newts sailed into the redoubt's open roof and landed among the shouting and scrambling Ashikabi, but the alien warriors were totally ignoring all the human hybrids in the redoubt to make a combined assault on the ship entrance under the steps that led downward. They were after the Sekirei's Prime Leader, no matter the cost.

Cash instantly realized that he had been specifically targeted by the main newt up north and that he had been craftily manipulated into this situation. The sneaky mental attacks had been made to specifically pinpoint Cash's whereabouts within the hilltop fort and draw him out so that warriors could be launched to kill him. All that had come before had simply been used to wear the Sekirei down to lure a fuzzy thinking Cash into exposing himself while recharging his Circle.

He had also foolishly pinpointed the location of the entrance down into the ship as being within the redoubt. Coming up into the passageway had been a very bad mistake and had put all his Prime Circle at risk as well as every other defender; especially once Cash's more powerful and leading Sekirei were eliminated by his death. He had been a total dumb ass. Again. And these newts stank like rotten fish too! He wanted to vomit. Damn! He had also been a total fool in being simply curious just to see the battle, let alone smell it.

_"Darling! Help Me! I need power!" _Natalie's mental call invaded Cash's remorseful thoughts, and he simultaneously felt a big psychic drain upon his mind as well as being mentally dragged into Natalie's golden torus. Almost in self defense he reached out to everyone he could feel and pulled more energy in, but the result left him very badly dazed and disoriented.

Then, he was oddly inside the head of Natalie's now giant sized simulacrum that was high above the hilltop fort and looking down and around. Everyone below was fighting all out with everything they had all along the spike fence perimeter, within, and atop the redoubt. It was as if three simultaneous waves of Rigelian newts had crested above and over the cheval-de-frise while more were being flung from below over the wave tops. A fourth highly targeted barrage was coming from the north.

The stabbing and slashing Sekirei couldn't keep the crests of now stacked attacking newts from breaking over them and neither could the elementals, snipers, and Marines fighting above. The entire scene in and outside the redoubt reminded a woozy feeling Cash of a somewhat less chaotic but more blood colored and spattered rendition of Picasso's "Guernica" illustrating the madness of war.

At the north apex of the spiked fence there were perhaps two dozen newts tying to rip into a small, very dense, and tangled dome of Kusano's thorny vines. More warriors landed around them. Cash immediately sensed that Kusano was at least temporarily safe under her thorn dome with Riko. Then a lot of other rolled up newts went continuously flying past Cash's eyes and over the small thorn dome to land inside the redoubt.

The Ashikabi inside the fort's stronghold were now firing inward at the veritable hoard of slime covered Rigelians landing among them. A few like Seo on the northeast side and a small group formed around Sanada along the southwest wall by the redoubt's steps actually aimed their shots for good effect. More just fired their rifles and pistols wildly in panic. Others emptied their ammo clips in one spray and began desperately stabbing about them with their rifles' bayonets. A few didn't fire at all, but dropped and curled into fetal balls of terror to be trampled. Some dropped their pistols and just froze in total fright against the walls. The disjointed Ashikabi response did little to stop the massive of numbers of the newt bombardment being flung over the spiked fence and down into them.

Also, with that much wild firing inside the redoubt's enclosed walls, ricocheting bullets went everywhere. Some slugs managed to do some real damage to the invading newts, but more wounded brother Ashikabi, and in a few cases, the Karasu armored Seo being one, wounded very seriously.

A heavy slug hit the wall beside and below Seo's lowest left rib where his Karasu battle suit was articulated. It went between the suit's joints, and then tore obliquely up through his torso left to right. It exited just below his right armpit. Seo felt his body go completely weak and boneless from shock. He fell to the redoubt's floor gasping for breath that wouldn't come and all at once started contemplating his own mortality. The totally focused newts ignored him and also all the ricocheting gun fire wounding them too while pressing past the redoubt's largely panicked Ashikabi toward the passageway entrance.

However, under the steps in front of the entrance was one unknown Ashikabi not in Karasu battle armor and simply dressed in blue jeans, a black T-shirt, and rather old fashioned, black, low top, Converse tennis shoes. He was taller and older with close cropped, thinning, dirty blonde hair that made him stand out from his fellow scrambling and shooting Ashikabi. He simply and coolly stood his ground, calmly firing single aimed shots from his Colt Commander automatic pistol. Those heavy caliber slugs went accurately between the eyes of the scrambling newts trying to get past him and down into the ship. He couldn't get them all, but he was doing enough alien warrior killing to ease the pressure on Himeko and Karasuba fighting defensively down in the passageway behind him.

That lasted for several long seconds until an orange skinned Rigelian landed on top of the warrior newts directly before the older Ashikabi. This commander of few was holding a small, globular, and glassy orb with protruding antennae in his right front digit and a handful of wickedly spiked balls in his left. The older Ashikabi quickly shot and broke the glassy orb that he had instantly assumed was some kind of bomb or camera. Then he shot the orange newt between the eyes as it simultaneously flung its spiked balls.

The long spikes thumped deep and hard into the torso of the pistol shooting Ashikabi. The older guy grunted, staggered, and tried to stay upright while still firing his weapon with purpose until it was empty. Louder Sekirei screams of anguish began sounding within and without of the redoubt as other Ashikabi without Riko's armor were also now being spiked in similar fashion as well as getting accidentally shot by friendly fire.

The badly wounded and older Ashikabi fell half beneath the steps on his back while weakly reaching for another clip to reload from his left front jeans pocket. He then began slowly shooting upward at incoming newts and those trampling upon him, but the shock of his spike wounds were now making it a real struggle to simply squeeze the pistol's trigger, let alone hold it up and steady to aim. The older Ashikabi also emptied that clip before his arm became too heavy for him to keep up.

However, when that Ashikabi stopped shooting, something seemed to snap within Natalie's golden torus in Cash's mind, and she literally sucked power from Cash and everyone he could sense with his empathic abilities. Somewhere the loud battle cry of an enraged eagle sounded all over Kamakura Island as Cash felt Natalie psychically gather herself and send out a massive surge of paranormal power to Kazehana, Miya, and Akitsu. The hunting raptor's loud and fierce challenge echoing around the hilltop momentarily and instinctively froze the attacking amphibians for a few seconds.

At the same time and from somewhere below Cash's eyes, a weird wide beam of incandescent green edged with deep purple flames began making a conic swath all around the fort's perimeter. Beginning with the newts in the redoubt and then those trying to get through the small dome of thorns, Natalie's beam of energy touched, stunned, and stalled newts all along the fence's perimeter. The green/purple flames further left them moving in much slower motion when the frozen newts resumed attacking long moments later.

Mutsu and his flying platoon immediately launched to rescue Kusano and Riko as well as help succor the yari fighting Sekirei trying valiantly to clear their apex area. Panicked Toyotama, Haihane, and Uzume leaped into the redoubt to save their endangered Ashikabi. Meanwhile, the three newly empowered Prime Circle Sekirei on the ships' nose then began another massive wind swords, sonic cone, and ice dagger fence cleansing. They were aided by Homura, Shiina, and Tsukuimi while the Marines and the pulse cannon poured a steady rapid fire into the still mounding newts out on the plain.

The sniper Sekirei were also ripping into the now slow moving newts inside the compound that had swarmed over the desperately fighting front lines. Mutsu, Shi, Kaho, and Ikki were actually running upon the amphibian monsters' backs while stabbing downward from above. Amebane and Benitsubasa formed a super speed team of two and followed after Mutsu on the ground. The five of them swept around the inside of the fence perimeter destroying every enemy now inside the compound.

As if someone had given a signal, every one in two Sekirei along the now freed up west side rushed to the redoubt. A dozen squad strong and yari armed Sekirei were grimly moving to rescue and protect their Ashikabi. The lead of which was a moving blur named Musubi sweeping through the packed bodies and killing what newt warriors were still alive before her like an avenging angel on a mission to save her Minato.

The incoming rolled balls of newts still flying over the spiked fence and aimed to land in the redoubt now found themselves quickly skewered upon a small forest of upraised blades stabbing up and out of the redoubt's open roof. Within a minute or so the artillery barrage of live warriors stopped as the heavy weapons of the marines and the pulse cannon finally whittled through the protecting mounds of newts and killed the specialized launchers behind them. The defeated and now badly disorganized amphibians once again scuttled backwards to regroup and reform their lines.

With the combined massive assault at least temporarily beaten back, Cash felt extremely dizzy and was somehow sinking slowly down just outside the redoubt. They had won? Somehow? Or at least survived temporarily? Wow! But a heavy power and ammo price had been paid. He could feel that Natalie had really overtaxed her psychic power in defense of her children.

_"Cash, you saved us. I knew you could,"_ Natalie whispered weakly in his mind. _"I love you so much. You are a true son of Anu. And well done my daughters. Well done."_

"Yes. Well done you, all of you," Cash feebly agreed aloud then fatuously added in wry dismay that he couldn't think of anything better, "Go Team Love."

He felt Natalie's dwindling mental drain upon him finally cease, and her simulacrum dispel, but he let his still half dazed mind reach out for more psychic power to recharge her. The effort proved strangely fruitless to leave him feeling detached and disoriented again.

Man, he was pooped! And how in the name of goofy old Anu had he saved anybody? He was responsible for this entire bloody and near disastrous mess to begin with! The almost worshipful blinders about him had to be off those cheering folks in the control room by now, and if they had any sense they should be laughing their asses off at their joke of a Prime Putz. He certainly wasn't any Ultraman either, that was for sure. Even that weenie Captain Planet could have done better.

They had all survived the Rigelians' current big push, but it had cost them dearly in ammo and strength because he had been unprepared and stupid. There were one helluva lot of newts left out there too. The best he could do now was keep his psychic shield over the hilltop fort to forestall any more sneak mental attacks from the main newt prick up north and push what little energy he had left to Himeko. She was going to really need it now.

Cash could feel her already moving quickly and beginning the rescue and stabilizing of a few dying Ashikabi. She was also meshed with the other healers moving to heal their wounded in the redoubt as well as the many and some very severely wounded Sekirei. At the rate Himeko was pouring power out, she would soon be reduced to below the level he had originally come up top to boost. She was going to need help if their Sekirei and Ashikabi were to survive, revive, and renew the fight that would definitely resume all too soon. Dammit, he needed to get a grip on himself and help her!

"JOE! JOE! ARE YOU HURT!" Uzume's desperate yell from somewhere close by rattled Cash's senses.

"We've got this Zoomer! He's fine!" Karasuba's command voice sounded even closer. "Just a little dazed! Now get back up there with Toys and protect Riko while she strings cable! Which is what you SHOULD have been doing before she got hit!"

"NO! I..."

"WE said for YOU to GO! Or the six of us are going to land on you hard, got it? We are NOT going to put up with any more of your short tempered bullshit either! Now you get with OUR program and ON our team, or we'll FREEZE you out until you wise up! Now go do your JOB and protect Riko! What's she's doing is very important!"

Cash could feel an unhappy, deflated, and also very worried Uzume silently retreat without protest. Damn. His six enmeshed Sekirei were getting pretty assertive and real quick too, but that was good, right? Making a supreme effort to orient himself, Cash blinked his dazed eyes to see that he was now back in the ship's passageway. With her damaged helmet beside her, Karasuba was kneeling over him and making a very beautiful and comforting sight. He stared at Natalie's golden glow around her that also had swirling dashes of colors associated with her Sisters; the apple green of Toyotama, cream of Himeko, sparkly white of Akitsu, Miya's lavender, and Kazehana's deep red rose.

"Hey there, Sweetums!" It was also strangely comforting to see Karasuba's cheesy Cheshire grin. Her long pony tail of gray hair fell over him as she pulled Cash half onto her lap and embraced him.

"Welcome back! Damn you know how to show us gals a real fun time! Best damn Ashikabi ever!"

"Kara?" He reached up to caress her cheek while slightly shaking his head in disbelief. "What are you saying? I almost killed us all by coming up here!"

"Eh, don't sweat it. The slimy bastards were gonna come hard at us anyway, and there isn't another man on this planet," Karasuba caught his hand and began to tenderly kiss his right palm and fingertips, "that could have withstood those psychic attacks let alone shield the rest of us. Then supply extra power needed to fight off their big push. We've told you to quit low rating yourself. Nobody has your raw psychic talent. When are you gonna believe us?"

"Awww, I ain't no Ultraman type of guy," Cash sighed skeptically as he let his head fall back weakly into the crook of her embracing arm. Still, her words and rock solid faith in him did feel soothingly good to his highly battered self confidence.

"I'm just a lousy baseball pitcher, and my power phrase sucks. I actually feel like some crummy ripoff and weenie version of that Limiter moron Kazuya Aoi guy from that old Freezing manga series … except he don't even have a power phrase. And he's short. Ya know, that sneaky newt made my brain feel really fuzzy and frazzled. It still is. I can't get that damn Minogue tune outta my head."

"Heh. We've noticed, and if you're cos playing Kazuya now, that must make me your Satellizer El Bridget then, huh," Karasuba chuckled lightly, "except I'm the completely touchable Queen any time you want, you sexy blue eyed goof. My Sisters can all play Rana Linchen. And don't look so surprised I used to read old manga either. I also liked to watch old time slasher, Samurai, Kung Fu, and Chinese movies like Red Cliff too. There's been a lot of boring down time to fill in between the fun wars and attacks on this island and serial killing in Tokyo. Well, until you came along anyway. You've kept things pretty damn entertaining lately, Sweetums."

"You're my Satellizer? But, wasn't she a blue eyed blonde? And kinda looked a LOT like Minato's panty flashing water user?" Cash immediately got an instant mental feeling of snorting amusement from Kazehana in agreement that Tsukuimi was indeed a tsundere ringer for El Bridget, yet he added, "And I've got seven Rana Linchen? Even Riko? Wait. Is Riko okay? I felt pain from her, and, and..."

"Ahhh, Little Sis is fine. Just knocked around a little. Hell, nobody died in the attack, but it was close with a couple of Ashikabi. The rest of us got beat up some too, a few pretty bad, but the healers are getting everybody back into the fight already. The newts have pulled back again to regroup. Riko just let her power run down a little too far while doing too many things at once. Then our ditzy genius had her back turned working on her cable stringing gig when the big barrage hit us. She got nailed hard from behind and knocked down when she forgot to keep her usual compressed air protection bubble around her.

"Ku-chan jumped out and saved Riko's butt until Natalie's simulacrum went giant sized and terrorized the neighborhood with that awesome stun beam attack. THAT was the coolest damn thing we've ever seen! And her hunting bird scream scared the living shit out of those newts! Heh, We couldn't tell where those purple and green flames coming off her sword quit and green fart clouds of fear from them started!"

"Sword? Natalie had a sword?"

"Oh yeah! And a giant shield too! She looked like a female Roman Legionary with a bird mask helmet, a cape, and a 20 foot high attitude! Knocked them newts stupid! Helluva morale boost for us troops too! You should have seen the look on that smart ass Marine Wilson's face! He didn't know whether to shoot, shit, or go blind from looking up Mama's skirt! Heh."

"Wow," Cash blinked wearily in momentary confusion. Oh yeah, that's right. Natalie had went giant sized again like she had in the base gym. Well, a guy couldn't blame any red blooded Marine for looking then. That had been one great panty shot event in the gym too. And maybe Natalie was the real super action hero to the rescue here. That was good since he sucked as one, but they didn't need action from him now. He just had to help maintain Himeko's power to heal, but he HAD to focus his damn scatterbrain somehow first.

"Hey, lover," Karasuba cooed softly as she leaned over and began to lightly kiss and sensuously lick Cash's lips. Funny. Karasuba's voice and softer manner of speaking oddly sounded like Kazehana's. "Why don't you give Mekko what you got for now and then rest a bit to recharge and clear your brain. Think nice calm thoughts for us again too, okay? We were pretty stressed when Himeko screamed she needed help to protect you. Maybe not as stressed as Claws when Seo took a bad hit, but we almost panicked. Your Team Love is still all kinda worried and anxious. I know, why don't you think about working on painting your Shinto Dawn with us someday soon, okay? You know, like you did earlier."

"Okay, sure, no problem," Cash shrugged, but after a few seconds asked with some puzzlement as all his meshed Sekirei's deep gratitude for even being on Team Love came to him. "Hey, you guys actually LIKE being called Team Love? It was all I could think of except Swing Batter for a power phrase, but geez."

"Yeah. Team Love IS pretty corny," Karasuba's normal amused voice was back, "but we all decided we really liked it anyway. Even Muts and Amebane are getting with the program. Anyway, your Team Love will take care of things for a bit during this little lull while you rest. We all agreed I should stay here with you and help keep your shields up. Later, when we get the chance, we'll help so you can work your magic on Zoomer and Reek to get them sharing their powers with the rest of us like we need."

Nodding weakly in silent agreement and greatly encouraged by her constant "we" usage, Cash felt Karasuba augment his mental shields to guard against another sneak attack from the main newt up north. He then gathered all the remaining mental energy he had and reached out for what he could tap from psychic minds beyond the island. There wasn't much for some reason. He pushed what psychic energy he could into his bright blue mental connection with Himeko.

Oddly while doing so, he felt Karasuba siphon some of it from him too and for something other than their shielding. He couldn't tell what she did with it, but it made Kylie Minogue's damnable ear worm tune once again began its hypnotic _"La la la"_ beat in his mind along with his "Shinto Dawn" colors whirling around in there too until total unconsciousness claimed him. His last fading thought was wondering if Karasuba was somehow trying to bean that newt prick with her best psychic projected fastball or at least a sneaky back door slider.

***scene break***

Had he been sneak attacked from behind somehow? Captain Roland Nelson came woozily awake on the bed of his personal cabin with his executive officer forcefully patting his cheeks with icy fingers. Nelson could also feel an ice pack on his forehead. What had happened? The last thing he remembered was standing behind the Mandrake's video operator and watching the incredible battle scenes on the edge of the island's central plain that were being transmitted by their drone. Then he was feeling little, warm, and comforting tendrils of something attaching themselves to his mind, and making him very dizzy. Had he completely blacked out then? For how long? And why did his head ache so much?

"Rollie? Can you hear me? Rollie?" Tom's voice was very worried. "Dammit Rollie! Half the crew passed out all at once! What happened? Rollie! Wake up dammit!"

"Tom? What the hell? Quit slapping me! My head hurts, but I can hear you. How long have we been out? Why are you playing that really annoying and repetitive music on the intercom? Geez, I'm seeing these weird reddish orange colors in my head! The crew! Is my crew all right? Anybody hurt?"

"Some are still out, including all our science nerds," Tom anxiously peered into his commanding officer's still dazed looking eyes. "The only real injury reported so far is the Chief passed out, fell over, and gashed his head on the plumbing while sitting in the head. Can you tell me what happened to you? And we ain't playing any music. You're seeing colors? Hey, how many fingers am I holding up?"

"Uhhh, two? Three? No, two, I think," Nelson squeezed his eyes shut and violently shook his head from side to side to clear the wildly colored cobwebs and whatever that damnable tune was that kept repeating "la la la" in his head. Forcing himself to concentrate, he sat up and swung his legs to to put his feet on the deck. He flinched and involuntarily squeezed his thighs together to protect his balls when the ice pack fell from his head and dropped into his crotch. Damn! He had to pull himself together here. He had a boat to command.

"How long have I been out? What's our status?"

"You've been down about twenty minutes, Rollie, and we're about ten miles off and paralleling the island's north coast. Steering 237 at 30 knots, depth 90."

"The battle on the island?"

"Those robot defenders and our Marines were about to get totally swarmed by those alien monsters when this giant Amazon armed like an old Roman Legionary suddenly appeared. Her sword had these weird green and purple flames she used to freeze the attackers so that they could be popped. Then the monsters retreated just as you and half the crew passed out. I took the 'Drake down hoping to cut you and the crew off from the effects of that Amazon's flaming sword or whatever had hit you. Funny thing was half our crew and me didn't feel a damn thing. You all right? Or are you still seeing colors and hearing music?"

"Uhhh, yeah to all three, and still feeling disoriented a little. Help get me back up to the con, dammit. We can't just stooge around down here while our Recon guys are getting creamed. What are the other fleets doing? Any messages from Sec Def? More bombers or missiles heading our way?"

"The three fleets are circling about 15 miles out, doing nothing. There's four ramjet bombers doing suborbital circuits overhead that must have gotten their circuits scrambled. No messages from Sec Def, Rollie, but I'm pretty sure he knows exactly what's going on out here now. Sparks says that some hacker in the Philippines has intercepted a Russian recon drone's broadcast to their fleet of the island's battle. That Filipino computer genius then sent it on a live feed to all the communication and news satellites around the world. The cat's REALLY out of the bag here for everyone to watch. No way can anyone explain this as some joint naval exercise after seeing those alien amphibian things crawling all over that island and our folks fighting them off."

"We got any idea where all the rest of those slimy bastards are coming from yet, the ones that weren't in the fleets' landing craft?"

"Jonesy took over sonar watch. He says there's faint sack ripping sounds continuously coming from all round that huge tubular anomaly on the ocean floor north of the island. We're getting a faint thermal reading out of a small and heavily shielded part of that tubular thingy now too, a lot like a nuclear sub. Enhanced computer readouts also suggest that tubular sub might be hollow but filled with water."

"Ripping sacks? Around a water filled nuclear sub?" Nelson stood up somewhat unsteadily and put his right arm around his exec for support.

"And/or space ship," Tom grunted slightly as he took part of his captain's weight. "There ain't no Earth made sub like that, Rollie, and those amphibian aliens swimming up and onto the island gotta be coming from somewhere."

"Yeah, they do," Nelson replied somewhat absently. "The Chief awake?"

"Says he is," Tom chuckled a little, "but he hasn't made a whole lot of sense yet. He keeps complaining about bad music and loud colors just like you and the knocked out half of our crew."

"Get him up to the con, and tell him to bring some painkillers with him," Nelson straightened up while starting to walk freely if still a little unsteadily on his feet. "I've got an idea for our fleet exercise I want to brain storm between the three of us, but we're gonna need to put some distance away from that island pronto and have clear heads if we're going to pull it off without destroying our boat. Damn that song is annoying! Are you sure it ain't playing on the com?"

"You guys are kinda funny, ya know?" Tom half nodded and half shook his head in frowning puzzlement. "I can't see or hear a thing, but the Chief and half the crew say we've been sneak attacked by the some alien psyche monster who's an evil cross between an old Australian pop singer and Claude Monet."

***scene break***

When the expected psychic counterattack came, the main Rigelian operative minimized its incoherent attempt to affect his mind with ease. Since his species had no concept of humor, the endeavor of the cursed bird clan's human/hybrid leader at retaliation wasn't thought of as laughable, just very minimally detectable and of no battle changing consequence.

However, it was sufficiently unusual in content and form while not even close to the usual lethal levels that it made the main operative pause to analyze what he had experienced. It was almost as if the human/hybrid wasn't even trying to harm his arch enemy counterpart. Why not? Something was odd here, perhaps even deceptive?

First, the young hybrid's ability to largely deflect the first psychic attack had been surprisingly adroit for an inexperienced and untrained male only very recently chosen to be the mate of the leading feral females. What should have been a lethal heart stopping blow had appeared to only merely and very briefly stun. One could posit that the hull thickness of the bird clan ship had diminished the attack, yet the young hybrid male had withstood another attack while up out of the hull. Therefore the psychic power of this particular human hybrid male must be orders higher than first assumed and even higher than his easily slain father. It also followed this weak counterattack must have some much stronger stealth component heretofore not experienced.

The Rigelian, floating serenely above the command console of his water filled scout ship, recalled everything he had glimpsed inside the young hybrid male's mind during the two attacks. Much of it was badly disjointed. Had that been on purpose? Rapid and nonsensical thought shuttling as a mental deflecting defense had been encountered in the cursed bird clan leaders ages ago. Had the young male somehow discovered this defense on his own by using totally unfamiliar and fragments of thoughts? It was hard to ascertain as many words and concepts had little or even no meaning to the Rigelian commander.

One by one, the main operative examined the human hybrid's mental emissions that had been monitored. One was simply a vague, amorphous, semi globular scene with a range of colors shifting from the bright yellow down to the deeper red edge of the spectrum. This had been associated with the term "Shinto Dawn" in the hybrid's mind, but the time of day was now mid afternoon on this portion of the planet. What significance did the color scene have to the current battle? The Rigelian couldn't find any other than staring at the colorful mental scene was somewhat hypnotic, and that was not logical at all.

Some emissions were English language oriented and appeared somewhat related to a term called baseball. He was vaguely aware that this was what humans called a mock battle "sport", but again the concept of "sport" was totally alien as was "mock". Battle was for killing and conquest as one time events, not repeated with eventual non conclusive results on an annual basis. On the other hand maybe the terms were some type of battle code? What was a back door slider? Catcher pick off throw? Bean ball? Pistachio nuts? Perhaps they were some unknown type of ninja hero throwing weapons?

More fragmented concepts also had no practical meaning and/or military application. The human hybrid's disjointed thoughts of clothing puns, Host, zombies, superheros, kaiju, power phrases, love team, Picasso, Satellizer, schmuck, and crying out loud seem to have no battle relevancy at all. It was slightly possible that some unknown allies named Beastie Boys, Agnes Mortenson, Anu, Ultraman, Green Lantern, and Captain Planet had been contacted to fight for their right to party, which made no military sense at all. There was no indication that any of these or other reinforcements were heading for Kamakura Island to succor the cursed bird clan's offspring either. Neither were there anything in the hybrid human's mental attack that seemed to be a weapon since all the attack's contents seemed totally illogical and harmless.

One partial recurring and rhythmic repetition, however, had an almost recognizable standing sine wave pattern that could possibly be used as a countermeasure to disrupt his warrior minions' defenses against the cursed bird clan's powerful sonic user. The main operative mentally sent the repeating pattern to his ship's acoustic weaponry display to gauge its dissonant potential. It immediately proved that, if loudly broadcast as the cursed feral females had already proved they could, part of the tonal pattern would be highly effective in completely negating his minions' rhythmic croaking.

That would expose them to devastating mass sonic attacks that could quickly wipe out his minions' numerical advantage. Therefore the hybrid male's thoughts did have a powerful weapon of sorts, or at least knowledge of one, and it had to be countermanded at once to prevent the most powerful, bird clan female sonic user from totally decimating his warrior newts.

_"La la la … la, la … la … la, la …"_

The main operative ran the human hybrid's sonic countermeasure again and again trying to find some way to negate its oddly shifting tonal structure before it repeated itself. This too was totally alien. Once an effective wave frequency was established against a bird clan sonic user, it never had to be varied, at least it never had for untold ages until now.

On the other hand, these were not modern day offspring of the cursed bird clans. These were feral throwbacks as evidenced by their ability to fight and fight effectively while not in the usual psychically meshed octet battle groups that he had always battled before. These were also battlefield nimble and adapting to close combat tactics also never faced except in the dim memories of wars fought in past millenia. In addition, they had a small human military force with very effective heavy weaponry. To make matters worse, he had underestimated their overall abilities to fight, move, adapt, and use the island's terrain to their advantage. Now he was sure he had underestimated their human hybrid leader somehow as well evidenced by the way he had managed to get his feral minions to fight as a coherent unit and mentally shield himself and them.

It would make little difference in the end, the main operative calculated. The feral females would eventually tire in fighting his overwhelming numbers of warrior newts. Even that unknown and not alive giant female that could move and wield a purple/green flamed stun beam would falter eventually. She had expended truly massive amounts psychic energy that had to come from some living source within the tiring bird clan defenses. That could not be sustained either. The human military force would also run out of the finite amount of their ammunition. Trapped outposts like this had ALWAYS succumbed to massed warrior newt attacks.

The irrefutable fact was that he still had almost two thirds of his newt warriors available to fight, and their latest swarming attack had come within a very small, yet prematurely broken egg sack bomb of victory. If it had been tossed down into that opening to the ship a mere second or two quicker, then that hybrid human leader would have become tasty roasted meat for the newt warriors, but it hadn't happened, yet. However he was learning, and adapting too, as were his commanders.

On the next attack by their controlled newt minions, they would have to be very wary of again being enthralled by unknown rhythmic broadcasts and suddenly startled/terrified by a flying enemy's primeval hunting call from eons past. He would also especially have to develop some countermeasure to that not living giant female and its stunning green and purple psychic flames. Neither had ever been seen or used before by the cursed bird clans in this galaxy. The obvious answer to this new threat was many more massed newt warriors attacking over the top of their stunned cohorts until the giant was simply buried beneath their weight and rendered helpless.

Since the hybrid human leader had retreated down into the ship's protective hull, the next all out attack by the newt warriors would be made soon, mainly targeting the cursed bird clans' sonic user and the heavy pulse cannon and its crew. The cannon's operators had been seen to contain the feral electrical manipulator, the second most dangerous female that HAD to be killed in order for him to surface his scout ship and engage the bird clan offspring on the island with his space ship's heavy weaponry.

Their current ancient outpost defense would be much more easily defeated then, despite all the feral building female's impressive achievements. The surprising and never seen before hardened battle suits protecting her siblings had to be her work too. As the third most dangerous foe, she too had been targeted in the last attack, but the fourth most cursed and plant using feral female had rescued her. With all four of their most powerful fighters targeted and removed, today's battle would quickly become a foregone conclusion. It had always been thus in isolated planetary situations like these.

In eons past, the Rigelian home world had been a vicious newt eat newt world until that first orange skinned mutation had discovered he could exert some mental control upon and organize other newts to do his killing for him and his females. In short geological time, that mental control had rapidly evolved into more or less their current societal structure which had led to total conquest of their world, a world the cursed bird clans had foolishly tried to colonize.

Once victorious, the Rigelians had successfully avoided discovery until numerically able to defend their home planet when the cursed bird clans came back. They had then fought the Kouten Empire throughout the ages since. Not having high tech and metallic weaponry, the only winning strategy had always been out breeding the cursed bird clans and attacking in overwhelming massed numbers, usually in head on melee fashion to wear them down and eat them. This tactic had proved successful on the bird clans' outlying planets and eventually against them in space battles since the first outpost had been overrun and all its space faring secrets stolen. That was how the Rigelians had first learned there were other worlds to conquer, exploit, and use to grow even more warrior newts.

As eons passed, the tech challenged Rigelians had been forced to evolve natural weaponry to counter the bird clans' elemental psychic powers as well as their ever more sophisticated technology. Evolved, modified, and differently filled Rigelian egg sacks and their warriors' specialized body excretions had been and still were used for everything; acid and air combustible artillery, acid sapping mines, decay deflectors, cold and heat insulators, shimmering vision disruption shields, and high wind and water anchors. They had also quickly learned to use dissonant vocalizations to disrupt devastating sonic attacks, and to keep well shy of electronic users turning the Rigelians' cruder and heavier weapons fire support in their primitive space ships ship against them. The key to victory though, had ALWAYS been a product of their evolutionary dominance on the Rigelians ancient home planet; out breeding then overwhelming and eating all competitors.

Having considered all current aspects of the current battle, the floating main operative let his eyes run over his water filled control room's sensors. The remaining stasis sacks on the ocean floor around his ship and filled with warrior newts were automatically ripping open in sequence as they had for millenia. More than half of them had either landed or were swimming to the island. The sensors indicated there would be more than enough warriors to make a new and this time nonstop overwhelming assault with no distractions.

The sonic sensors also indicated the human naval fleets had withdrawn to a non threatening distance. They would be easily destroyed immediately after the cursed bid clan offspring and their hybrid mates were killed and eaten. The lone underwater vessel approaching the island was most assuredly still under the control of its assigned commander of many even though there had been no recent communication. The vessel had surfaced briefly, dove deep again, and then changed course to bypass the northern end of the island. It was no threat anyway since it had no weapon capable of breaching his scout ship's hull. With the human military neutralized and/or controlled, all was ready and in place for the next and final melee attack on the cursed bird clans' feral offspring.

Anticipating success, the operative sent mental commands to let his scout ship begin rising off the ocean floor but only using the ship's thermally generated impeller propulsion. It drew cold water into the long intakes and expelled heated water under pressure out the smaller steering tubes. He could not afford in any way electrical to alert the feral electronics manipulator and let her pinpoint his ship's location. However, he would rise up off the ocean floor and its clinging sediments in order to prepare for a rapid move later that would let his heavy weapons finish the battle once she and her three powerful feral companions were killed. Their deaths would be the winning ploy. There was no term in his species for the alien human concepts of "elation" after victory nor "remorse" over past mistakes and defeats, but the main Rigelian operative's calculations indicated very high statistical success in achieving his conquest objectives once his ship was safely able to move into the atmosphere and attack.

The only loose ends that he had not quite tied down in his mind were the human hybrid's weak harmonic counterattack upon his mind and that hypnotic color scene. He turned back to analyzing the human hybrid's deceptive tonal counter weapon and combined it with simultaneously observing the color spectrum fragment. _"La la la … la, la … la … la, la …"_

Minutes later and fighting hard in his mind, he was able to shake himself free of the insidious mind numbing effects of that subtly devious attack from the human. Even then his bulbous head still involuntarily bobbed in and out in time to its dinken dunken dinken dunken back beat. The more the combined tonal/spectrum weapon was repeated, and repeated, and repeated, the more he was convinced that it was much more deviously dangerous and not as easily dismissed as he had originally thought.

He set about trying to quickly devise a neutralizing counterattack of the tonal repetition and color scene with a small part of his prodigious mind. He found a simple yet oddly modulating croaking pattern that should suffice as well as total concentration upon their battle objectives of killing the four most powerful feral females. He marshaled his will power and began replaying the variant counter croaking on his acoustic weapon array while he sent mental commands to all his minions to start the next all out attack.

***scene break***

The Rigelian warrior newts had pulled back to once again reorganize, yet Uzume's mind was still an emotional mess and actually had been even before the first newt attack. Madoka's revelation that Riko had been totally jealous of her bond mate's relationship with their Ashikabi had been bad enough. However, couched very deep had been Riko's irrational, repulsive, and actually alien desire to keep Cash Joseph all for herself. That went against the very instinctive foundation of all Sekirei octet protective nature of their Ashikabi that Natalie had unlocked in them. It had shocked Uzume to the core.

As if that hadn't been enough, Uzume had seen that Riko absolutely trusted no one, never had, not even Uzume, nor had Riko ever really considered Uzume anything much more than a really good friend, not her very best friend forever. Her bond mate feelings hadn't been much deeper either.

Brooding on the redoubt's east wall as she watched Riko work on stringing the heavy cables and correcting their fort's bombardment flaws, Uzume's face was a study of warring emotions to a sideways peeking Corporal Jack Wilson squatting nearby. Uzume was VERY angry at being denied personally reassuring access to Cash, almost pouting actually. She was also fighting hard to stay calm and simply let Riko use Uzume's conjuring power to pull what elements were needed from the air and earth about them. No one could deny Riko's powers to build, nor her ability to fight effectively now, but she couldn't be trusted and wouldn't be ever again, not by Uzume anyway. She still wanted to simply start screaming at Riko again for, for, well just for being Riko.

The Veiled Sekirei had never been a complicated person. Blunt, strong willed, tom boyish, socially crude, physically very strong, extremely quick, usually laid back and good humored, but deeply passionate, fiercely competitive, and at times quick tempered, Uzume hadn't been all that popular among her peers despite her voluptuous figure and way above average beauty. As Number 10, she just didn't allow anyone to push her around and never soft petaled any personal assessments of those that had tried. Also, her likes and loyalties had been very few, Riko, Kazehana, and somewhat to Akitsu before damaged and Himeko, but true to her One Who Defends nature, Uzume's simple loyalties had been and still were bottom of the soul deep.

In a lot of ways, she was a female emotional mirror of Cash Joseph Archer, and that pretty much explained her extreme soul mate type of bonding with him as her Ashikabi. It went beyond the exception to opposites attract, past the like minded and emotional make up of lovers finishing each other sentences, and entered into that spooky realm where identical twins shared the same thoughts and emotions even though separated on opposite sides of the world. To be forcefully separated from her Joe once bonded, well that was just unbearable and had to be fixed, now.

Uzume had never been a brilliant student or a deep, nuanced thinker either. Things either were or they weren't in her world with little gray area in between. She had done just enough in school and testing to keep MBI's instructors off her butt and no more. Whatever MBI required scholarly achievements she had struggled to overcome, Riko had tutored Uzume past, some just barely. In return, a grateful Uzume had naturally focused her very protective instincts to buffer Riko and later Akitsu from any and all bullying by the other young Sekirei.

It wasn't until Uzume had been released earlier and then bonded with Chiho that Uzume had shifted her natural allegiance to her new Ashikabi, yet she had still worried greatly over Riko finding happiness. After being re-winged by Cash, Uzume had done everything within her to get the struggling Riko as happy and contented with their Ashikabi as she. That was due to another facet of her shared character traits with Cash that compelled Uzume to believe if she just worked hard enough and hung in there then things would eventually work out, even if it meant something as desperate as Cash's coming to Japan to restart a failed baseball career. Uzume just had to stay true to her friend and Riko's happy bonding would happen somehow.

Even after Riko's surprisingly incredible and unlimited kinetic powers had been finally revealed, never for a minute since had Uzume thought Riko would ever really betray Uzume's loyalty and friendship, especially after Uzume had stayed true to Riko when everyone else had been against her. Uzume had even accepted the fact that super geek and fantasy prone loner Riko was pretty much mentally closed off to her as Riko had always been to everyone else, and that Riko possessed psychic talents were way above her and almost everybody else too. It hadn't really mattered.

They had been and were best friends, and that's all Uzume saw the one time Riko had initially and only partially opened her mind to her Sisters and nominally joined Cash's Prime Circle. Sure, there had been apparent loyalty and affection in Riko for Kazehana, Uzume, and Akitsu then, but Uzume hadn't realized it was much shallower than hers. Madoka's recent deep and completely revealing probe of Riko's over stressed mind had exposed Riko's truly self centered dark side as far as Uzume was concerned, and it had HURT. Uzume also realized that she had never had the Circle bond mate and best friend she thought she had, only a nominal partner with psychic power to USE Uzume and one that could easily betray her.

This had totally pissed off the volatile tempered Uzume ever since. Her TRUST had been broken, and that was no light thing with her. This now proven unstable, unreliable, and self centered Riko had no business being relied upon to protect anyone, not even the Marines. Uzume didn't want the untrustworthy Riko anywhere near the crucial defense of their Ashikabi's life either.

Matter of fact, once the fort had been finished, Uzume had totally fixated on the idea that the best thing Riko could have done would have been to fly Cash Joseph and Mutsu's Petals to safety on Okinawa. Naturally, Riko had refused and very vehemently too, matching Uzume's almost out of control anger with her own. Then their feud had really boiled over as the two were forced to still cooperate and build the hilltop's defenses.

Uzume's emotional troubles had then deepened after the Rigelians had attacked. The older Staff Sergeant and later Jack Wilson's very unflattering assessment of her, Cash, her Sisters, and Sekirei in general had just been too accurate to ignore, as well as Wilson's quick dismissal of Uzume's less than heartfelt apology for slapping him around as an anger venting substitute for Riko. The knowing looks and deeply disapproving looks Uzume had gotten from her four Sisters had cut deep too.

Then in the last near disastrous attack, Cash had been cut off from her protection and almost killed. Riko, Uzume's ordered responsibility, had gotten hurt when left without backup. When disobedient Uzume had been knocked off her feet leaping to Cash's rescue and then pinned down, Wilson the professional fighting human had freed her with three well placed shots. Then Karasuba had sent the too late, disobedient, and panicked Uzume away from protecting her Joe. It had left Uzume feeling about two feet high, remarkably foolish, depressed, angry, and very young since.

Karasuba telling Uzume to shape up or get frozen out of Cash's Circle AND his physical affection had been no idle threat either and very highly disturbing. Life without being intimately near and in the good graces of her Ashikabi was unthinkable. Now ordered to protect Riko was about as galling as things could get, but not as galling as a lot of Sekirei openly praising Riko for their Karasu battle suits as well as cheering Riko's defense building and fighting efforts.

Didn't they all know Riko couldn't make anything until Uzume conjured the materials first? And so Riko was making some kind of modified dome defense and stringing extra heavy cables to help slow the attacking newts down even more when they attacked next. Big deal. All it meant to Uzume was she just being shallowly USED by Riko again and getting lost in the shuffle for it.

But the absolute worst was her disapproving Sisters had turned on her now too, and threatening to keep her away from their Ashikabi. At the same time, Uzume could feel she had greatly disappointed Natalie and possibly Cash as well. The fact that he had grown very wary around Uzume from her past temper outbursts was a severe and highly embarrassing blow to Uzume's pride too. What if Joe didn't TRUST her anymore? Uzume had also felt a quiet yet STRONG determination in her six Sisters that never again would a temper uncontrolled Uzume be allowed to even possibly do physical harm their Ashikabi.

All this had left Uzume barely able to stand still on the redoubt's north wall and let Riko work. Even killing newts hadn't helped vent all of Uzume's anger, resentment, worries, and frustrations.

Thus she was in total emotional shambles when Natalie's simulacrum appeared beside her and softly ORDERED Uzume to go meet with Cash down in the ship's control room when Riko finished. Uzume nodded with her eyes averted down and away. Now she also felt like a shamed school girl being ordered to the principle's office for punishment. On the other hand she would be close to her Joe and verify that he was okay for herself. That would go a long way toward making her feel better and maybe even more tolerant of flaky, not to be trusted Riko.

"Troubles, Bubbles?" Jack Wilson asked conversationally while keeping a keen eye on the alien amphibians once again massing on the far reaches of the central plain. He was squatting on his haunches with his rifle standing butt down between his legs. Gunny and Buzzard were below trying to reorganize their healed Ashikabi riflemen and taking stock of the remaining ammo. Wilson shifted a little to look directly below to watch the close combat Sekirei jostling for their positions after having been hastily fed and quenching their thirst. He reflexively reached for his own water bottle to take a big swig before asking another teasing question.

"In the deep doghouse, huh Toots?"

"Mind your own business," Uzume returned spitefully without looking at him. She did however, throw a sour look at Riko quickly making and attaching a clear curved roof running the length of the redoubt with an opening for the steps that yet left the Marines, Sekirei snipers, and the elementals free to fight their positions. This would definitely forestall any further rolled newt bombardments targeting the Sekirei's fighting Ashikabi.

"Touché," Wilson chuckled appreciatively while deciding that tweaking this too touchy and haughty Uzume's nose out of shape was kinda fun. He twisted to look up at her over his right shoulder.

"You could learn a few pointers from a guy that's been in more doghouses than you got fingers and toes. Have to have an open mind though, Toots. And be mature enough to listen."

"I'm not TOOTS or immature," Uzume automatically snapped. "And just because you shot those newts off of me doesn't mean we're friends now either."

"That's one of my points," Wilson smiled sardonically. He took a raspberry flavored HOOAH! Energy bar from inside his BDU blouse and ripped it open with his teeth before continuing.

"Ain't offering friendship here, because even though you got a world class body and face, Toots, you got a truly fucked up mind. I ain't blind and stupid. Kick my ass again if you want to, but you let your teammate down and disobeyed orders while fighting. That shit has got to stop. But we don't have to be close chums to fight effectively, kid. Neither do you and your pal Miss Riko. You need to just wipe that sour look off your face, and be glad she's even here too. We'd all be dead without Miss Riko doing what she's done up here so far, and you know it. She's sure as hell done her part, despite all your bitchy bullshit. What you pissed off at her for anyway?"

"She can't be trusted," Uzume scowled while almost muttering her answer and looking away again. She wanted to get away from this mouthy jerk, but something deep inside her kept her from moving. Why did these Marines always have to make so much sense when they bitched about things?

"And Riko should have taken Joe and our pregnant Petals to safety on Okinawa."

"That's the dumbest damn thing I've ever heard," Wilson shook his head in unbelief as he chewed and then pointed out at the massing newts with his chin. "They'd just attack and eat everybody on the whole damn island of Okinawa then. Ain't nothing on Oki that's gonna protect that Joe of yours from that mob either. And that's who they're after according to Gunny. The rest of you and us Dogs are just cannon fodder to be killed when convenient as far as they're concerned. He's much better off right where he is with you super powered people and no helpless civilians around. Ain't no wonder Miss Riko was really pissed at you for thinking that. You some kind of freaking, mental midget moron or something?"

"So I ain't super smart!" Uzume bit back resentfully although she had to admit Wilson had made a lot of sense. Joe would never have allowed Riko to take him to a place where innocent lives would have been endangered by his presence. He'd have drained Riko's energy just like Seo to prevent it if Riko had tried too. Several long and awkward moments passed before another gloomy thought made Uzume frown.

"What, what does your Sergeant think is going to happen here? Later I mean, when they keep attacking and attacking?"

"We're gonna run out of ammo. You guys are gonna get tired, and we won't be able to contain the perimeter again. We'll have to fall back and fight in the redoubt until they melt the walls with their acids. After that, we're gonna retreat down into the ship. They're gonna crack the hull open with some kind of sapping mine, and then we'll find some narrow place down deep where we can keep on fighting them with spears and bayonets. That will go on until they get wise, flood the ship with water, and cut off our air. Unless our robot pal can perform another sucking miracle somehow, only for air this time."

"You don't have to sound so damn cheerful about it," Uzume scowled again.

"Lot of things can happen to unexpectedly turn the tides of battle," Wilson shrugged nonchalantly. "Murphy's First Law of War. Gunny's full of historical stuff about that. I just gave you the worst scenario to jerk your chain a little. We sure didn't anticipate Miss Natalie going berserker panty flasher in that last attack, did we? Who knows what other tricks she's got up her knickers. And we ain't dead yet even if we've made a few mistakes. Those newt commanders have made their mistakes too. But what YOU need to do is pull your head outta your fine looking ass and start fighting alongside Miss Riko as your teammate like you should. The better we all kill newts TOGETHER the better our odds of survival become, right?"

"Well, yeah," Uzume winced at the mocking feel and tone of Wilson's words, and agreeing was like getting teeth pulled, but once again she couldn't deny the truths in them, "but it ain't quite that easy between me and Reeker."

"Don't see why not, kid. The guys in my platoon mostly can't stand me when we ain't fighting, but we're the best damn Recon Marine platoon in our whole damn Corps. My guys judge me for how well I fight, not for what I think or say back in the barracks. Fighting together is where real trust needs to be anyway. Maybe you need to lighten up a little where trusting Miss Riko is concerned, Toots. She fights great. That's all I need to know. You too. A good fighter is worth their weight in ammo during a fire fight. Know what I mean? Hey, you hungry?"

Wilson reached for a peanut butter HOOAH! Bar and tossed it to her. Uzume caught it automatically, sniffed it, and decided what the hell. It did smell good. And for some weird reason talking to this crude prick was actually calming her down a little. Wilson then continued.

"Matter of fact, it seems to me with that mind reading thing you Sekirei freaks have going for you, problems between you should get ironed out a lot quicker. Ain't sure how they did it, but you and Miss Riko ought to take a page out of your other Sisters' book, and do whatever they did to get right with each other. They look like they got a new and nicer attitude amongst themselves. Sure are a lot more coordinated in their fighting too. I bet that lucky jock bastard Joe of yours is gonna get his brains sucked right outta his dick by all of 'em if we get outta this damn mess. You're gonna miss out on that if you don't get your shit together, kid."

Uzume hung her head. Damn, she hated being rebuked by a total jerk, especially when he was right. And stomping all over a very sore spot when doing it. She mentally reached for Cash's residing warm and loving presence in her mind for comfort, but he still felt blurred, distant, and fuzzy around the edges to her. He was still playing that monotonous song in his head too. It made Uzume feel lonely, left out, and depressed as well as anxious that she wasn't allowed to be with her Joe by her stronger Sisters. Being kept physically apart and frozen "out" was just emotional torture, dammit, and her Sisters KNEW it. Shit, Uzume cursed inwardly, while kicking angrily at an empty brass sell beside Wilson.

Uzume, after a few long moments of inward and futile fuming, idly wondered how human women coped with forced separation. Say, maybe this jerk could answer that, and it might help her cope now a little.

"If, if we get out of this, are you, are you gonna get back together with your girlfriend on Okinawa? I mean, if she really loves you, she's has to be really feeling worried about you now? How does she cope?"

"You trying to jerk my chain now?" Wilson shot her a jaundiced look of irritation, then thought about her question for a few seconds. "You really care how Kaiyo copes? Probably got another boyfriend by now anyway."

"I ain't no mind reader like Madoka, but you don't believe that at all," Uzume shook her head in mild derision. "You're worried about her too, buster."

"Kaiyo works and keeps busy when she's upset," Wilson sighed at being exposed. Damned alien freaks. "And she prays when I'm gone, prays a lot. I just gotta fight well and hope I can get back is all. Maybe talk things over again."

"Ya know, war kinda changes people. Sorta rips away the unimportant shit in life," he continued thoughtfully after a short silence. "Maybe Miss Riko has changed a little. Maybe me and you too. I've been saving some money. Thinking maybe I could help Kaiyo buy that hot springs hotel where she works. Might be a real nice place to retire someday. And there's a lot of good streams nearby to fish, and the ocean ain't that far away either. Always loved to fish and swim, and hunt seashells. Kaiyo does too."

"You'll leave the Marines? For her?"

"Oh, hell no! When did I say that? Once a Marine, always a Marine. I love her, but if Kaiyo really wants to be with me, she's gonna have to accept me just the way I am. I ain't asking her to change anything about her life for me either. If we love each other enough, then we'll just have to find ways to make it work is all I'm talking here. Say, is Miss Riko asking you to change anything about you to get back to being friends with her again?"

Uzume didn't say anything as she silently chewed this over. She could read Wilson's smugness at turning her question about his rocky love life back onto her problems. And once again, dammit, he was right. Riko was Riko, and always had been an outsider type of geek weirdo, but she hadn't said or even thought one thing about Uzume having to change anything about herself to be Riko's friend, let alone a bond mate. Could the two of them find ways to make that bond mate thing work between them, at least well enough to get Uzume back in the good graces of Cash, Natalie, and her other Sisters?

However, Riko would be on her own getting straight with her Circle and Ashikabi. Uzume was through trying to carry the water for both of them. Besides, there was still a pretty good chance Cash might have to dump the boneheaded Riko and re-wing Madoka or maybe even another powerful Sekirei like the teleporting Yahan. If Riko truly wanted to be meshed properly in the Prime Circle and have Uzume as her bond mate, then she would just damn well have to do it on her own with no more coddling help and dashed false hopes from Uzume. There were limits in any relationship, even Sekirei bonding.

Neither Wilson nor Uzume said anything for a long few minutes as they both watched Riko flitting about the hilltop fort absently humming a tune to herself while estimating angles of fire and trajectories from possible incoming crap tossed at them as well as checking maximum fields of fire for the fort's heavy weapons. She was also seemed to be sketching various shapes in the air or maybe writing equations to herself as she did so. Several Sekirei snipers walked past Wilson and Uzume to take up their positions while humming the same tune as Riko.

"Say, why are all you alien freaks humming that same tune?" Wilson cocked his head in puzzlement as he tried to identify the melody. "It sounds like a really annoying oldie my sister liked when we was kids."

"My Joe's is having trouble concentrating," Uzume frowned defensively and glanced sideways at other Sekirei around the redoubt and filing up from below taking their assigned fighting areas. "And he's got some boring la la la song stuck in his head that we all can hear."

"I HATE when that happens," Wilson nodded in understanding and then quickly whipped out his Bushnell rangefinders to peer into the distance as his sharp vision spotted movement. He yelled without taking the long range glasses down from his eyes. "GUNNY! Those slimy shits are on the move again! And they're charging hard this time! Better call the troops! Your Joe better wake his ass up too, kid."

Uzume sighed in disappointment. There wasn't going to be time enough to meet and be with Joe now like Natalie had ordered. She really could have used a nice long hug, even one of his sweet loving kisses, but at least she felt calmer inside now thanks to the crude jerk Marine taking a kneeling firing position in front of her.

And he actually did think she had a fine looking rear end for an uptight alien freak of a female with a crappy and too snooty attitude. Being recognized as a desirable female when feeling lonely, frustrated, used, and left out helped, even from a lousy and pretty unsympathetic source. Maybe in some ways, Uzume almost winced as it hit her, too crude, conflicted, and Asshole Wilson was a little too much like her, and that thought was pretty disappointing too, but the sonofabitch sure could fight.

"Hey, Marine," Uzume lightly tapped Wilson's left shoulder, "thanks for the soldier fuel bar …. and the chat. I feel better. Good luck fighting to get back to your girl Kaiyo."

"Semper fi, kid," Wilson returned without looking. "Learn it, live it, and love it. And protect your fighting buddy from now on, Toots, no matter what."

Uzume hesitated, then nodded and leaped to the north wall of the redoubt where Riko had taken her position to deflect Rigelian artillery and support the Sekirei defending the apex of the cheval-de-frise. Uzume's mind was much calmer, but she still hated being called Toots by a crude jerk.

***scene break***

Cash snapped his fingers in deep disappointment that Riko hadn't finished her work in time before the next attack started. He had really wanted to get Uzume thinking of herself as "Our Girl" as well as "His Girl" by sharing all the negative feelings he was getting from her. It looked like his and Natalie's hopes of a totally enmeshed, efficiently functioning, and fighting Prime Circle to win this battle were pretty much doomed now. Rats! The ship's crowded control room hushed as they saw Cash's expression of dismay while gazing at the control room's video screens.

Damn! When was he ever gonna remember that he actually had people depending on him for some optimism here! Even if it was pretty much unwarranted unless something pretty dad gummed miraculous happened. There was just way too many damned newts to kill out there, and he had pretty much sucked out and distributed all the psychic energy reserves he could tap from those close around him. It was only a matter of time before it would be all over but the shouting, and in this case eating for the Rigelians.

Wait a minute Cash old bean, he frowned slightly before catching himself and putting a more bland expression on his face for his onlookers. Put that resigned negativity away. That kind of thinking was for losers. In baseball, and maybe by extension in war too, didn't a manager try to help his team win, especially during crucial junctures of the contest? Let's give this another think. Maybe they were overlooking something here. After all, Riko had done her damnedest to up their odds a little during the lull. _"La, la, la … la, la …" _Geez! What he wouldn't give to get rid of that damned song in his head!

A sudden snap and then loud buzz sounded behind him to make Cash and everyone else in the control room startle badly. They all stared down at a large and now humming cable running through the room and down into the depths of the ship. Then someone along the back wall gave a loud cheer and pointed at the video screens.

"Well, I'll be damned," Cash muttered as he too blinked in surprise at what he was seeing. He almost joined in the spontaneously loud cheering behind him. Even low key Kouji was grinning like a fish market clown just before getting barfed upon.

"Riko got her cables electrified. The robot must have rewired the ship's salt water batteries for her to get the lethal volt and amps needed. So THAT was all the math gibberish she was doing in her head, and it sure as hell IS more efficient as a newt killer. Damn straight! We needed something like this!"

Sure enough, newt warriors were simultaneously shaking, turning orange, and imploding all around the fort's perimeter, even those stacked two, three, and four high trying to come over the spiked fence as the newt waves from the last attack had done. If the charged cables hanging between the front spikes didn't fry them, then the ones between the fence's top spikes did. Everywhere a warrior touched the cheval-de-frise the electrical current flowed not only through the newt but also through the highly conductive and watery body slime to others in contact. Newts were actually dying at an exponentially faster rate than they could climb the sides of the hilltop fort's cliffs below.

Instead of being helplessly overwhelmed, the largely immobile front line Sekirei were simply exchanging looks of wonder and glee while watching the Rigelian newts commit electrical suicide. Even the elementals and Marines had stood up in awe at the total destruction Riko's electrified cables were wreaking on the enemy. All they had to do now was kill any newts mounding in the distance to forestall another overwhelming bombardment, one that would break the cables despite their thickness. Their little building geek weirdo had come through for them again!

Cash, listening to the control room crowd shout "Riko-chan! Riko-chan!", watched in shared grateful appreciation for a few seconds before a small niggling worry hit him. How long could Natalie's sea water batteries sustain the lethal current at this current rate of power drain? Natalie's internal carbon and zinc availability were not infinite even if the sea water was.

_"A little less than an hour, Darling,"_ Natalie whispered the answer in his head. _"And then they'll overrun us again to where we'll have to retreat inside my hull. My daughter has only bought us a little more time, I'm afraid."_

"I was afraid of that," Cash replied softly. "Nuts. Well, how about it gang? Anybody else got any ideas?"

_"Master, Riko HAS got the right idea. Mass killing these slimy monsters is the answer, right?"_

_ "I can't get at them with my sonic attack, and the Marines have less than a quarter of their ammunition left. Other than the pulse cannon which has too narrow of a beam, we don't have any heavy artillery to do wide spread killing."_

_ "If I hit them with large blocks of ice, they'll just use that ice to fire their artillery from behind it."_

_ "My winds aren't strong enough to rip their suckers loose from the ground either. Their gel sacks keep them insulated from Homura's fire, Shiina's decay, the Twins' lightning, and any combined frost attacks too. They're only vulnerable at the fence line when they expose their undersides to Riko's cables, our bladed weapons, and what we can do from up here."_

"Well, shit," Cash sighed softly. "I was hoping for a walk off home run idea, or it ain't baseball, but at least a Hail Mary."

_"What's a Hail Mary, Cash Darling?"_

"It's a last second, long forward pass thrown in desperation into the end zone to try winning or at least tying a very close game. Football junkies call it a lucky last ditch type of heave, or sometimes a long bomb answer to prayer after yelling Hail Mary."

_"Bomb? Huh. Hey Sweetums. What's the chances of us having Matsu redirect those four crippled ramjet drones that our military pals from Earth have got stooging around somewhere? Let them bomb the whole damn island and mass kill newts. Before the bombs hit, Reeker and Zoomer can dome the fort while we get inside Mama for protection. Then we can come back out and mop up."_

_ "I LIKE that idea, Master!"_

"Uhhh, it might partially work, maybe," Cash squeezed his eyes shut to concentrate on what he could sense up north.

_"Why only partially, Lover-kun?"_

_ "Husband and I both feel there's more enemy still under the water up north than what we actually have on the island now."_

"It's still worth doing though," Cash added thoughtfully, "even if it just whittles the enemy's numbers in half. It at least buys us more time to come up with something better if nothing else. Kazehana, can Matsu feel those drone bombers?"

_"Yes, she says she can, but they're pretty far out. Too far for her to control, but she thinks a Norito kiss might help her do it."_

"Okay. Send Matsu down here to get a Norito from Minato. Matter of fact, since Riko's electric cables are working so well, send his whole Circle down here to give her all the power she can get. I'll do my best with Natalie to pump them up with all the power we can snag and push to her. Then tell Riko and Uzume the plan as well as all our people and Marines up there."

_"Matsu's on her way, Lover, but could you somehow dial down that monotonous song in your head? It's driving your Team Love NUTS!"_

"Uhhh, I'll try," Cash sheepishly shook his head as if the action would get rid of Kylie Minogue's ear worming tune. Even as he did it though and again snapped his fingers in disappointment that he hadn't gotten the song out of his skull, almost hypnotically his fingers continued to snap softly and his head nod in time to the tune's dinken dunken dinken dunken beat.

This continued even after Matsu and her Circle arrived, got their Noritos, and set to work trying to take control of the ramjet drone bombers. In trying to boost power to Minato's Circle with Natalie's help, Cash once again marshaled every bit of willpower and focus he had within him as if trying to throw the deciding pitch in a championship ballgame. The game is on the line here pal, he counseled himself. Pull out all the stops and heave as hard as you can.

His empathic talent reached out to find as much psychic energy as he could find. There wasn't much close, but he then saw further bright pinpricks of light that looked like a crude "Shinto Dawn" colored map of Japan with a very large gathering of lights and colors in Tokyo. He even felt his Mother and his aunts in the middle of the city. Cash gritted his teeth, clenched his fists, and threw everything to Natalie he could draw from the nearby ships, islands, and their mother country's lights as well as the stronger ones in the Tokyo gathering of the Order of Dryas Octopetala. He then passed out cold from the effort while still being helplessly ear wormed by Minogue's tune. _"La, la, la … la, la … la … la, la …"_

***scene break***

The main Rigelian operative's attack response to Riko's cables electrocuting his minions en masse was swift. Relayed to him through the minds of his gold skinned commanders of many spying upon the cursed bird clan's hilltop fort from the hill ridge to the north, the scene of newt slaughter caused his anger and snarling hatred of his age old bird clan foes to go nuclear. That caused three game changing battle mistakes.

First, his rage made him disregard his current and still sound attack strategy to target the four most powerful feral females, and he simply tried again to lethally blast the mind of the bird clan's hybrid human leader. This new mental attack, once again partially shielded by the ship's thick hull, was met with some much stronger and damnably distracting shield being made by some modification of the hybrid human's earlier swirling colors and repetitive tonal weapon.

The hybrid human counterattacked by trying to suck the main operative's mind down into unconsciousness. It took several seconds of mentally straining, head bobbing in dinken dunken beat time effort for the Rigelian to keep from getting completely ensnared in that trap and finally activating his new and effective counter response from his scout ship's acoustic weapon display. This led to his second mistake.

That enraged mental attack and subsequent deflecting of the surprisingly strong counter had diverted the main operative's attention from the overall sensor array of his current theater of operations. Therefore it took him several crucial seconds to see that four ramjet bomber drones were now making simultaneous attack runs on Kamakura Island to strike in approximately 10 minutes of alien Earth time. The minds of his spying commanders of many were also now showing that a large transparent dome had just been conjured over the cursed bird clan's hilltop defenses and that the defenders were all hastily retreating down into the ship's hull.

The main operative snarled again only this time in triumph. His cursed enemy had finally made a stupidly fatal error. With the female electronic user blocked, he could raise his scout ship into position and use its heavy weapons to blast the entire hill and bird clan ship into total oblivion. He sent out psychic commands to his ship's controls for using full power in rising rapidly into position. This led to his third mistake.

So concentrated on bringing his scout ship up to attack the hilltop fort and ship, the Rigelian main operative again did not scan his entire globular sensor array. He missed seeing the very small acoustical tracks of four Mark 54 Stealth torpedoes fired by the U.S.S. Mandrake in a spread to cover a damage radius of the faint "sack ripping" sounds around the tubular anomaly that might be an alien submarine/spaceship.

He also missed the significance of the Yankee submarine now about twenty miles north and at a matching depth of 923 feet turning 180 degrees after its sneaky attack from behind. The boat was heading at its top underwater speed away from Kamakura Island and the telltale four torpedo tracks. The boat's executive officer was simply obeying his orders after Captain Roland Nelson had told him to take the 'Drake away deep and fast and keep going until he and half the crew woke up again. This was just before Nelson had started slowly sinking to the boat's deck while telling the Chief to make himself comfortable for their next nap. They both passed out on the con's deck from Cash's drawing away of their psychic energy, but the submarine exec followed Nelson's orders to "get the hell out of Dodge" now!

The Rigelian operative did not miss the three massive underwater explosions from torpedoes that wiped out the entire reserves of his newt warriors and their commanders in the northern waters beyond the ice ring around Kamakura Island. Also, as Murphy's First Law had dictated, the fourth stealth torpedo aimed at the stasis sacks full of alien newts got accidentally sucked into the scout ship's impeller propulsion tubes when the main operative had called for full power to raise his ship and blast the island's fort. Instead of exploding outside where its added concussive power actually wasn't needed, the high explosive warhead torpedo detonated inside one of the ship's impeller propulsion units right next to the alien Rigelian ship's small fusion powered engine.

Although the actual amounts of the scout ship's alien fusion fuel were actually very minimal compared to human atomic warhead standards, the resulting deep underwater blast was still on a scale equivalent to the United States underwater nuclear explosion called the Wahoo Test of 1958 as part of Operation Hardtack. The ocean shock damage, centered 5.34 miles north of Kamakura's ice ring, bulged the ocean depths almost 2 miles in radius and had a wide vertical plume rising 1000 feet up out of the ocean's surface.

The U.S.S Mandrake now running very deep and fast and about 22.27 miles from the epicenter was buffeted hard, but sustained no damage due to the water density and thermoclines of the incompressible ocean depths. The Chinese, Indian, and Russian fleets were also sheltered from blast, wave, and wind damage by the island's ice ring and northern peaks, but even so there was no tsunami generated to speak of and whatever elements composed the alien fusion fuel left little measurable radioactive fallout.

The seismic ground shock, however, was very noticeably felt inside Natalie's hull. Everyone sheltered there were greatly alarmed and looked to a truly puzzled and shrugging Kouji scanning Natalie's sensor readouts for an explanation. He had none other than a possible large explosion or volcanic eruption some distance north of the island. Akitsu did advise that she no longer sensed any dark mental pressure from alien life offshore that had been present before. Only Cash could truly verify that, but he was out cold and cradled in the lap of Natalie's simulacrum. Both were closely guarded by his six enmeshed Sekirei down in the hull's stasis tank where Riko and a still brooding Uzume weren't allowed. They were both on opposite sides of the control room when the blast shock hit.

The Marines squatting together down in the ship's passageway just a short distance from the redoubt's steps exchanged nodding and knowing looks at the shock wave's passing. It didn't take veteran battle geniuses to understand some very heavy ordinance had been used, and since they were all in here, that meant some very bad news for a lot of exposed newts caught in it.

Buzzard summed it up with a pleased and succinct, "We just got a big time boost in killing them sumbitches, boys. Can't say it makes me too unhappy either."

7.47 minutes later, again thanks to Murphy's First Law of War making them available to Matsu from earlier GPS malfunctions, four GBU 49/B fuel air explosive bombs affectionately called MOABS were dropped. Two blasted Kamakura Island's central plain, one exploded just above the northern coast, and the other literally fried the peaks, valleys, and hills in between. The bombs each had a blast radius of 800 meters that imploded 87 percent of the Rigelian warrior newts on the island. The relatively few ocean swimming newts not killed outright by the prior underwater blast's concussive effects were burnt and imploded by the coastal bomb. The plain blasts did not destroy the MBI base as it was far enough away on the southern coast. However, the sturdy buildings did suffer significant window and roof damage from the bombs' concussions and resulting winds.

The surviving but badly dazed newts mostly along the edges of the peaks and hills with almost all of their gold and orange skinned commanders either dead or bereft of their main operative's guidance, descended into primeval chaos. They either turned their voracious appetites upon each other or began a renewed attempt to eat the fresh meat once again lining the perimeter of a nearby hilltop. With her and Uzume's protective yet air limiting dome removed, Riko's electrified cables once again began acting like giant pest zappers to implode the unorganized attacking newts. Those that didn't die attacking the hill or get eaten by their cohorts were soon after easily tracked down and killed by Sekirei following directions from Akitsu's finely tuned psychic senses.

Later standing nominal night watch atop the redoubt's wall while the hunting Sekirei were making sure not one Rigelian remained alive on and/or around Kamakura Island, Corporal Jack Wilson and Buzzard both tried to make sense of their incredible escape from almost certain death. They wondered who or which country had provided the first big earth shaking thump that had to have done some large scale newt damage. They also agreed that the slimy, music challenged Rigelian newts must have had some kind of easily distracted idiot alien in overall command to be musically beaned stupid by Archer, giant sexy Natalie, and his weird Prime Circle Sekirei.

Both once again gold bricking Marines concluded that the Battle of Kamakura Island would be the only one in history to be won by a mind screwed, lucky jock asshole commander; one whose sudden victory had only been made possible by questionable art, stupid baseball analogies, a VERY lousy oldie pop tune, some real fighting guts by Recon Marines and damn hot Sekirei babes, and especially that down right handy to have around Miss Riko. Then, keeping a wary eye out for a surprise post inspection by Gunny Sledge, Wilson and Buzzard spent the rest of their watch plotting ways to somehow take that wondrous robot and its potentially huge money making latrine back to Okinawa.

Naturally, Cash Joseph Archer was entirely oblivious to it all as he remained comatose for almost twenty four hours after collapsing from his psychic battle efforts. His only immediate consolation, had he been able to know it, was Kylie Minogue tune's ear worming and the "Shinto Dawn" colors in his mind were both now obliterated by blessed silent and warm darkness.

His alien foe wasn't so fortunate. Only small black chips of heretofore unknown composition littering the ocean floor and a LOT of floating dead fish a few miles off the north end of Kamakura Island denoted that there ever had been a Rigelian main operative on the planet Earth. The baseball ignorant, tonal distracted, and now deceased alien invader had simply been the third strike victim of what Chief Jankowitz might call one fucking sneaky and great back door slider thrown by the best damn Captain in the whole damn Navy.


	37. Chapter 37

_**Dear reader … here is a teaser as an omake of what my friend RykOakwine has written in his fanfiction piece about the telepathic healer and sensitive Number 37 Madoka and her older Ashikabi named Gregory. Both were caught up in the Sekirei-verse of the The Game Changer with their own story, which I'm very excited to see finished and posted by Ryk asap (some day, I promise! - Ryk). **_

_**The section below happens during the battle of TGC's chapter 36. Enjoy and be sure to review for him!"**_

_The setting … _

_A redoubt or open roofed stronghold inside the Sekirei hilltop fort that has a spiked fence perimeter on Kamakura Island during a desperate battle against huge alien invaders … ancient and amphibian evolved Rigelian foes from which the Earth must be protected … _

_The massive stone redoubt is 60 feet long … 40 feet wide … 20 feet high with solid walls 5 feet thick … built on a basaltic rock floor … however about eight feet up along the east, west, and north walls … there is a 3 foot wide shelf/firing step in front of wall indentations that have firing holes where the rifle shooting Ashikabi are supporting the spiked fence lines of close combat Sekirei outside... ammo boxes and supplies are stacked under the firing steps … 2/3 of the way back along the southwest wall are the stone stairs leading up to heavy weapons platforms and wall top fighting positions for ranged Sekirei above…below along the south wall is an entrance down into the mostly embedded Sekirei ship found by Minaka 20 years previous … _

_The attacking Rigelian warrior newts are now being flung as live artillery up over the spiked fence perimeter and down into the redoubt … all Sekirei and most Ashikabi are in hardened and articulated battle armor called Karasu (raven) suits … except Gregory fighting in the redoubt doesn't have one … _

**No Game For Old Men – Chapter 40**

**Kamakura Island**

Madoka finished the patch job on 48 Kujika's knee ligaments and made a quick Redaction/healing scan to make sure the ACL and MCL were functional again. She then tried to focus her eyes on the blonde Sekirei's face, who had almost had her leg cut out from under her by a monstrous Rigelian newt that had caught her from behind.

"Kujika-chan, you can go back to fighting, your knee is fixed now. Sanada-san can enjoy your legs now for years to come," Madoka barely got out, exhaustion keeping her from being able to make out the Karasu-battle-suited Kujika clearly. The other girl understood the message anyway and began snapping the leg plates back onto her armored suit so that she could re-enter the fight against the Rigelians.

Madoka sat where she was, after Kujika leaped away to take up her position along the fort walls. Leaning heavily against a concrete wall near the center of the hilltop fortification where the Sekirei and their Ashikabi were making their stand, Madoka tried to shake the fatigue that seemed to be rooted in her bones.

She couldn't remember how many elbows and shoulders and knees and fingers and feet she had patched back together over the last… hour? Day? She remembered early in the fighting reattaching 18 Ichiya's entire right hand; she'd been very proud of being able to do that. It used up a big chunk of the energy she'd gotten from her Ashikabi before the fighting started, but still, she was really proud of that healing job.

Later she realized that the only injuries that 15 Himeko were sending over to her were the minor bone and ligament sorts, and even those took Madoka three times as long to fix as Himeko spent on… what was that, regrowing 27 Nina's left lung and part of her aorta? And Nina _got up_, put her armor back on, and headed back into the fight in minutes?

Add to this that Himeko did jobs like that left and right in the time it took Madoka to fix Kujika's torn up knee. Himeko never seemed to grow weary, and Madoka was quickly disabused of any illusions she may have had as to where her physical healing abilities scored in comparison to Himeko's.

Not for the first time in the never-ending hell that was the Battle of Kamakura Island Madoka envied her sister Sekirei the dark, deep maroon, Sekirei Crest that told of her bonding to an Ashikabi of immense metaphysical strength. While that bond to a powerful Ashikabi wasn't the only factor in the healing talent differences between Himeko and Madoka, it was a big reason Himeko had energy to keep going after Madoka had completely exhausted her Norito power boost and all of the energy she could dredge up from her own body.

Trying to drag herself to her feet to find another injured Sekirei to aid, or maybe find Gregory-kun and get another Norito from him to recharge, Madoka heard shouts of alarm from dozens of female voices and a few male ones as well. Likely the male voices were the American Recon Marines who were fighting alongside the Sekirei against the Rigelians. They were warning of a new attack?

"Reload! Reload! Holy SHIT! Everybody! Look out! 6 o'clock high! INCOMING!"

The accented American English from the leader of the Recon Marines higher up on the redoubt walls cut through the chaos of the fighting. Madoka was only vaguely aware of the overall situation. Her job was to stay here in the most protected part of the hill fort that wasn't actually inside the almost buried Sekirei Womb Ship and heal the injured fighters so they could return to the fray. Keeping track of where the enemy was and where the fighting was fiercest was just not her job, and worrying about such things took away from the focus she needed to be an effective medic for the fort defenders. Himeko had explained that to her at the start of this insane never-ending day, and it was a difficult lesson to absorb.

Something in the timbre of that "INCOMING!" shout got through the fog of fatigue that was battering Madoka's consciousness, spurring a jolt of adrenaline which cleared her mind a bit and helped her focus her vision on what was happening around her. Was it… raining enemy newt warriors? But… why would Rigelian newts be flying over the walls?

Madoka's befuddled mind simply couldn't grasp the situation for a long minute, then the nearby pulse cannon began booming a rapid barrage of shots at a low elevation, shooting into the killing fields directly in front of the fort. The blazing atmospherics from the Sekirei heavy weapon overhead, coupled with the chaos all around her, staggered the little blonde healer.

She held her hands against the sides of her head in a vain effort to shut out the yelling of Sekirei, the roar of the pulse cannon, and the sudden increase in nearby gunfire coming from the bunker-like redoubt wherein several of the Ashikabi were stationed with rifles.

A wordless mental shout came from Himeko somewhere inside the redoubt just before a large ball of slime fell out of the sky to land against the outside north wall beside Madoka. The medic station was located at the north end of the redoubt where the Ashikabi were fighting and also guarding the only open access to the interior of the Sekirei ship at the south of their stronghold.

The giant ball of slime splashed open, revealing a Rigelian warrior which immediately lunged forwards into the redoubt where Madoka could only hope Himeko could hold off the sudden attack into the fortification's most vulnerable backfield.

Chaos surrounded Madoka as more Rigelian warriors dropped inside the hilltop fort's defenses, attacking Sekirei and Ashikabi alike. Madoka knew Gregory, her Ashikabi, was somewhere inside the redoubt fighting alongside the other Ashikabi. Although not having Karasu battle armor, he was with them because he knew how to shoot and as an American teacher in a Tokyo school, he had also volunteered to translate for the American Marines who had shown the other Ashikabi how to use the rifles and pistols they'd acquired from the old MBI armory.

But exactly where Gregory was inside the thick walled, very long, wide, and high redoubt in relation to where Madoka huddled against the north wall, she didn't know. She couldn't even guess. All she knew was that she was now surrounded by desperately fighting Karasu armored Sekirei pushing against and thrusting their weapons into the croaking, hissing, and foul smelling Rigelian invaders.

Vainly screaming their battle cries, the Sekirei were forced back by the sheer bulk and size of the slimy and almost shark mouthed monsters. Even the wounded Sekirei around Madoka began fighting again as best they could. More and more newts landed or flew overhead into the redoubt as Madoka simply watched in dull exhaustion.

Madoka's heart sank. She couldn't even help her sisters fight the huge alien amphibians. She didn't have Himeko's strength and skill with a blade, much less the blazing speed of 04 Karasuba who suddenly appeared at the redoubt's north entrance. Not for the first time she felt a bitter envy, anger even, at the fate that left some Sekirei unable to fight, surrounded by sisters who could leap fifty meters at a try, who could punch holes in concrete walls, or outrun a bullet train.

"Force multiplier, force multiplier," Madoka muttered to herself, like a koan. She reminded herself what her Ashikabi had tried hard to convince her of, that she was just as effective as any of her sisters, more so than most even. "Force multiplier, force multiplier..." Every Rigelian that Ichiya managed to kill after Madoka had reattached the other woman's right hand was a Rigelian that Madoka helped kill. Every Sekirei who's life Kujika-chan saved in the ongoing battle after Madoka repaired the blonde Sekirei's knee was a life Madoka helped save. The little blonde healer kept telling herself these facts but...

It was a weak consolation when surrounded by enemies who were five times her size with huge maws and viciously clawed hands, trying everything they could to kill every Sekirei and Ashikabi they could reach.

The Black Sekirei began desperately stabbing and slicing with her katana to clear the enemy from the medic station and aid the wounded Sekirei. Then Karasuba disappeared in one super speed leap to the redoubt's south wall and down into the ship's entrance.

Madoka knew then that the top Ashikabi, Cash Archer, must have come up and out of the ship's protected interior, perhaps even into the redoubt, and that had drawn the surprise aerial assault on the stronghold's interior by the catapulted Rigelian warriors. If the Ashikabi fighting inside were killed, especially if the Prime Leader Archer was cut down, this would all be over very quickly and not in the Sekirei's favor.

After what seemed an eternity of helpless huddling against the redoubt's thick wall, trying to stay out of the way of her fighting sisters and away from the gaping, sharp toothed maws of the slimy Rigelians, Madoka realized that the fighting in this area was suddenly and miraculously over. There were no new newts dropping about her either. She cautiously raised her head and looked around.

The shouts and cries from the nearby Sekirei and Ashikabi changed in tone to cheers and celebration for withstanding and throwing back the worst assault yet from the implacable amphibious enemy.

She still didn't see Gregory though. Where was her Ashikabi? She had to find him, now! She flung herself into the redoubt.

Madoka, slipping and falling as she desperately tried to make her way through the interior's carnage, was now only vaguely aware of the other Sekirei around her celebrating and laughing. Madoka had to find Gregory! He had to be just on the other side of all of this insanity where the other Ashikabi had been helping the exterior Sekirei battle lines with their fire support through firing holes in the walls. Then they had suddenly had to fight for their own lives as warrior newts had dropped among them.

The redoubt's wide rock floor was nauseatingly covered in body parts of Rigelian newt warriors who had been cut down in the desperate fighting. Madoka slipped and fell more than once, banging her armor covered knees badly. Her hands were bare, having discarded the armored gloves of her suit to make it possible for her to use her healing abilities. Her fingers were now bleeding from cuts inflicted on her from bone and teeth shards of the dead Rigelians scattered all around.

Staggering south through the walled and open roofed fortification, Madoka paused and stood blinking uncertainly, searching her senses for Gregory's exact location. At the same time was almost unable to comprehend the gruesome aftermath of the battle in the redoubt stronghold.

It looked as if half a hundred of the huge Rigelians had been put into a blender then dumped onto the rock floor beneath the redoubt's firing steps all along the interior walls above. It had been a true slaughter for many, many more of the monsters had simply imploded into thin air after their weird fashion of instantaneous dying. Still, where she stood was knee deep in Rigelian gore, and Madoka could only stare down at her legs, covered in blood and slime. This wasn't a fort, it was an abattoir, a slaughterhouse. And she'd never be able to eat fish again, thanks to the overwhelming stench of the dead Rigelians that hung over everything.

Where was Gregory-kun?

She staggered on past towards the base of a set stairs going up to the fighting positions on the wall tops and heavy weapons platform above. The broad stone steps were also covered in large and small pieces of dead Rigelians. She made her way further south until she came to where several Ashikabi and Sekirei were gathered.

Sekirei were simply holding onto their Ashikabi, many of who bore evidence of injuries minor and not-so-minor, but all alive and very glad of it. The fighting here must have been the fiercest of the entire battle, so much blood and torn clothing was visible to Madoka's now-experienced eye. But where was Gregory-kun? She couldn't see him among the ragged, smiling, Ashikabi, who were laughing and drinking bottles of water and rinsing grume and slime from their clothing.

Pushing her way past Sekirei and Ashikabi she did not know, Madoka kept looking. Her Farsight was useless too exhausted from the previous healing of so many that she couldn't even use the most basic of her Farsenses.

Mind still fogged from stress and fatigue, Madoka finally made sense of a sound that was repeating itself nearby. She turned her blue eyes to the source of the sound, her brow furrowed in concentration.

"Madoka! Hey, Madoka! Hey! Over here, Madoka! Did you find Gregory-san?"

Madoka's attention focused immediately on the man speaking. Kaoru Seo, patched up from a serious injury to his torso and laying back on ammo crates made into a makeshift bed. These had no doubt been arranged by his nearby Sekirei, which included 104 Haihane, who was sitting on Seo's lap, carefully, and 18 Ichiya, as well as the other five of Seo's Circle who Madoka knew less well. Madoka was glad to see faces she recognized, Sekirei who knew her and might help.

"Seo-san? Where is Gregory-kun? Do you know where he is?" Madoka called to the battered looking Seo.

The dark haired man pointed towards the far south wall underneath the stairs, calling out to Madoka, "He was back over there, I think I saw him get hit with one of those spiked ball things, just after I went down, somewhere by the entrance down into the ship!" Seo shouted at Madoka's back as she turned and ran back towards the ship's entrance, "He was still shooting newts when I last saw him."

The area near the stair Seo had indicated was almost buried by Rigelian body parts up to the firing steps halfway to the top of the walls. The stairs above the entrance were invisible beneath the slime, blood, and unidentifiable organs left behind by the Rigelian's who had attempted the end around to kill the Sekirei's Prime Leader. She climbed up the stairs' incline only by pulling herself up the handrail.

Madoka desperately called out her Ashikabi's name. "Gregory! Gregory!"

She slipped, fell, and slid over the side of the stairs, falling a short distance to land atop a partially bisected orange skinned Rigelian. Lying flat on her back amid the ruin of the redoubt stronghold, Madoka tried to catch her breath, gulping the thick fetid air desperately. She had to find her Ashikabi! She had to find him! He had to be okay, she'd know if he wasn't, right? Isn't that how it worked, a Sekirei would always know if her Ashikabi were hurt, right?

Her voice broken by tears, the pretty blonde Sekirei rolled over and croaked out his name again, "Gregory!"

A bit of movement caught her eye among the body parts around her and beneath her. A shape which her fogged mind only slowly recognized as a black, low top, Converse tennis shoe moved. It only moved a little, but it moved. Rigelian's didn't wear American tennis shoes, did they?

"Gregory! Hold on, Gregory! I will get you out!"

Madoka could only see the one foot, sticking out from a giant pile of gruesome, bloody, slimy, Rigelian body parts. The hulking remains of the partially bisected orange skinned Rigelian commander lay across rest of her Ashikabi's leg. She couldn't see any of the rest of him, but he looked to have fallen partially under the stairwell, which probably saved his life. If he'd been buried under the entire weight of the Rigelian officer where the fighting might move across the top of them, Gregory would have surely suffocated or been crushed to death by now.

Madoka, now near frenzied with fear for her Ashikabi's life, clawed and pulled at webbed digits and broken skulls, throwing amputated limbs away from where her Ashikabi was buried. Sobbing, her tears made the only clean tracks on her beautiful face, otherwise completely obscured by bile and blood and other less savory substances.

"Gregory-kun, stay with me! Hold on! I will get you out of there!"

The blonde healer was soon prostrate, literally burrowing into the tall mound of body parts and corpses, exhaustion dragging her arms down and barely able to pick up her armored limbs to move small obstructions that were keeping her from her Ashikabi.

Another Sekirei came running along the wall, near where Madoka was laboring. Gold hair, tan skin, it was Number 48 Kujika!

"Kujika-chan, help me, please, Gregory-kun… help me get him out, please!"

Madoka could barely hear her own voice, though she could not tell if it was from lack of volume or the drying crud in her ears blocking the sound.

She reached out a hand to Sanada's blonde Sekirei, "Please, Kujika, please."

The other Sekirei paused and looked at the almost unrecognizable Madoka, no trace of the beautiful, sexy, blonde healer seen in the slime covered, black armored Sekirei who had half-buried herself under Rigelian remains.

"Mado-chan? I… can't! I have to find Sanada-tan! He might be hurt, I, I have to find him!" the lithe, dark skinned Sekirei wailed in her own despair. She turned away and continued her stumbling run through the detritus of the redoubt floor towards where the Ashikabi and Sekirei were regrouping. "I can't, I have to find Sanada-tan and Kuzuri! I'm sorry, Mado-chan!

"No, please," Madoka's voice was barely a whimper to her own ears. "No, Kuji-chan… I healed you, please just help me… please… "

But the other girl was already gone, desperate to find her own Ashikabi and know that he was safe and well.

"Please. Help me."

Madoka could only lay there, half covered by the hulk of the Rigelian officer's corpse, her blonde hair completely matted down with black blood and horrific smelling amphibian fluids as well as her own vomit, her stomach now unable to keep anything in thanks to the stench of the remains all around her. Summoning every ounce of her will and strength, she jammed both arms downward into the gore beneath her.

She managed to get one bare hand under, or more accurately through the Rigelian officer's body and onto her Ashikabi's chest. She could now feel Gregory's heartbeat, feel the bare expansion of his ribcage as he took shallow breaths. He was unconscious, but alive, only barely, and life was fading.

Madoka lay there on her stomach, her face turned sideways so that she could breath, spitting Rigelian blood out of her mouth and out of her nose, as she desperately kept her bare palm against her Ashikabi's chest, pouring every last psychic erg of energy she could generate into healing him just enough to keep him alive for another minute, and then another minute.

"Please … someone help me … please …" Madoka whimpered pitifully.

She cried, bitter tears of regret and even anger. She had given all she had to helping the others and now no one was here to help her do something she was not made for. Where was her bond-mate, someone with strength like Uzume or Toyotama-onee-sama. Madoka wept as she thought of how many who's lives she helped save today, how many times her aid was the difference in holding part of a wall in their fortification, how many Ashikabi would see their Sekirei tonight safe and alive because of what Madoka had done in healing them and making it so they could fight longer and better.

Her Ashikabi was dying, with her hand touching him, because she was not strong. Because she could not punch holes in concrete walls or outrun a bullet train. Or move eight hundred pound dead bodies off of her Ashikabi. "Force multiplier... force multiplier..."

It didn't help.

She laughed, spitting more blood out of her mouth, choking for a moment.

"Gregory-kun, you should know you were right. Remember the argument we had when you said Sekirei were obsessed with their Ashikabi, that we would ignore other needs and other people because of it, the, ah, obsession? See, you can not die now, you have to write it all down in your notebook, like all of the other things you figured out about us. You were right about this so you have to live so you can write it down and you can talk about it with Takami-chan. She is here still, in the ship, so you can not die or I will have to write it down and you know I would get it wrong, so... And Takami-chan would miss you, she does not trust anyone else, you know. So you can not leave her, Gregory-kun."

She wiggled closer to Gregory's body, burrowing further into the pile, to press her hand against his chest so she wouldn't accidentally lose contact with him. She tried to talk to him, her voice cracking, "You need to stay alive because there are still all the things you were supposed to show me. You never told me what you wrote on your New Year's wish, at the Shrine. Remember? You said you would tell me one day, so you have to stay alive."

Madoka wept harder, unable to speak further, snot smearing her lips and black blood covering the rest of her face, her white teeth shining in the mess. She thought of her beloved bond-mate, who died in MBI's stupid 'game' a month ago, senselessly. "Where are you Yosu-chan? Please, help, please, where are you, do not leave me alone, Yosu-chan!"

Madoka felt her consciousness teetering, the energy she was putting into her Ashikabi coming from her own body's essential reserves, draining away her own life a small bit at a time in exchange for her Ashikabi drawing another shallow breath, his heart beating just a few more times.

"Yosuga-chan... please do not leave me alone. I can not do it myself, I can not save our Ashikabi. Please, Yosu-chan..." The last thing she could remember thinking was a question.

How did she not know it when her Ashikabi was injured so badly? Why did she not know, so she could come save him in time?

That is how Haihane and Ichiya found the gore covered Madoka some minutes later, barely conscious; desperately keeping her Ashikabi alive through the one hand she could reach to touch him.

They came looking for her, having suggested to Seo that it really was in their best interest to have a good a relationship with one of the few Sekirei healers, one not already bound by loyalties to Kazehana and Archer's Prime Circle. Plus, Haihane liked the pretty little healer, something about the girl kindled a desire to protect her, help her. Haihane knew Ichiya felt the same way, if not more so, having a history with Madoka from before they were all released into Shin Tokyo by MBI for Minaka's 'game'.

"Shit!" Haihane exclaimed in alarm. "Itchy, grab the other side of this big orange bastard and get him off her! Hell, is that her Ashikabi under there? Oh, man, we need her, we can't let her die like this! Where's Himeko?"

Ichiya gripped the orange skinned corpse around the shoulders and heaved, grunting in reply to her Circle Leader, "Snogging Archer in the ship probably? Huh, looks like Mado-chan's Ashikabi is still alive. Hell, he's probably in better shape than she is now, you know?"

Haihane's hoarse and low contralto shout carried across the redoubt as the muscular Ichiya easily moved the large Rigelian corpse away from the buried Ashikabi. "Himeko! Hey! Himeko! We need you over here!"


	38. Chapter 38

**The Game Changer**

**Chapter 38 – Prime Time Troubles, Winning Attitudes**

If Kazehana thought she had troubles immediately after the Battle of Kamakura Island, and she did, then she could also readily see on the ship's control room video screens that the peoples of Earth had more. They weren't little ones either. According to the current world wide web newscasts, every major AND minor city on the planet was dealing with street scenes of mass hysteria, total panic, and terrorized populations heading for the hills in flight.

Frenzied crowds had spontaneously begun fleeing everywhere across Earth. From Berlin, London, Mumbai, Moscow, Manila, New York, Capetown, Rome, Beijing, Sydney, Dubai on down to Wanding, China and Buford, Wyoming, USA, every highway, walking path, train, plane, and waterway shipping mode of mass and individual transit were clogged to a total standstill.

All of it was on a scale of every population center having more than 50 citizens perceiving they were soon to be under attack by multiple Godzillas as well as the other usual cloned suspects of three headed Gidorah, Gamera, Rodan, Mothra, and not to mention that creepy mass of mutated crustaceans, Destoroyah.

Nobody was pausing long enough to loot or go looking for any midget twin Japanese gals trying to sing the monsters to sleep either, let alone listening to any civilian, political, or military authority types trying to combat the world wide chaos. It also looked like every skateboard, bicycle, pogo stick, and leaky rowboat were also being used by folks to simply flee where they were to go somewhere that might be a wee tad safer during an alien space invasion. The problem was there weren't any.

Now one would suppose the most blame for all of this global mass panic was probably the result of that lone, super genius, teen computer hacker in the Philippines. He had simply blanket dumped onto all communication satellite rebroadcast channels his hacking result of the Russian drone's raw video of the battle. It's ultra high-res digital camera had captured 4 minutes and 22 seconds of the alien Rigelian newt warriors swarming ashore on the island and engaging black robots and especially a giant sized Natalie in mortal combat. Admittedly, that did look like some very hokey and amateurish trailer of the newest 3D monster movie worse than the old Plan Nine From Outer Space, and as such, highly suspect as real time news.

The truth was that the Filipino's electronic efforts were pretty much ignored since no one in their right minds in this day and age of 2020 ever believed a single damn thing put out or seen on any major commercial news media/propaganda network and hadn't since the early days of Facebook, Twitter, You Tube, and now the GH Community.

The only ones taking the hacker's raw video info dump seriously were hand wringing politicians and top military leaders whose careers were going down ye olde toilet, crapper, head, latrine, and/or squatting hole. These were the ones that had been controlled, duped, coerced, and/or bribed into authorizing their combined massive military attack and invasion of Kamakura Island; one that had quickly become a massively expensive and total debacle showing zero return. Even these guys were still having a VERY hard time believing the Russian drone video broadcast, and yet they KNEW it was true.

What the online 7 billion plus of Earth's panicked population DID believe was a 3D Twitter feed from Japan's most currently well known and popular male teen idol. That twitter was also synched into the Global Homie Community. Naturally, all of the idol's 12,792 virtual reality homies had then sent those feeds into the same global virus mode also seen in the idol's just updated output on his exclusive, holographic You Tube channel.

The Japanese teen idol, fabulously rich, boyishly handsome, in with the latest hip trends, and a very snappy dresser, had been mysteriously offline and silent for several weeks although briefly seen here and there in Tokyo during that time. There had even been rumors that he had been in at least three very bad limousine wrecks, but no hospital or police report would confirm anything about them.

All this had been raising the ages 8 through 80 Asian female devotional angst to levels of mass hysteria not seen since The Beatles panty tossing arrival in 1964 America and the Mighty Storm Tour of 2017 by the aging Japanese male idol group Arashi going throughout China.

Kazehana and her entire group of leadership support gathered in the ship's control room and watched the live, simultaneous global newscasts in stunned silence. The scenes, commentary, and live interviews from across the planet were simply unbelievable, but the real incredulity was saved after watching the Japanese idol's, worldwide viral, 3D Twitter feed.

"You? You are the HERO of Kamakura? YOU?" Seo exclaimed in disgust while pointing an accusatory and very derisive finger at a previously preening but now flinching Hayato Mikogami.

"Did you and your shiny, spike heeled white boots even get out of the control room ONCE during the entire battle, you little weasel? While the rest of us were fighting, bleeding, and almost dying? You PHONY little sonofabitch! And just LOOK at the freaking chaos you've caused!"

"I didn't CAUSE anything!" Mikogami flared defensively yet flinching and bringing his hands up to ward off Seo's indignant wrath. "You saw the Russian video cuts on the newscasts! What's the big deal anyway? MBI's rule for top secrecy about the Sekirei Plan is WAY out the door now! The world deserves to know what's going on! And my people DESERVE to know what I'M doing for them here!"

"Who is that pretty boy?" Gunny Sledge nudged a little girl carrying Minato as they stood at the back of Kazehana's impromptu council to listen and watch.

The Marine eyed the slim, young teenage male dressed in an all white silk designer suit, ruffled white silk shirt, white high heeled boots, and wearing a wide, ruffled, white silk cravat around his neck adorned with a large red jewel pin. He was a pretty boy all right. Matter of fact, if it wasn't for Kazehana's incredible facial beauty framed by masses of her thick black hair, the teenage guy would probably be the best looking person here.

"Hayato Mikogami," Minato half whispered in return so as to not disturb the snoring Kusano with her head resting upon his right shoulder. "He's the sole heir to his family's global business empire. He's also the Ashikabi of Ikki's Circle."

"And yes!" Mikogami continued somewhat petulantly, "I AM a HERO for just being here and made to endure being around you for more than five minutes! You'd be DEAD by now if I, Hayato Mikogami, HERO of Kamakura, weren't here right now, you, you cheap ruffian! That's because most of the people, FIGHTERS, and FOOD on this forsaken island came here on MY family's yacht! So THERE!"

"Spoken like a true rear echelon pogue," Gunny muttered with a disgusted half sigh. "Got 'em in every outfit, I guess."

"Where's your grid hookup, you little simpering shit?" Seo snarled in true outrage. He had almost DIED while this little puke HERO had cowered down here in relative safety? The old Yakuza forger had done more to win the battle! Seo took a step to latch onto the smaller male teen and slap him silly, but a cooler minded Haihane wrapped her arms around Seo to hold him back as Ikki tensed to act in defense of her man.

A closer Sanada, however, he of few words and even shorter leash on his peeved anger, simply reached out and grabbed Mikogami's white, red jewel adorned cravat. The jewel, actually a top end, digital, Google grid connection device, popped out of its suit plug. Sanada ignored its fall and twisted the fancy cloth neck piece to cut off the wealthy teen idol's air while lifting the lad up onto the toes of his designer boots. The teen turned an instant beet red in the face while clutching at Sanada's air denying hand and eying Sanada's other meaty fist cocked to irately punch Mikogami's slim nose somewhere into next week.

"NO!" Kazehana and Ikki yelled simultaneously however Ikki made a blurring move to put her face between her Ashikabi and Sanada's poised fist. Ikki instantly chose to take the hit rather than harm Sanada because she saw Kazehana move too, trusting her Prime Pillar to defuse the tension rather than piss Sanada's Sekirei off by hurting their Ashikabi.

"Oooo, Sanada-chan, you're so strong!" A crooning Kazehana simply stepped to put a soothing and restraining hand upon his big forearm. "But it takes all of us and our different talents to make a team, right? We have far bigger troubles than this little tiff too.

"I am counting on your Circle to support Toyotama and Akitsu. I want them to make another immediate and thorough sweep of the entire island. There may be a few Rigelian commanders that have successfully cloaked their minds and evaded our first search. Please be a dear and supervise that for me from one of those monitors at the far end of the console, pretty please?"

"Uhhh, ummm, sure," Sanada visibly swallowed under the influence of Kazehana's well practiced, male charming vocal tone and body language. He dropped Mikogami like last month's hottest fad and turned away to comply with his Prime Pillar's dewy eyed and eyelash fluttering request. Toyotama and Akitsu as well as Oriha took the blatant hint, silently nodded at each other, and left the control room to make the second security sweep.

"Ikki," Kazehana's tone became a tad more businesslike along with one slightly raised and somewhat cynical eyebrow. She also made a slight jerk of her head to indicate she wanted Mikogami OUT of the ship, now.

"All of us are hungry, tired, irritable, and dirty. We're still under a lot of pressure, and all that is getting us on each others nerves. Perhaps you and your LOVE could be much more comfortable bedded down in our less stuffy and more spacious redoubt once it is scoured cleaned and sanitized. Miya and Uzume are up there to help Homura and Tsukuimi.

"Why don't you and your Circle help them cook, clean, and take care of all our people that are out in the compound. Make sure no one but our hunters go outside our electrified fence though. Tomorrow when we know it's safe, we'll repair and clean our Base quarters and move everyone to happier living comfort. You would like for your Love to be more comfortable and relaxed?"

"Oh, oh yes!" Ikki nodded quickly in agreement. Anything to get her lovable but young and totally spoiled Ashikabi away from a very bad beat down by Seo and Sanada. Unsnapping and removing her battle suit torso armor, she turned to Mikogami and began her own version of the female persuasion routine Kazehana had used. She began batting her eyes, pouting her lips, and crooning to him while suggestively mashing her Lycra body suit covered breasts against his slim torso.

"Miko-kunnnnn, please come watch us make your food and bed for the night. I get soooooo lonely without you."

"It'd take a mighty tough man to refuse THAT," Sledge observed philosophically to Minato, "And that skinny drink of water shore ain't one."

"No, but he can hire armies that are," Minato replied with a small unimpressed shrug since Musubi's sensitive chest was bigger. Besides, to him Mikogami was a simple nuisance to be endured; kinda like his sister Yukari sleeping like a pampered princess down in the stasis tank with the knocked up Dryas Petals.

"Seo," Kazehana turned her attention to the Ashikabi who was still glowering in resentment. Her terse, no nonsense command voice with him was simply blunt.

"Forget it. He's still young. Listen. We don't know if there are more mind cloaked Rigelians out in those circling naval fleets either. Karasuba and I have talked this over. We have Riko flying air guard around the island's perimeter for now, but she can't keep that up long, and we'll soon need her elsewhere.

"We still want a ship, missile, and bomber no go zone kept at a distance far enough that we can effectively respond to any future threats from them. That includes recon drones and manned planes too. We need you and your Circle to command the pulse cannon and Natalie's control room for that. If need be, Riko can fly Muts out to each command carrier so he can trance their crews and set them on a course east. Their other ships will have to follow. Please get started now. And I haven't forgot who the real heroes of our last battle are."

"Hey, we're damn tired and hungry too, as well as heroic," Seo replied sourly while still watching Mikogami slowly saunter up the passageway to the redoubt with Ikki protectively clinging to his arm.

"Yes, I know, but for right now, we need you and your Sekirei to keep those fleets off our butts. We'll make sure you all get some hot food right away, and Claws can set up a rest rotation for your Sekirei."

"Kazehana, what about our broken Circle?" Haihane released Seo to let him move to a console seat and then cocked her head to give her Pillar a measuring and maybe even demanding look.

Her tone of voice was also a subtle reminder that Saki had died largely due to Kazehana's ill thought out leadership on the MBI base raid, and for that Haihane wanted her Circle fixed, immediately. In addition, Seo had almost died because his Circle had fought one Sekirei shy and crippled, and they may be called on to fight again soon. Therefore, her Circle needed fixed NOW.

Kazehana didn't answer but simply nodded with a pained expression. Not only was she distressingly aware of how badly and stupidly she had been acting before and even during the raid, now it was up to her to fix the damage she had done, physically and emotionally. She also understood Haihane's agonized worry for her Ashikabi because Kazehana was just as apprehensive over a comatose Cash now down in the stasis tank.

On the other hand, the truly evil days of Sekirei having been forced into unloving bonds by ruthless monsters like Higa, self serving Minaka using Natsuo, and even an ambitious Mutsu exploiting the spoiled, game playing teen Mikogami were over. Thanks to Cash showing the way, those Sekirei involved had sought and found stronger bonds of love. Kazehana was pretty sure Cash was NOT going to allow any forced re-bonding of crested Sekirei that were now in stable and happier love bonds with their Ashikabi. That would be much too hurtful all around, unthinkable really, and definitely against his loving, live and let live nature.

She simply didn't know what to immediately do for Haihane's broken Circle problem. Besides, she still had her own troubles with Uzume and Riko, even with Natalie available to possibly replace one of them.

"We NEED to have another Sekirei bonded with us to fix things," Haihane added a little more forcefully. "It HURTS us to be one short this way now that we've already had a meshed Circle. And Ichiya HURTS more! Our powers are diminished and don't work to protect Seo like we know they should either. He almost died because we just couldn't MOVE like we used to! You guys HAVE to help us!"

"Okay, but how? Seo is no monster to forcibly re-wing an already happily bonded Sekirei. I suppose it might be possible somehow to group rape and brain wash a more weakly crested gal until she can't resist anymore, but how happy would that kind of Stockholm Syndrome bonding be in the long run for her and the rest of you? Besides, in his own way, Seo has proven he wants Yume's dream for all of us as much as the rest of us do, especially Cash.

"Even if something that desperate could be done and done simply because of the extreme pressures we're facing from the Rigelians invading, I'm very sure Cash would still not allow it. I think he can and would break any bond not made in willing, mutual love, and total acceptance from all involved. We are just going to have to find a different option or options. I don't think Cash would approve of any bonded Sekirei selfishly trading up simply for more power and devastating her Ashikabi's heart either."

"Oh! That's rich coming from you!" Haihane retorted angrily in instant accusation. "You screwed Minato over, traded up, and FORCED yourself on Arch!"

"Yes! In my drunken stupidity, immature selfishness, and carelessness, and, and for other reasons, I DID betray Minato and take advantage of Cash. I screwed up, badly, BUT Cash did NOT seek any of his already bonded Sekirei out and force himself on US, nor willingly screw over another Ashikabi!

"Look. Toyotama wanting to break a weak bond with a monster like Higa is one thing, just like you and Benny leaving Natsuo for Seo. BUT, it's wrong and hurtful to rip apart Sekirei and Ashikabi who now have lifetime bonds of love no matter if they're crests are a little more weaker than some of ours. We don't have any bonded yet unloved Sekirei here now anyway. I'm telling you Cash will NOT allow love bonds to be broken for some temporary expediency. You know it too."

"Hey! You NEED us! And we NEED another meshed Sister to complete our Circle! Where else we gonna get one if not here? Lemme talk to Arch! I KNOW he would help us somehow!"

"He's still sleeping from helping Matsu snag those drone bombers. Please calm down. We have a little time to think this over. We just don't have a solution right now, but we understand your problem because we have our own unmeshed troubles with Uzume and Riko. We can deal with this later."

"That's just not good enough!" Haihane returned between tightly clenched teeth. Her fists held straight down her sides in frustration were clenched even tighter. "We need to do this NOW!"

"Windy, she's right." Irritably tired, hungry, and worried while listening to Kazehana trying to be diplomatic yet firm, Karasuba finally spoke up. "We should start to look at this now. We can't underestimate Sweetums either, and we owe Claws the first pick of any likely replacements he comes up with for them. We also owe her Circle our help in fixing anything that will resolve the problem that WE caused with OUR shoddy planning."

Kazehana finally nodded while sighing internally. Okay, what options did they have that Cash would approve? Haihane DID have a valid need and complaint, but there just weren't any unbonded Sekirei on Kamakura Island. Wait. Perhaps the ship's backup gestalt downloaded into Yomi's body, and as an Elite Sekirei like Natalie, she could be a very powerful choice for Saki's replacement.

Kazehana glanced at an also tired and irritable Mutsu fidgeting restlessly and glaring at Haihane from behind her. He was obviously impatient with her petty demands and eager to get out of this conference and away from them all to rest with his wives. And he was hungry. He wasn't going to be happy when ordered to immediately start working on other things instead of being pampered and fed by Sayomi and her Sisters.

Hmmm. Now there was an idea. Could the Petals gathering in Tokyo also provide a strong enough candidate? They had all been bred from birth to form their circles too, but seven had proved flexible enough in accepting Yukari as Shiina's Ashikabi. One of that Petals' original circle of eight had been left out and was now available, right? Were there more? What about Cash's younger sister? Just because they didn't have Sekirei physical abilities, the Petals should still be a viable alternative if their minds had enough psychic power to mesh into a Sekirei circle. So why not?

"Muts, how long will it take to download Natalie into Yume and her back up into Yomi?" Kazehana asked to explore that option first.

Haihane nodded her head slightly in frowning, contemplative interest. She hadn't considered that, and at least a new Yomi WAS a different option.

"Actually, I'm not sure," Mutsu shrugged peevishly as he instantly realized he wasn't going to be allowed to rest and eat like he deserved.

On the other hand, saving Mother was going to be his responsibility since no one had his working knowledge of ship gestalts. He wouldn't trust any of these lesser minds around him anyway, and he was not going to risk another hard tama shot from Kazehana either. Besides, he wanted to form his own battle group of Petals with male capable centers. To do that he HAD to go through Kazehana, Archer, AND his mother Natalie. Or go along to get along, he thought sourly, to bring the idea up at a more favorable time when everybody's nerves weren't rubbed raw. Best make nice as he could now.

"Natalie went off line the same time that Archer went unconscious the second time. Some kind of internal self defense mode was triggered in Mother's circuits, and they're still closed. But I think I can sort out her automatic ego protection troubles and safely transfer her unharmed to Yume's body."

"Safely? You think?" Kazehana's eyebrows went up in instant worry. "What does that mean exactly? And what does the procedure entail?"

"Well, I'm pretty sure that Mother's upload into the ship's synthetic brain was simply an induced one way meshing. Once made, her biological body's core was shut down by Norito chant on her crest and then also transferred to prevent a return. A download of Mother's gestalt and core from the ship's brain to Yume's body would simply be the reverse. The actual procedure would first require a powered up medula oblongata to bring Yume's body out of stasis dormancy mode and into normal body temperature and internal organ activity.

"Then a healer and I will have to stimulate the pineal gland in the cerebral cortex and provide psychic echo images of a viable Sister and Circle mind to attract Natalie's instinctively meshing psyche. I would next trance Natalie unconscious as if her self defense circuits had once again simply been closed in ego protection mode.

"The same thing would be done for the back up gestalt after brought online. Once the two are enmeshed in Yume and Yomi's bodies and respective cores transferred, then the ship's synthetic brain and its psychic circuits would be closed off to forestall any return. I postulate that there will probably be a resulting 9 to 10 hour coma for the meshing psyches and cores to accept their new state and not reject their new bodies. Perhaps an hour to set everything up, an hour each for the two gestalts and cores to download, and then 10 hours recovery means sometime tomorrow afternoon if all goes well. Maybe faster since they are both Elite Sekirei."

"If? You're pretty sure? You postulate?" A scowling Karasuba spoke wearily again. "Mutsy, c'mon! You're not exactly knocking our boots off with confidence! This is our MOTHER we're talking about here!"

"I know, I KNOW! But get OFF my back! Like this is done every day on this planet?" Mutsu griped in return before locking angry eyes with Kazehana while pointing to his twin sister. Geeeez, why did Karasuba always have to such a nasty bitch? Screw it! He'd had enough!

"And THAT bitch twin of mine is precisely why my Petals and I want OUT of your Prime looney toon battle group as soon as possible! It would be better for Shiina too! Amebane and five other male capable Sekirei could make Circles out of the Petals gathering in Tokyo to form a second battle group!"

"With YOU in charge, naturally," Karasuba rolled her eyes derisively to the ceiling then began in no uncertain terms to tell Mutsu why she thought he wouldn't be able to lead a Petal group to last place in a tiddly winks tournament. As well as why he deserved to be called MUTS since he was nothing more than a wrong headed, bad tempered dog, and always had been.

"A back stabbing, command hungry, ball busting subordinate too, huh?" Gunny huffed quietly in disbelief. "You guys are starting to resemble a real military unit heah. Other than resembling a big NFL quarterback, how does that arrogant Mutsu fella get away with that shit?"

"Well, believe it or not," Minato shrugged expressively while shaking his head, "Karasuba HAS knocked him around before. He fears Kazehana as much or maybe even more, but he respects Cash-san, or at least his psychic power, and maybe even likes him a little as Natalie's alpha male. Natalie also loves her first born son and that has really grabbed Mutsu deep.

"But Cash-san, ummm, he's kind laid back, unassuming, and, ummm, sorta brings out the softer yet protective instincts of all the females. Kinda hard to explain really, but they all love him, even Homura. Everyone HATES Mutsu and even feared him while younger. My Sekirei say that he's always been such an ass, and he also thinks everyone is beneath him except Cash-san and his Mother Natalie. Relations with Mutsu have always been, ummm, complicated."

"A real prick then. Sounds like a clone of my commanding general on Okinawa."

"Muts IS a total, ambitious, self serving, arrogant jerk," Minato nodded at the possible analogy, "and several of our Sekirei feared and hated him for forcing them to be winged against their will. My Taki and the Whip Twins and Cash-san's Himeko and Karasuba scorn him greatly. Everyone also thinks he tried to kill Natalie and supplant Cash-san as Prime Leader too, which was very unforgivable. He claims he wasn't, just re-booting the ship's computers, but it almost got Mutsu killed until Cash-san saved him because we need him.

"On the other hand and like he said, he actually was born to naturally lead his own battle group, not be a subordinate in another. He's easier to understand and tolerate when you realize that he's just acting out of his basic instincts. He really doesn't have a problem with Kazehana being Prime Pillar either. He just doesn't naturally fit inside her battle group under Karasuba's direct command, and he hates the fact that his twin Karasuba can kick his ass any time she wants. So it's a little unfair to say he's a backstabbing and whatever when he really should be commanding a second battle group."

"So what is he then?" Gunny frowned in puzzlement. "A total shitbag, motard, or a blue falcon, uh, buddy fucker?"

"Ummm, Gunny-san, Sekirei are simply not human, so we can't really judge all their actions, motivations, and emotional reactions by what we think are normal human standards. They are a bird evolved, raptor type aggressive, pecking order oriented, and psychic imprinting predator species that should most naturally function and fight in 8 combined octet groups called Circles with each circle made up by four bonded pairs. Those four pairs MUST love bond and share one Ashikabi to maximize their combined powers. Anything less leaves them instinctual crippled."

"Huh. Kinda like natural Recon platoons from birth, eh?" Gunny squinted in trying to visualize the construct. "Except they gotta find their Ashikabi commander somehow?"

"Well yes, searching together, except the Lead Sekirei in each Circle is really their commander and power wielders. The Ashikabi is, ummm, more of a power boosting and love glue type that emotionally balances out their individual personalities to operate cohesively. I'm more of a caretaker actually, especially with Ku-chan here. She needs more care than any of the others, and in some ways she's the most important to our Earth's future."

"Yeah? Why?" Gunny's eyebrows went up in surprised interest.

"She's the Sekirei of Life," Minato patted Kusano's back fondly, "and I think her adult powers will be enormous. It might eventually be that future world hunger and wars for food will be gone. Have you noticed that all the other Sekirei almost revere her, even Mutsu? If Natalie had been able to land normally ages ago, Ku-chan would have been the colony's means to always have food once Natalie returned to Kouten. Just like Tsukuimi would always supply water, the Lightning Twins supply power, Akitsu refrigeration, and so on."

"And Homura metal smelting, Matsu, Missy Riko, and Uzume for colony buildings, clothes, even technology," Gunny softly whistled at the concept. "Self establishing, self generating, and cheaply made colonies on other worlds with only minimal transport of hard goods. With plenty of natural muscle for building, expansion, and protection. Incredible, and you're right, not human at all. Our species simply don't have those inherent elemental powers."

"Yes, incredible," Minato agreed, "except THESE Sekirei were found ages later, born out of their intended time, and raised by pretty much clueless humans in a cloistered lab environment without their normal Sekirei social structure, training, and support. They've also since been maliciously drug adjusted, power limited, and brain washed by Minaka to violently act as individuals against their normal group forming natures. What groups they have nominally managed to form as kids got clinically ripped apart and shuffled."

"That doesn't jive with their orderly colonial planning on all other fronts," Gunny frowned. "Surely the old guys on the other planet sent at least one adult teacher."

"Miya was the adult they sent. I've heard that it was her responsibility to teach and support the Sekirei once born, but when her husband died, she totally withdrew into herself and utterly, grossly failed to pass down their true heritage to the younger Sekirei. Most don't trust her at all now, but she has been very good to me and my Circle, especially Ku-chan.

"Then while still immature and artificially made to be totally self centered, the Sekirei were turned suddenly loose by Minaka into a violent, abusive, real life human society and told to fight each other to the death. At the same time they had to search for, find, and bond with their Ashikabi to get their full powers. What has been done to them since birth by MBI has been a total atrocity, unforgivable actually."

"So that's why they all got such emotional issues now? Like Miss Uzume and that Mrs. Karasuba? They're kinda badly twisted as well as alien? Operating mostly from pure immature self interest and brain washed aggressiveness almost all the time?"

"Uh-huh, especially when it comes to sharing their Ashikabi. They should have been raised almost from birth or a very early age as bonded sisters in naturally forming circles like the Petals; falling naturally into their natural circle roles. Just like a human adult mother and father, the Sekirei young are normally supervised by loving adult circles to grow up caring about each other and sharing their unique but interlocking powers to always be stronger as a whole unit than as separate individuals.

"But our Sekirei are growing and maturing swiftly in just a few weeks, overcoming their skewed upbringing and mostly reverting into their natural bonded pairs and circles. Only Kouji's Circle formed a natural Circle when in school, got broken up, but when the chance came, they automatically reformed it with him as their Ashikabi.

"It hasn't been near that easy for the rest, especially the Prime Circle. But now even they are trying to mesh properly by sharing their weaknesses to let them then share their powers, lives, and love like they were naturally meant to do. Then again, they HAVE to, or this planet will soon be overrun by the Rigelians. Nobody particularly likes any of the Prime Circle other than Himeko and Kazehana, but they do give them positional respect, deference, and obedience for Cash-san and Natalie's sakes."

"Interesting," Gunny scowled at that last statement. "So basically, Sekirei love has to conquer all, or we all go down in flames?"

"More like go down as Rigelian excrement actually," Minato grimaced.

That last pithy statement made both men reflect a little before they returned their attention to Mutsu still loudly arguing with Karasuba over the reasons why he should be made the leader of a second battle group. The concept hadn't been received all that well, but it appeared that he had made his points well enough to get Kazehana into deal making mode.

"Look. I'm not against a second battle group of Petals at all, Mutsu, WHEN we can do it," Kazehana finally interjected diplomatically while stepping between the two still squabbling twins.

"However, remember that we now have less than 40 hours to get the Sekirei Lunar Defense Ring activated as well as prepare for whatever possibly survives coming through it. We barely defeated just ONE of their scout ships here, and quite frankly that was with a lot of luck and help. We'll look at a different group configuration when we can, but right NOW we don't have TIME for any more infighting!"

"Wait! Time is against us too!" Haihane's worried frown grew deeper as she broke in. "What do we do if Seo can't wing an unknown ELITE Sekirei? Me and my gals aren't even close to being ELITE! What if WE don't want her either? We don't want to be forever stuck with a piece of shit like Muts! What you gonna do for us then?"

"I don't know, Claws! But if that happens, then I think our next best option would be to find a solitary Dryas Petal strong enough to mesh with you guys. Cash's younger sister has the same elite genetics as he, or maybe a Petal like her could be found soon. We can't do anything for you right now because there will be NO heavy handed re-winging of any love bonded Sekirei on this Island, got it?"

"A MIXED Circle? Are you serious? A MIXED Circle with a snooty ass, puny human PETAL like his?" Haihane made a finger pointing down her throat as a self gagging motion while jerking her opposing thumb at Mutsu. "YUCK! Gag a maggot!"

"Mind your base tongue, you repulsive harpy!" Mutsu snarled immediately. "My wives are a thousand times more preferable, cultured, and charming than you and your disingenuous bunch! You'd be lucky to get a Petal who'd even WANT to mesh with you and Seo's other libertine and cretinous scum!"

Haihane simply flipped Mutsu two mocking birds, angrily turned her back on everybody, and went to slump down into a control console seat beside an ear burning but wisely silent Seo. Haihane began gnawing a knuckle in more frowning thought. Her Circle needed another Sekirei now, one they had known while growing up, not some puny, stuck up Petal, nor an unknown Elite that would make them all feel inferior later. Maybe, she thought, it was time to think outside the box, or at least explore possible heavy handed gray areas real close to either side of its "legal" edges. What did constitute a "heavy handed" re-winging anyway?

"Not exactly love and kisses all around heah now either, is it," Sledge observed dryly. "Just like our base barracks sometimes."

"Eh, not surprising really, given the pressure circumstances and still frayed nerves from battle," Minato sighed in embarrassment as Mutsu now began arguing with and bitching at Kazehana and Karasuba about being over worked. "After all, up until less than a month ago, they were all brainwashed to kill each other, and totally insane Karasuba was set to be the biggest serial killer of all time."

"Say WHAT? Only weeks ago?" Gunny's eyes rolled to nervously appraise the irritated Black Sekirei anew. "What happened to stop her?"

"Cash Joseph Archer happened, that's what. Riko found him, but he immediately re-winged that Karasuba monster to start rehabilitating her core. He fixed Akitsu, brought Miya out of her wounded and reclusive shell, saved Uzume, and then things really went wild after that. MBI, bad Ashikabi, and Yakuza tried to murder him, but he survived and stopped all Sekirei from killing one another when Natalie made him her Prime Leader. We all would have died here today without him too."

"Huh," Gunny frowned quizzically in disbelief. He hadn't seen any of that strategic kind of mental acuity and shiftiness in Archer from what little they had been in view of each other. "Is Archer some kind of sneaky military command and control type genius then?"

"Ummm, not from what I've seen, no," Minato shook his head, "but what do I know? I'm just trying to be a college student. It's hard to describe, but it seems Cash-san operates on psychic levels way above ours. How high we don't really know because he learns quickly under pressure and shows new levels each time, at least as far as mental shielding of us. But he still has no offensive powers per se other than he can draw power from others and push that to his Circle who are the real power wielders.

"As far as making winning strategy, all we know is he somehow pulls through and wins every time. And carries us all with him, first against MBI's Plan and now the Rigelians. And he protects us all while appealing to the very depths of a Sekirei's nature to have and give love. There's been a few troubles along the way, but they all would die for him now if need be, and also Kazehana as their command and control too. Cash-san not knowing much about warfare is kinda scary in a way, but that's the way it is, and so far it works."

"Momma Sledge always said a winning attitude meant everything, but Ah ain't sure she envisioned this," Gunny snorted quietly in doubt to himself since having the world's fate now in the hands of a gifted yet highly erratic amateur was pretty unsettling.

"... I can't do everything! I only got two hands, dammit!" Mutsu was still bitching when Gunny tuned him back in. "Kouji's the one that said he could easily build a rail gun! And he thinks he's got his anti-gravity equations right. Let him and Riko build you an offensive weapons platform in space to fight the Rigelians. There's all kinds of parts for it down in Mother's engineering section. You're going to need those two and Matsu to strip the ship's heavier technologies anyway. I have no time to chase Minaka!"

"You WILL damn well help us get those other seven jinki from Minaka as soon as we can locate him precisely! OR I'll kick your ass until you do!" Karasuba's dark eyes were angrily glowing at her brother's continued recalcitrance.

"Aki-chan says he's close, but just where is garbled. You've seen the specs about the jinki in Mum's tech readouts and what they can do when used by a meshed Sekirei battle group to enhance their power. We BOTH know we're gonna have to have them to maximize our combined talents against the Rigelians! Now get with OUR program, at least for now, damn you!"

"All right! All right! I will assist you in retrieving the jinki too! And if I get done with transferring gestalts and helping Seo in time, maybe I can also aid in installing a pulse cannon and a couple of hyper lasers on that platform. Better I should go with Sayomi and coordinate activating the Lunar Defense Ring with her mother and her global Order. But for NOW I need to start saving Mother! And I'm hungry!"

Silence settled down over the control room as Karasuba fought for control of her temper. Mutsu actually flinched back slightly, mentally kicking himself for letting his own temper push things too far. What was being commanded of him was actually not unreasonable since he was Number 05 after all, and much should be expected of him as well as the other low numbers. And he REALLY wanted his own Petal battle group. He turned to bow in quasi surrender at Kazehana.

"Fine, get started, and we'll send hot food," Kazehana finally gave him a somewhat placating nod. Mutsu turned away and rolled his eyes in continued thinly disguised irritation at once again being bested and backed down by his sister before leaving to wire up Yume's body.

Kazehana also shot a darting warning glance at a still fuming Karasuba to now PLEASE keep silent. There was no time for any more long seated sibling rivalries and feuding. After a short cool down time out, Kazehana turned to Kouji who was still eying the mass hysteria scenes shown in the continuing global news feeds as well as examining Mikogami's red jewel global grid device.

"What do you think, Kouji-kun?" Kazehana asked pleasantly.

"No thinking needed. This is just a cheap Chinese knock off," Kouji sniffed derisively from his console seat. He tossed Mikogami's jewel grid device aside as if he were discarding a badly burnt fruit kebab. "Not a top end grid vid and at least two months obsolete too. He got ripped off.

"Limited to 9G LTE coverage too. All it has is standard think texting, the usual unlimited cloud memory and storage, medium res holographic recording and projection with alteration lock out, standard secure signal and location verification, an outdated Cray XC70 interface, and 3D fax/print out mode that's not even subatomic. I've got two back in my apartment only a month old that have five times the power of this global grid piece of junk.

"But Miko was right about the world deserving to know what is threatening us all. I mean, don't you think they should learn the real truth about the world's Sekirei and human interbreeding history? Not to mention the current situation of very nasty, space traveling, Rigelian carnivores coming to use the Earth for an amphibian newt warrior breeding and feeding ground with humans as their main livestock?"

"And just how do you propose we do that?" Karasuba demanded irritably. "Without causing worse riots?"

"Well, I'm no social genius," Kouji began while totally indifferent to and yet understanding of her somewhat snarky tone. Muts was a pisser to deal with for everybody. Kouji looked blankly at the ship's console for a few seconds before continuing.

"But it seems to me, to help STOP the panic, we need someone with real world wide credibility to speak, and not Mikogami. Since she has already been seen as the Sekirei fighting hero in this last battle, I think Giant Natalie should make a speech to explain what is happening, what we're doing, and what preparations need to be made to meet the threat. And there's no guarantees we're gonna win the next battles or find and kill all the Rigelian survivors that might land on Earth even if we do. But our odds will be better if the Earth's almost 8 billion people and their military power were helping us.

"The least we can do is let them all download a free little grid app I've made to let everyone in the world use their vid grids as infrared body heat scanners. Since they're amphibian evolved, the Rigelians and any hybrid human offspring of theirs will always have body temperatures well below normal humans and Sekirei. They would have to constantly run around in easily spotted full body heat wrap clothing to circumvent a scan. Even doing that, sooner or later they would still be caught by a panicked population requiring everyone to submit to scratch and body temp exams."

"That app is a really good idea, but Mummy is off line, Little Einstein," Karasuba poetically pointed out. "Probably gonna stay that way whether Mutsy screws the pooch downloading her or not."

"Have Riko and Uzume outfit you, Kazehana," Kouji shrugged with continued indifference to Karasuba's touchy attitude and lack of confidence in her twin. He actually kinda liked Karasuba since she was a no nonsense, utterly truthful, straight to the heart of a matter type like him, just a lot more bitchy about it. Besides, Mutsu would probably succeed since he had a world class mind after all, not anywhere near Riko or Kouji's of course, but adequate. At least, adequate enough with Himeko and her healing crew very greatly boosting the chances of Mutsu's endeavors.

"Copy Natalie's uniform, cape, shield, sword, and war bird mask. No one will notice any difference since she was recorded from a distance. I can rig things to make you look like a giant, Kazehana. Anything you can do to calm the global hysteria as Ultraman type Natalie would be better than Miko recording an aggrandizing selfie in front of the control room monitors as if he was in the middle of the last battle.

"You'd probably need to use him to introduce you though, and use his grid vid's I.P. and GPS locator. Both would give you instant location credibility and make the world listen to you on his You Tube, Homie, and Twitter channels too. I could even hack a giant 3D hologram of your recorded speech into the United Nations General Assembly along with a life sized, 3D fax copy of a Rigelian newt. That kind of drama may be essential since the world changed forever today. It's up to you. I'll do whatever you want, Kazehana."

Karasuba nodded her agreement but scuffed at the floor peevishly since she was still irate from the earlier fatuous harangue from Mutsu. Without Cash's warm conscious feel constantly caressing her mind, it just felt like a great night to kick somebody's ass, especially Mutsu's. And she was damn worried that Cash hadn't woke up yet like he should have.

"Okay, uhhh, thanks, Kouji-kun, and maybe I'll think more a little later about that speech," Kazehana agreed diplomatically while sending another silent plea at Karasuba to dial it down a little, "Namiji told me that you have been on a number of research and design teams for various university and industrial science projects in the past. I want to tap you to lead something similar now. Just now I was actually asking about the possibility of you and Riko building an effective orbital weapon to use against whatever Rigelian ships get past the Lunar Defense Ring.

"We also have to have this ship to be stripped before the interior gets slagged, and especially save and relocate the stasis healing tanks to the MBI base infirmary. We'll use the gymnasium to house, protect, and conceal everything else salvaged from the ship until it can be properly assessed and utilized. Time is also quickly running out for us to safely encase the anti-matter core inside Mother's cracked containment shields. Can you and your Circle handle and lead all that for me? I can assign quite a few Sekirei to you and Namiji for the physical labor and transporting stuff too, but we'll have to set up a rest and food rotation. Everybody's beat."

"I'll HAVE to have Riko to help, right? And Matsu and Kochou when I need them?" Kouji squinted up at them. "And Uzume for making stuff we can't scrounge as well as build some kind of overall housing? She is just as crucial with her talents. Maybe even Kuruse who can conjure too. And I can use whatever I need within the ship? If so, then we could probably knock something workable together and get it powered up by a small cold fusion plant in 24 hours or so. We could even make it look like a small Sekirei rock ship just for kicks. I'm sure my anti-gravity equations will work too, as long as I have Riko to help me with the coil windings and field generator build."

"Cold fusion? With output power required on that scale?" Gunny exclaimed in spite of having been determined to stay in the background and watch. "And anti-gravity? Really?"

"Awww sure," Kouji frowned at having his factual assertions being questioned. "The anti-gravity is mostly mine, but Natalie's data banks are full of some really great technologies like that; cold fusion plants, advanced super computer designs, ion engines, ambient temperature superconductors, low power water desalination, Tesla type power broadcasters, and high return power generation from wind, solar, salt water, gas hydrates, and even hydro-kinetic power sources.

"Other than her anti-matter warp drives, most of all that are actually pretty simple to build with the right materials. I built a multi-phased cold fusion generator in middle school lab, but any sharp kid could nowadays. It's just that Natalie's technology is exponentially lighter, smaller, and much more powerful. That's where Riko's talents come in. Some of the stuff we'd have to make has never been synthesized on Earth, yet. Those mean we HAVE to have Uzume too. Nobody does what Uzume does except maybe Kuruse a little, just like Riko, as well as Matsu and Kochou on our electrical and computer needs. I can oversee the projects, no problem, but actually getting them done, especially in a short time frame, NEED those five Sekirei."

"Tuck your greedy little eyeballs back into their sockets, Sergeant," Karasuba warned softly. "None of Mummy's tech nor Kouji's is gonna go to your thieving general or any other country's military shits. Nor any Sekirei DNA for any of your fucking human lab monsters to play with either."

"Okay, okay," Gunny held up his hands and palms out while kicking himself for not keeping his mouth shut. There was a LOT of murderous hatred in that tone of hers for some reason. Obviously a bad vibe from the past about human monsters that had done something very nasty that she had resented greatly. But man, workable cold fusion AND anti-gravity? The little nerd genius guy was right. The world had forever changed today in more ways than one. That was very unsettling too.

"You'll have whoever and whatever you need, Kouji-kun," Kazehana ignored the exchange but did sigh in exasperation. Karasuba got the message and visibly forced herself to relax. "Just notify Karasuba after she gets something nerve soothing to eat. Coordinating both our battle prep and defense is still her responsibility. Any idea what caused the four explosions up north that helped save our tushes earlier?"

"Well, nothing exact," Kouji frowned again as he nodded toward the global newscasts on the video screens, "however they're reporting that the Americans have lost contact with one of their latest nuclear submarines operating in the waters off Kamakura Island. It is the USS Mandrake commanded by Captain Roland G. Nelson. From what I could search on unclassified sites, that sub is well enough armed to cause a LOT of explosions and many much bigger than what our sensors recorded here. There wasn't any radiation fallout from nukes though.

"The most likely scenario is our Rigelian friends up north got at least four high explosive warhead torpedoes up THEIR tushes from an unlikely and heretofore unknown ally of ours. But we do have video intercepts of a low flying American recon drone scanning the island during the battle matching the same wavelength signature of the blinking light drone Mutsu conversed with before the fighting began. Occam's Razor suggests that was most likely the USS Mandrake's too. Remember the "Life is Precious, Love Essential" exchanges with it?"

"You should probably use that line as the opening intro to your United Nations speech then, Windy. Sweetums would definitely approve it," Karasuba advised before turning to Gunny and adding as a minor olive branch, "It seems you Yankees are getting to be kinda handy to have around, bub."

"Well, we do try to be, ma'am," Gunny replied gruffly while trying not to scowl, "but there's no need to insult a true son of Moselle, Mississippi by calling me a damn Yankee. Is there any chance you folks would let me contact our base and inform them of our continued survival? Ah would like to see our lieutenant too. Where is he?"

"He's floating in healing suspended animation with a bunch of Chinese sailors down in Mum's stasis tanks," Karasuba shrugged at her failing small attempt to make nice. "They're going to stay there as long as possible too so we don't have to screw with taking care of 'em.

"As far as your thieving base commanders being contacted, uh uh, not yet, and not until it's more convenient for us to deal with any blow back. We don't need to encourage any half assed rescue attempts while we're up to butts in our own troubles, see? And you're my prisoners on parole, remember? Besides, they got their own bigger troubles than you being incommunicado right now."

"We'll try to expedite contact later, Gunny-san," Kazehana smiled with an understanding expression while nodding in agreement at Karasuba. "And Mikogami's Homie video did show you and your men alive and fighting when Mother Natalie did her giant Ultraman thing. I'm sure your commanders are currently somewhat mollified with that knowledge. If I make one, I can possibly add a quick word of praise for you, your men, and the USS Mandrake's battle help during my speech to the U.N. too."

"Min-kun," Kazehana turned to her former Ashikabi. Her smile faded as she reached with one hand to tenderly brush a few strands away from sleeping Kusano's face. She locked eyes with him.

"I have been very cowardly in avoiding and not apologizing to you for my disloyalty and betrayal of our former bond." Her eyes teared up, but she fought them back as she bowed her head. "I am very sorry I hurt you and disappointed you and my Sisters as well as, as, myself. I feel very bad about it, and I have no idea what to do other than apologize as honestly as I can."

"We both know," Minato smiled sadly in return as he patted Kusano's back with his off hand. "You and I would never have meshed like you have with Cash-san. And Natalie would never have chosen me for her Prime Leader either. It is better this way, for all of us, and you have grown into the very beautiful, caring, and loved Prime Pillar we need. I am so proud of you Kaze-chan. Now you are happy, satisfied, and loved like you've always dreamed. I too am happy as well, and as you know, have my hands very full with Ku-chan and the others. Taki and the Whip Twins are much happier too. It has worked out well for everyone, so let's all just do our best from now on, together."

"Take Ku-chan up to Miya," Kazehana said softly, the look in her eyes even softer. "Have her make a place for you both to sleep. And thank you Min-kun, you and my Sisters for being so loyal and understanding. Let them all rest for now and be available for work rotation in a few hours.

"When she wakes up, tell Ku-chan that I promise tomorrow we will be building a hot springs Shrine of Life for Kishi-Bojin, Goddess of Children and Childbirth. A statue of Mommy Natalie will be inside holding another of Ku-chan under a banner theme of 'Life is Precious and Love Essential'. Then Ku-chan can use all her seeds to make the island pretty with flowers, grass, and trees again just the way she wants."

Minato nodded silently before yawning. The warm and forgiving expression in his eyes was unmistakable. The small, uncomfortable tension was now clear between them. Bowing his head politely, he turned away to carry Kusano up to sleep. Kazehana watched them go before looking at a fidgeting Karasuba.

"Okay. All our immediate crap has been handled," Karasuba scowled in agitation. "NOW can we go down and find out what the hell is wrong with Sweetums? He is STILL out! Why?"

"Himeko doesn't know," Kazehana shook her head, the full black mane of her hair emphatically swaying back and forth over her battle suit's torso as she did so. "I want you to stay up here with Seo, Haihane, and Sanada to supervise our overall security. Get all of you some hot food, and keep a lid on your temper for me, will ya? Or at least have Aki-chan help you with it like we agreed."

"Okay, okay," Karasuba grimaced in acknowledgment. "Sorry. I'll do better, but it's tough being smooth, ya know? Especially with Sweetums shielded from us. It just isn't me, but I'll lay low here for ya."

"Good. If some threat comes, call all hands. Right now I will go down and rest with Lover-kun for an hour or so. Then we'll swap. Save some food for me. If I learn anything new in the meantime, I'll come and tell you. Gunny-san, would you escort me down to see my man as well as your lieutenant? We can talk on the way. Please?"

"Why shore, Ma'am. Be proud to."

Gunny frowned anew. There were more and obviously kept quiet troubles with their top commander Archer? Damn. That didn't sound good at all. He kept his eyes moving in curiosity as they left the ship's almost empty control room and walked down a long interior passageway, but so far, the insides of the Sekirei space ship looked little different than an over sized naval vessel and just about as functionally plain.

"Mrs. Kazehana, ma'am. Ah shore do appreciate the hot rice soup you folks gave to us before you all asked me to join your pow wow. We ain't seen nothing moving beyond the perimeter fence for awhile either. Not since your fighters came back earlier from hunting down what alien newt strays Mrs. Akitsu could sense. Didn't take 'em long for that. Ah heard you say there's gonna be another more thorough sweep too. That's good, Ma'am. Might ease our minds a little out theah."

"Yes, well, you're welcome for the soup, Sergeant," Kazehana smiled wearily at his easy politeness. It was kind of refreshing to have a man other than Cash make her feel respected and accepted as an equal even though she didn't feel she really deserved it.

"I want to apologize for the cavalier way you and your men have been treated by a lot of us. And our little skull session in the control room wasn't very pretty or flattering for us either. We're still pretty inept at this team thing, aren't we?"

"Yeah, a little, but you folks learn almighty quick," Gunny Sledge chuckled softly. "The fact is Ma'am, you all have impressed the hell outta me heah, and Ah don't impress easy. There ain't a combined military force in the world capable of doing what you folks just did to resist the mind control and then fight off those monsters, let alone kick their alien butts. So we all had a little luck and timely help too, but for your first major battle together, you all came together fast and learned even faster. Ah'd say you done yourselves mighty proud, ma'am, mighty proud indeed. It's been a real honor to fight by your sides."

"Well, we're very greatly indebted to you and your men for aiding us, however our situation, and even that of the entire planet, is still very dire. Perhaps in for a very, long hard slog of a fight for a long time to come as you would say."

"Yes ma'am, we know," Gunny nodded then cocked his head sideways as Kazehana began lightly wringing her hands in obvious agitation. "What can we help you with?"

"I want to make it clear that you do not have to obey my commands. For now, I would like to ASK you and your men to willingly continue keeping watch for the night so I can free up as many of my people to rest, eat, and then work later. And please be patient with us in the future?"

"Well, Ma'am, Ah shore don't know what the future holds for all of us, but from now on, or at least until we can go back to base, you and your fella can shore count on me and my boys to help y'all and be patient too. We really like your win or die trying attitude. And if'n you and your Sisters don't mind for tonight, you can just continue to leave perimeter fence watch to your Kamakura Island Recon Marine Platoon, temporarily on detached duty from our 3rd Battalion."

"Thank you so much, Gunny-san, but about your return to your base, and even why Karasuba and I didn't want you to contact your superiors yet," Kazehana paused to word the next as diplomatically as she knew how.

"I'm aware that we're facing, ummm, very unique difficulties together. Especially if we can defeat as well as survive the coming invasion from space. Have you considered that afterward you and your men will have been in constant contact with us since the first battle began? From very sad and bitter experiences in the past, we fear your government. It might never let you and your men see the light of day again in trying to gain an advantage over other countries from what you have seen and experienced while here on Kamakura Island. Sometimes just knowing a new thing can be done is precious top secret knowledge for pointing weapon makers in that direction. We've been fighting against that and more here for decades."

A long poignant silence followed as they walked silently down the passageway, his combat and her Karasu suit boots making muffled thuds on the floor's thin but spongy surface covering.

"They're gonna wring us dry and squeegee us flat for info, that's for shore," Gunny finally said while rubbing his jaw in concern. "Maybe for a very long time. Might even be scared to contaminate other troops by having us around them too. Got a big feeling just now that any normal Recon career is probably ended for us Marines after this is all over, if we win of course. We gotta maintain a little winning optimism heah, right?"

Even though he had tried to keep it light at the end, Kazehana's heart went out to him when she felt the deep despair from the sad and despairing thoughts going through him about his Marine career being ended. The weight of it settled down onto her just like all the other heavy troubles she was carrying. It all made her just want to fall to her knees and start crying for him.

"Let's worry over that when the time comes, Ma'am," Gunny said softly as Kazehana's facial expression immediately reflected her increased distress. "And Ma'am, y'all need to just trust your people. They seem pretty capable if a little testy. Don't carry the whole load. Y'all break that load down into pieces small enough for y'all to tackle together as they come due. It'll make that command weight pressing down on you that you're feeling now a whole lot lighter, Ma'am. And we'll be here to help y'all too."

"Gunny-chan," Kazehana smiled wearily up at him. "Before you decide whether you want to return to your base or not, I want you to know what we really are. As you can see, my Sisters and I are not even close to normal, not even by Sekirei standards. Until very recently, Karasuba was a universally hated, cold hearted, blood thirsty, and highly ambitious serial killer."

"I kinda figured she had some lingering issues, Ma'am," Gunny cleared his throat diplomatically. "But she's battle weary, hungry, and worried about your Archer fella too. You all are, right?"

"Yes, but it doesn't excuse poor behavior from us. My bond mate Toyotama has barely handled dealing with her very dark and violent past which in some ways is just as nasty and maybe even more emotionally heartbreaking than Karasuba's. She and Uzume both have had some very deep anger, murderous, and, ummm, gender appeal issues.

"Himeko was very emotionally damaged during her first winging and also has a bloody history. Akitsu was and still is partially brain damaged by human experimentation while she was younger. Riko was raised without any adjustments to keep her genius brain temperamentally balanced. Miya was perhaps the most emotionally damaged of us all, and I, their Prime Pillar, the least objectionable choice among Cash's Circle for the job actually, am really just a weak, inexperienced, and sometimes way too emotional alcoholic. That's all pretty pathetic too, isn't it?"

"Eh," Gunny chuckled in appreciation of her candor. So by inference, here was probably the real role of that Archer fella in the whole scheme of things. It wasn't that he was a fighting leader at all. He simply gave all the Sekirei a solid, rally around type of emotional stability, especially his bonded, insane, high powered, lead Sekirei females. Not a human setup for sure, but what the hell. It had worked.

"Having seen y'all in action, Ah think your people made the right choice in you, Ma'am, so don't be too hard on yourself. Most great leaders in history had some pretty big warts, and most scholars agree that Alexander the Great was little more than a battle gifted but murderous drunk. Ah'm not particularly worried about the pasts of y'all either. It's how y'all fight today and plan to win tomorrow that's important to me and even to this planet. From what Ah've seen so far, you've all obviously grown a lot, and y'all got a great capacity as well as a desire to get better."

"Mother Natalie has tasked us to defend this planet and the entire Solar System for the Kouten Empire and the Galactic Federation to which it belongs." Kazehana also half chuckled despite of her deep feelings of inferiority for the job. "There's no one else that can, so it looks like we've GOT to grow. Here's the entrance to the ship's suspended animation and healing tanks. Duck your head after the iris opens. Your lieutenant is floating in that far tank of blue bubbly liquid, alive but sleeping deeply so as to have his very bad burns healed without leaving any scars."

"Thank you, Ma'am."

Gunny nodded in appreciation as he glanced around the cavernous enclosure then down at the sleeping Dryas Petals arranged in two circles on their makeshift futons. He began walking towards the distant tank were he saw small figures floating in total immersion. Kazehana briefly watched him go before kneeling down beside Cash's comatose body.

"Still no change?" She asked Himeko who was tenderly cradling Cash's head in her lap. Himeko's long but delicate healing fingers gently caressed his forehead over and over.

"No," Himeko frowned in worry. "I am very uneasy however. Our Love hasn't responded once whenever I use my healing powers to wake him. But I can't feel anything wrong within his body or his sleeping mind either. It's just feels like his mind shield is up, a new type of shield actually, but I don't know why. That bothers me too except, well, he doesn't know we've won, right? I'm thinking maybe his unconscious mind is still protecting all of us from the Rigelian psychic attacks until he can regenerate enough power to come awake."

Kazehana chewed her lower lip in consternation. All her other troubles faded in comparison to this one. She like her Sisters could still feel Cash's darkened mind that had gone unconscious before the battle ending explosions, but they all really missed his warm conscious presence, calm encouragement, and supporting confidence in them. He SHOULD have come awake by now but hadn't. Why?

"Okay, that MIGHT be it. He has shown great adaptive powers for defensive shielding that none of us have."

"I don't think he's in any physical danger," Himeko continued with her eyes closed in thought and sensing. "He is breathing normally. His heart is beating strongly but not racing in panic. His body temperature is normal, and he's not restless at all. What little else I or any of us can feel in Cash's mind seems sane, loving, and ordered as usual too. He just seems to be incredibly tired and sleeping very, very heavily. And his mind is differently shielded for some reason."

"Listen," Himeko's eyes snapped open to grimly look at Kazehana. "I saw Sahashi Takami up in the redoubt earlier helping to tend to our wounded. Perhaps she could examine him or knows something about this condition that we don't."

"Takami's here? Really?" Kazehana blinked in surprise.

"Yes. She said she sort of hid out from us with the stowaway Yakuza guys on Mikogami's yacht and with them afterward too. She said there was no way she was going to let Minato and Yukari face their troubles without her ever again."

"Hmph," Kazehana half snorted in derision. "A little late to finally make that motherhood choice isn't it?"

"Who cares? The point is we got a world class and experienced scientific mind here who knows more about Sekirei and Ashikabi biology than anyone but Minaka. Let's get her down her to look at Our Love! Besides, we still have some very severely wounded people I need to attend. Kusano is exhausted and Madoka and Taki are struggling. I HAVE to help them."

"All right. Go get Takami and then heal our wounded. I'll stay here with Lover-kun."

The two Prime Sisters exchanged places with Himeko standing and giving Cash one last lingering and worried look before palming the tank iris open and leaving.

Finally able to relax a little, Kazehana gently reached out to brush the soft brown curls of his hair off his forehead. Minato had been right. Her feelings of love for Cash were far beyond anything she had experienced with Minato and Minaka combined. What Yume had always believed and wanted to come true for all Sekirei had definitely happened to Kazehana. Her Ashikabi and their shared love was the absolute center of her life.

Looking at the calm look on his sleeping features, his firm jaw, wide set eyes, high forehead, and even his rather straight and a little prominent nose, Kazehana's heart melted anew. Her Ashikabi might not be the handsomest man alive, but oh how she loved him!

In some ways Cash was just a really cute, innocent little boy, Kazehana thought fondly, not knowing his own strengths and extents of his talents. She was so proud of him too. When crunch time had come in the battle and despite his inexperience and lack of training, her man hadn't hesitated to throw himself into protecting her and everyone else with all he had. Nor withheld one iota of his unifying love. It defied logic and reason, and yet Lover-kun was a real common sense and pragmatic type of adult guy too, sure of who and what he was, warts and all.

He was so internally strong also, much, much more than her, but why wasn't he waking up? He had come awake pretty quickly after the redoubt battle and Natalie's old Ultraman hero type rescue of them all. He should have come awake soon after Himeko had looked him over and lovingly touched him as well, not to mention since. Could it just be that Cash was very, very tired and mentally over strained?

Glancing to her left and beyond the sixteen exhausted and sleeping Petals, Kazehana looked at the far end of the tank where the rescued Chinese sailors and now the burned Marine lieutenant still floated comatose in the blue and bubbly healing fluids. Gunny was still staring at them in wonder. More decisions that had to be made soon, she grimaced and sighed to herself. Cash would know what to do with them if he were awake though, and how to help her with them too.

If they were successful in repelling the Rigelian space invasion, then other decisions would have to be made later on where they were ultimately going to live. Especially if Cash was adamant in pitching for the Muckdogs again. That would also be the time to figure out how to win the hearts and make peace with species bigoted, fearful, and even animosity filled human kind.

To that end perhaps Sekirei technology could be bartered, but not the laser and pulse cannon weaponry. Cash would never agree to that. However, nationalistic and individual greed would have to be effectively circumvented. Kouji's anti-gravity breakthrough alone would be a world civilization changing event once unveiled, but then he deserved to be recompensed for his work there too. Set those troubles aside to worry over later as Gunny had suggested.

There would be more than technology advances required though. Humans like Corporal Jack Wilson would be very stubborn and hard to convince to now openly share the Earth even though they had been doing it on the sneak since the dawn of mankind.

What to do with the Recon Marines on Kamakura Island now though? Kazehana shook her head slightly. They had fought so bravely. It wasn't fair for them to be punished for that. Maybe Cash could decide what to do for them once he woke up, IF he woke up. Why wasn't he?

On an impulse, Kazehana leaned down to put her forehead against Cash's brow. Yes. It did feel like he was shielded in maybe some new way. After all, he had shown an ability to instantly adapt and grow when mentally attacked by the very powerful mind of the alien leader. Cash's mind might be dark and uncommunicative now, but he was still "Cash".

Was something wrong because he wasn't waking up? Something about his comatose mind just didn't feel quite right, did it? Yet, she could feel a little confusion, or was it fear of facing some unknown type of terror? Was it left over memories from when he was almost eaten in the ship's passageway before Himeko and Karasuba saved him? Or something new? Was this confused fear his or hers or maybe one of her Sisters? Kazehana couldn't tell. She sat up. The only thing she could do now was wait for Takami to arrive and try to wake her Ashikabi.

She reviewed all that had been troubling them. Their many immediate problems had been dealt with as best as she could delegate. Their people and wounded were being cared for. So was Natalie and the ship's disposition. Kamakura Island was a secure as they could make it for now. The world's Petals were gathering in Tokyo. The Rigelians were coming. Preparations were in the making to fight them. She probably should soon do her best to calm as well as warn and prepare a panicked Earth. And for now, she could do nothing more for comatose Cash except agonize over him and mentally plead for him to wake up.

Wait. Would it be safe to move him topside when the stasis tanks were removed? What if there was another mind cloaked Rigelian on Earth powerful enough to attack, and one she and her Sisters couldn't detect? It would be better to have him mentally buffered down here as long as possible. He would have to go topside before the interior was slagged though. She as well as her Sisters would just have to be his psychic buffer when that happened.

The only other thing left for her to worry about, Kazehana realized, was about how she and her Sisters could fix Uzume and Riko's ongoing meshing problems. And there, Kazehana KNEW, right there, Uzume and Riko, were the worst of all their current and immediate troubles.

***scene break***

A small part of what made Cash aware of himself, or that he actually was a being named Cash, knew he was in big trouble. He had lost most of his mind and had no idea how to find it, or even where to look. That was bad, he decided after a brief reflection on his current state. And how had he gotten this way?

He reviewed what he knew. It wasn't much. He was a male named Cash. He loved to pitch and play baseball. His Mom was nuts. His sister was a pest. He was a total loser when it came to females, and he hated fish and liver. That wasn't a whole lot for a fella to orient himself around now was it?

Looking around he could see there was a lot of weird darkness surrounding that part where the rest of his brain had always been. That big missing part probably knew a lot more about him, he decided, but it was definitely gone. And he didn't even have a body. At least, not one he could see. That seemed downright crazy right there. Say. Had he finally gone completely nuts like his mother?

Wait. If he could "see", that meant he had some kind of "eyes", right? But where was the rest of him? And where was he anyway? Damn. Not only had he lost most of his mind and body, he was also simply lost and had no idea where he was. Yep. No doubt about it. This was BIG trouble all right.

Cash didn't like being lost at all, or even feeling that way. The first time it had happened was the time his Mom and Dad had taken him to a Cub game at Wrigley Field when he was four years old. Standing in an upper mezzanine line at a crowded Chicago Style Hot Dog stand, he had been bumped hard enough by the passing crowd to make his hand get yanked out of his Mom's. Then he was all of a sudden being swept along in a bunch of moving legs. He yelled repeatedly in alarm, but his Mom and Dad must not have heard him because they didn't take his hand again like they had always done.

He hadn't panicked, but he had immediately known that what had happened had been very WRONG. Before he could worm his way to the edge of the big peoples' legs, they had shoved him onto an entrance at the top of concrete stairs overlooking a HUGE bowl below with filled seats of yelling people all around the place. Looking down at the yawning enclosed expanse had made his tummy feel very queasy. And how was he going to find Mom and Dad in this weird mob?

More strange people had been walking up and down the stairs either looking to sit or carrying stuff like bags of peanuts and popcorn, plastic helmets filled with nacho chips and cheese, hot dogs and buns, and cans of iced beer with cups turned upside down over them. A few even threw the peanuts at folks and got money back. It was funny when folks missed catching the nuts. Those peanut bags had either bounced off the faces of the ones trying to catch them or beaned the unaware ball fan beside them. Even then money was passed back to the thrower.

Some guys in Cub jerseys were waving flags and t-shirts and other dumb looking stuff that made noises to get money given to them too. This looked like a good place to get rich. Shoot, even he could throw peanut bags to hit people and wave crap to get paid for it. None of those people had been his Mom and Dad though. This had worried him greatly.

No one had seemed to care that little Cash was lost and unaccompanied either, let alone much, much too far up those long, high stairs by himself. Ma NEVER let him play at the top of the stairs at home or even stand there alone. That's because looking down at the front room floor far below always made him barf. Ma didn't like it when he barfed, but his Dad had always been tolerantly amused.

That was why it was probably a good thing that his concerned yet mostly calm Dad had found him a few minutes later instead of his wild eyed, screaming, and totally panicked Ma. Geez, had she been pissed at him for getting lost, even though it hadn't been his fault at all! That was when he first realized his Ma was one really screwy woman, and it had made him wary to be around her after that experience. He never really cared for Chicago Style Hot Dogs since then either. Too many onions and other garden crap on them.

Feeling very worried and uneasy just as he had as a lost little kid at Wrigley Field, and especially feeling up way too high once again, Cash strained to look for something, anything in the darkness surrounding him. Then, as if a black hood covering him had been whipped away, his "sight" returned all at once.

Now the trouble was worse. All Cash could "see" were pinpoints of colored lights far below him that stretched out over a dark, vast, semi-globular horizon. Those lights below seemed to feel like … people? Not cities? What the heck? What had happened? And how did he get up here? Was that Earth at night down there even though he couldn't see land masses or edges of the oceans? If it wasn't, why did it still seem like he was floating in space?

This was also pretty worrisome because he was just an adult baseball pitcher, not a little kid, and for sure not some space walking astronaut. He didn't even have a spaceship let alone a body in a space suit. Besides, he HATED heights, and it made him feel really sick in the stomach he didn't have. Kazehana wasn't humping his mitt this time either. Kazehana? Who was she? The part of his mind that was missing must know her, but where was she? Not up here that was for sure. He was totally alone. Why? Matter of fact, where was everybody?

He swiveled his "eyes" to look up and all around too. There was a giant cluster of blinking red lights some distance away that were maybe even, what … angry? At him? What for? He hadn't barfed, yet. The multicolored lights way, way below FELT more friendly, but those other angry guys way out there, man, there was something just WRONG with them. They weren't even people either. He wished they would just go away and leave him alone. What had he ever done to them anyway? He was a live and let live kind of guy, right?

Ouch. His efforts to "see" were giving him a throbbing headache like the time he had first met Riko and fell off a roof. THAT had really been a terrifying moment, more than being lost as a kid too. Just like when he had been falling with Kazehana after barfing on some bullet train way far below.

That's right. He had fallen when he had first met Kazehana too, but who was Riko? Another female? Oh yeah. Terror. Riko was The Pink Robot Terrorist of Tokyo messing with his head just before he had a game to pitch, ummm, when? And where? Trying to remember made his partial brain throb harder. He was lost, alone, sick to his non existent tummy, had a headache in a head that was mostly gone, and the body he didn't have was, was …. falling? Again? From way up HERE?

YAHHHHHHHHHH!

Cash squeezed his "eyes" shut and instinctively tensed himself for life ending impact. None came. Long, long minutes passed until the falling feeling ceased. After several more long moments, he cautiously cracked his right "eye" open. The outer space type of view of Earth was simply gone. All he saw was total darkness again. He opened both of his "eyes" wide. There was nothing all around him except there seemed to be a very faint, very thin, and golden glowing thread below and going away from him to, to … where?

Perplexed, Cash eyed the thread suspiciously. What was it? There was a familiar "terror" feel to it, but he'd never actually seen anything like it before. At least this remaining part of his mind hadn't. Well, hell, there didn't seem to be anything dangerous here and there was nothing else to "see" or feel in the darkness. He somehow moved along the gold thread, and as he went, it kind of rolled up inside him in some fashion that felt strange. Was this part of his lost mind? Or could it at least lead him to the missing part?

It wasn't long before he "saw" and felt something on the end of the thread. Hey! It was part of a brain! But, ummm, Cash was immediately sure it wasn't his. He was very certain he had never had such thoughts like these before.

This partial brain was thinking about mostly unknown things and concepts that seemed like pure gibberish. They had some recognizable words but no meaning to them. There were things like Hamiltonian operators, neodynium magnets, modified Rodin starship coils, Helmholtz torus, ferrofluid rotors, and gravimetric fields of rotating superconductors and ionized noble gas plasmas stimulated to the proper frequency to maximize vortex lifting. Those concepts were also all being combined and matched up to some kind of really intricate mathematical symbols and equations. Whoa. This other partial brain was really WEIRD.

Still, it meant partial Cash wasn't all alone now. Cautiously, he sent out a small and subtle thought question. Who are you?

_"Riko."_

The female Riko who had made him fall off a roof? And messed up his pitching? Rats. No wonder that thin, faint gold thread between them had felt like terror. Not a lot of hope for getting help from this one then, but, dang it, she was all he had. Okay. Time to pump her for more information, but he had to try to be sly about it in case she was still dangerous to be around. Start with something obvious. What are you doing?

_"Integrating a small fusion generator's power grid into an orbital anti-gravimetric drive so that it could also power up an energy detecting plasma pulse cannon, two hyper lasers, and a magnetic field guided rail gun that would fire 20 kilogram ferrous projectiles every five seconds at 1.3002% light speed. Each would have an impact force of 158.992 terajoules or a 38 kiloton fission bomb. _

_ Also designing a 99.9937% effective and hack proof loading, targeting, and firing solution program for Natalie's robot to pilot the Forkball weapons platform while evading return fire. Launch, engagement, and return commands would be left to Matsu. Gotta keep the platform's power to weight ratios within Kouji's anti-gravity lifting parameters for all the hardware though. Best to have Uzume use Mother's entwined, multi-walled carbon nanotubes layered and reinforced by her hull's ultralight metallic micro lattice material between them. That way we can load a lot more rail gun ammo on the Forkball, and it will still have a virtually impenetrable hull."_

Whoa. Maybe not so obvious then. Matsu? Pulse cannon? Hyper lasers? Rail Gun? 38 Kiloton impacts? 3 times bigger than the Hiroshima bomb? Now how had he known that last fact? Or that this Riko chick sounded a lot like one of Commander Shepard's military minions right out of that old Mass Effect 2 role playing video game proclaiming Sir Isaac Newton as the deadliest son-of-a-bitch in space?

Huh. Yeah, now he remembered. As a kid he had sometimes snuck inside Old Man Wilson's barn to play ME 2 on his old Xbox 360 on rainy and/or grounded days to escape being around his bratty sister, snooping aunts, and nutcase mother. It wasn't long before he decided he liked being Link in the Legend of Zelda better than playing any third person shooter game though. That was because Princess Zelda had been a young wanker's dream girl.

Still, even though replaced by a slew of later versions, old ME 2 had some kinda cool dialogue for a young goof that was always being grounded by his crazy mother. It was kinda neat renaming the squad minions using his screwy sister's cheat engines too. How had that one lecture went?

Gunnery Chief Riko: Serviceman Cash! What is Newton's first law?

Serviceman Cash: Sir! An object in motion stays in motion, sir!

Gunnery Chief Riko: No credit for partial answers, maggot!

Serviceman Cash: Sir! Unless acted on by an outside force, sir!

Gunnery Chief Riko: Damn straight! I dare to assume you ignorant jackasses know that space is empty. Once you fire this hunk of metal, it keeps going til it hits something. That can be a ship. Or the planet behind that ship. It might go off into deep space and hit somebody else in ten thousand years. If you pull the trigger on this, you are ruining someone's day, somewhere and sometime. That is why you check your targets. That is why you wait for the computer to give you a damn firing solution. That is why, Serviceman Cash, we do not "eyeball it". This is a weapon of mass destruction. You are not a cowboy shooting from the hip!

Cash mentally shook himself. Hell, he had never been a cowboy, or even accused of being one. This rehash of an old kid RPG is getting you nowhere, dummy, although a lot of folks arguably lost their brains playing video games too much. Pretty sure it didn't apply to his present predicament though. Wait a second. Why was this Riko building a space weapon platform and naming it Forkball?

_ "To try and defeat the invading Rigelian space armada that is coming to eat and/or destroy all human like life on Earth. Our weapons platform is named Forkball because even if the enemy could see the energy inert slugs coming from the rail gun, the slugs couldn't be hit just like Cash's best pitch."_

Cash's best pitch? So this Riko did know a pitcher named Cash. Rigelian space invaders? And merciless? Damn. That sounded pretty serious. More than the video game too. On the other hand, Riko sure seemed to have a pretty decent winning attitude going for her. He wondered if they were safe here, wherever here was. Where are you?

"_Down in Natalie's damaged ion engine compartment."_

Natalie. Now that was a female name he knew even if she had a damaged engine. His faint memory of Natalie seemed very warmly familiar and very helpful to Cash too. He needed to know more about her. Who is Natalie? Where was she?

_ "Mother is with Mutsu getting transferred."_

Cash thought about this for a while, and finally decided that Natalie wasn't his mother and probably not much help if she was damaged and leaving with somebody named Mutsu. All right then, this Riko was his only option for getting the big question answered. First, was she friend or foe. Do you like Cash?

_"I LOVE Cash Joseph! But he thinks I'm a lousy art critic, color challenged clown, a bigoted, alien leech masquerading as a Japanese Reality TV hustler, a pushy, domineering, nagging, stubborn, nutcase, henpecking female, a money and food hungry thief always jerking him around, a little dark cloud always screwing up the good vibes around him, spoiled, arrogant, nasty tempered, immature, a booze addled, common senseless idiot, a female birdbrained alien JONAH, a drunken, brainless, clueless, close minded, untrustworthy social clod, and a ditzy wannabe stalking girlfriend from hell with no sense of humor."_

Damn! Cash mentally winced. THAT didn't sound like an encouraging history between them at all. And it seemed she hadn't forgotten one damn slight and/or bad moment either. On the other hand, wasn't there a social law of some kind that females NEVER forgot a hasty and/or image damaging word? For YEARS! And that all males couldn't remember any of them? How had all that happened between them anyway?

_ "I ruined his Shinto Dawn painting. I made him scared of me. I made him fall off a roof and hurt his head. I've made him angry so many times. I got so jealous when he re-winged Karasuba and Akitsu and Uzume. I cheated for him ONCE during his baseball tryout and became a criminal. I stole his money. I ate all his food. I blackmailed him on TV. I made him go to a fish market and barf on a clown. I ruined his dance dinner date. I got mad at Benitsubasa. I screwed up at MBI's bathhouse. I made him so mad at me at the Tokyo Dome. He despises me more than his sister and his Ex Agnes"._

He didn't despise his sister, did he? And who was Ex Agnes? Riko had MADE him fall off a roof? Rats again. They had a VERY negative history then, but he still had the BIG question to ask her. Forget all that, how do you feel about Cash now?

_ "I want him to WANT me! NEED me! LOVE me! But not ONCE has he even smiled at me! Not ONCE has he ever said a really kind word to me! Not ONCE has he approved of anything about me!"_

Oh oh. Still on her memorized internal tirade, but at least she was making more sense than all that scientific mumbo jumbo earlier, let alone that stuff about the space invading aliens coming to eat everybody on Earth. Matter of fact, she was now so memory worked up, she had stopped building the anti-gravity rail gun, cannon, laser gizmo thingy. Might as well get it all before trying to brown nose her for help. Was there anything else bothering her about Cash?

_ "I'm so nervous to be around him! And, and, even in the battle I couldn't ask him to give me a Norito kiss because I KNEW he really didn't want to. Now I'm not even allowed in the same room with him by the others. And neither is Uzume. I thought if I fought hard for him he would finally want me and see that I could be useful, and, and be my Prince Charming!"_

Others? Uzume? Who were they? Hmmm. Riko STILL wanted HIM as her Prince Charming even though she had failed to catch his fairy tale princess interest in the past? She seemed pretty sincere and even good hearted if a little nerd type weird. Yet she LOVED Cash.

Hold on here. How did he know that this Cash of HERS was actually HIM? Somehow he remembered his nutty mother proudly proclaiming that there were only 123 other boys named Cash in the USA registers when he was born and still only 165 getting their assess kicked on the elementary school playground for that dumb name after 2003. Then Cash as a boy's name had made a huge 1,400 naming comeback after the 2007 Depression, probably from money hungry mothers needing subliminal stimulation. Those noobs would be too young for this Riko though. Therefore it was statistically unlikely that the dumb shit named Cash that had made THIS Riko so unhappy was anyone other than HIM.

So, could it be the part of his mind that was missing was some kind of chauvinistic, boneheaded, unfeeling, and judgmental social moron? That would go a long way towards why he felt like he was a total loser when it came to interacting with females, as well as why he had made Riko so miserable. Cash debated whether to ask her the big question or not, but then again, who else could he? Time to reveal himself. Better try a little brown nosing humility with it though.

Riko, ummm, this is Cash. I'm sorry to bother you while you're busy saving the Earth and all, which is really an incredibly good thing, but, ummm, I've lost most of my mind and my body. I can see where we have, ummm, kinda went sideways since we first met, and I know this is gonna sound pretty petty on my part now. But ummm, could you just give me a small break here and forgive me a little for being an idiot in the past and help me find the part of my mind that's missing? And maybe my body too?

"_Cash? Cash Joseph? It was you asking me questions and not me? I thought I was talking to myself again and, and going crazy! KINDA sideways? I've been in the toilet with you from day one! And, and, okay, so I was stupid to bad mouth your lousy painting, and, and, No! I'm sorry! It was an, an, interesting painting, really, but, but you want ME to forgive YOU? Oh! Oh! YES! And you, you forgive me too? PLEASE? Th, Th, That's not blackmail either! I mean, YES! I'll HELP you! Where are you? What happened? Why are you mentally talking to me and not the others?"_

Well, I, uhhh, geez, I don't know. Others? What others? All I know is I was in this black place, and then way up in space. Then I fell back lost, sick, and alone into more darkness, but then there was this faint golden thread that felt like terror I followed to here and found your thoughts. I don't even know how I did any of that. The only things I know for sure is I'm a baseball pitcher named Cash that has lost most of his mind and body and has a mother who is nuts. Oh, and I hate fish and liver, and I'm a loser with females. That's about it. And I'm in BIG trouble here, especially if I don't get some help pretty quick to get my brain and body back together.

_ "Terror? An emotional thread of terror? You connected to me only out of extreme fear? Oh my! That can't be good for us to, WAIT! Then this means you can only use your very highest mental band right now? And I must be on it? And, and I can be useful? For once? Because only Natalie and I have that activated as unadjusted... OH NO! Then the others don't KNOW! Even Miya since she was adjusted by Takehito when they first began experimenting on... But I'm NOT meshed with the others and Natalie! This is BAD! We need Kazehana! And Miya and … NO! NO! NO! We REALLY need Akitsu!"_

Akitsu? Who's that?

_ "OH WOW! KOUJI!"_

Yeeeeouch! Dial the shouting down just a little, will ya kid? I got a bad headache. And I want to barf.

_ "Oh! Sorry. Kouji. Namiji. Call for Akitsu to come here right away. We got big trouble."_

***scene break***

His dreams had been particularly vexing during his last two sleep cycles. Reflecting on them as he stepped onto his fleet's lone mother ship command console, his slitted amber eyes went to his long and short range sensors. Nothing. Even the Arcturian ship was not visible as it must be hidden behind this system's giant red planet, but it was of no concern now anyway. The main thing was there was not one rock ship of the cursed bird clans in any kind of sensor range, let alone any eight rock ship battle formations. Neither had the third planet's orbiting high energy defense ring been activated. So why were his sleep cycles being vexed?

What had he missed? His fleet of one remaining command ship and 2,241 auxiliaries that had survived the system's asteroid belt gauntlet had been shifted slightly to approach the third water planet while being screened and velocity boosted by the sun. Also, what extremely small energy emissions escaping the fleet's cloaking were being massively over ridden by the sun's corona.

In addition, his advance operative had assured him that the planet named Earth by its simian hybrid population was presently being bombarded by relatively small pieces of galactic rock and ice debris. This meteor swarm event always occurred annually between what the operative had termed as planetary rotational names of April 19 and May 28.

Consequently, according to precise calculations, at this point his loosely organized Rigelian Conglomerate force looked nothing more than a very small portion of what the Earthlings had designated as the Eta Aquarids Meteor Shower scattered into this system by what they also termed as Comet Halley. Besides this, his fleet was behind and on the upper fringes of the meteor cluster's elliptical plane; completely masked by not only the sun, but also the cloud of rocks and ice between the fleet and the third planet. Therefore, the probable early detection and long range interception of his invading ships was as close to nil as could be planned.

Still, there were things nagging at the fringes and depths of his prodigious conscious mind; things that caused very troubled sleep. What were they?

One had been a very vivid, loud, and extremely powerful attacking scream from a winged prehistoric enemy swooping down upon multitudes of emerging helpless efts. These were leaving their ocean incubator shallows to grow into adult warrior newts by racing across the tidal sands for the instinctive safety of the far off forests beyond the shore's sand dunes. THAT avian predator scream, a hideous, ancient, and long feared inherent memory in his species, had snapped him awake in the second previous sleep cycle.

But why would a millions of years old type of fear invade his sleeping mind now? A troubling harbinger of approaching doom? Or simply an admonition from his subconscious to take nothing for granted in this crucial invasion and proceed with utmost caution and meticulous planning care?

Then this last sleep cycle had ended from being slowly and drowsily awakened by very uncomfortable and yet very vague feelings of being hopelessly lost, identity confusion, extreme loneliness, digestive nausea, terror of falling, and what? Resentment? Or possibly a subconscious warning to just go away?

These had all been connected to what had to be some insane desire to gain financial rewards from throwing and hitting a few loudly yelling and inebriated simian hybrids in the snout with small sacks of husked legume seeds.

None of these alien emotions and images seemed to have any relevancy to him and his mission at all. Especially some simian yelling "Peanuts!" The term "alien" had then pierced his state of drowsiness.

Coming instantly alert, he had immediately begun questing about with his psychic mind. Those vague feelings had slightly resembled several past mental attacks from the elite leaders of cursed bird clan battle groups except the power level had been much too small. Besides, there were no elite battle group leaders within at least five parsecs of space now. The last one had been killed during the massive Rigelian Conglomerate and Galactic Federation engagement beyond the giant red planet's Arcturian and cursed Kouten Empire's outer defense ring of this system. And his psychic questing could sense nothing disturbing now, especially an elite, powerful, battle group leader's alien mind.

The commander of the Rigelian Conglomerate's forces glanced over at the line of gray Zeta Reticuli clones manning the myriad of the fleet's monitor, sensor, and control consoles as well as the massive 3D solar system display of their current and approaching theater of war. His target was suspended in the display's spatial rendition like a perfect, mouth watering, blue and white streaked, ocean covered jewel just beyond the closer, smaller, totally dry, abhorrent, and rust colored planet.

"Current status?"

The answer came from the speakers above his personal water refreshment closet behind him on his mother ship's supreme command platform.

"Approaching the dry fourth planet's orbital mean in regulation conical formation at 3.042 degrees above this system's standard elliptical plane. Initial orbit contact by leading ships to occur in .02222 solar rotational units. Completed crossing said orbit by entire fleet in .02592 solar rotational units."

"The fleet needs to be more compact in conical height. Temporarily increase rear unit velocity in small increments until front and rear unit length is reduced by .0028 solar rotational units. Increase spread diameter of formation's rear units to maintain current illusion of still being integral parts of currently surrounding meteor swarm."

"Acknowledged. Altered courses and velocities computed. Orders sent. All units complying."

"Estimated time of possible contact with the cursed bird clan's inner defense ring in solar and the third planet's rotational units?"

"1.7037 solar rotational units equals 1.9170 planet rotational units or 46 standard Earth hours according to advance operative's original information."

"Reason for delay deviation from original calculations?"

"Automated slowing during your last sleep cycle to recover and repair damaged auxiliary ships after emerging from asteroid maneuvering and collisions. Repairs completed."

"Further contact from advanced operative since the beginning of feral bird clan's island invasion and nuclear bombing?"

"One asserting .9994 probability of success and total termination of island's occupants. It occurred 1.930 hours after invasion initiated and at the beginning of your last sleep cycle. Nothing since. There have also been no high energy spikes of nuclear detonations on the third planet's surface."

The Rigelian fleet commander found this instantly troubling too. Nothing since? What had that been? .5 planetary rotation units or 12 hours ago? Even though his normal sleep cycles were of short duration, this meant that too much time had passed not to have any communication, especially with those initially high probabilities of success. Had something gone wrong with his carefully laid plans? Were those unmeshed, cursed feral bird clan offspring still alive and fighting? If so, how could they have thwarted any initial nuclear bombing attacks as well?

"Are we in current contact with our advanced operative?"

"Negative. His communication channels are all offline."

"Damaged or destroyed then?"

"Probabilities are very high on both possibilities. However, badly damaged is more likely since there have been no under attack alerts, distress calls, or emergency warnings from him either."

"The probability of him being attacked and destroyed with no warning time?"

"Extremely minimal. His scout ship's sensor arrays are several orders of magnitude above any current simian hybrid technology on our target planet. In addition, he has never reported finding any psychic mind or collection of minds capable of nullifying or even dulling his reaction time."

"Detail orbital weapon status around the third planet."

"The bird clan's inner defense ring is present but has still not been activated, nor are there any additional orbital weapons around the third planet that have bird clan energy signatures. There are simian hybrid orbital weapons, but none with sufficient power to breach any of our ship's hulls."

"Any energy anomalies at all?"

"None, however there is one that is positionally odd from a tactical sense. The center of the bird clan's inner defense ring is located on the backside of the third planet's orbiting partner or moon. Since it doesn't rotate in relation to the planet, it means that the center can't be activated directly from the planet's surface. Current simian hybrid technology available to that defense center would require at the very least a travel time of approximately 8.513 hours. However, current spacial vehicle preparation and launch time would require over 23 planetary rotations or days of 24 hours each. This is well beyond our estimated time of defense ring crossing and attack. From his well placed sources, our advanced operative has not previously reported such moon base activation preparations or even a planned lunar launch."

Closing his eyes in thought, the gold skinned Rigelian fleet commander rubbed a circular pattern against the bulbous sides of his suddenly aching head with the suckered digits on both of his front appendages. Despite all appearances of a potentially easy invasion of the third planet by his forces, alarms were now screaming in his mind.

Four things were causing those screams of alarm. His advanced operative being out of communication and offline, the indication of no successful nuclear attacks on the stronghold of the cursed bird clan's feral offspring, and his troubling dreams that had very, very subtly hinted at an elite type of mind attack.

Last but not least, the sneaky and cursed bid clans many times in past battles had hidden their major fighting assets until the last possible moment to ambush attack as their ancient ancestors had done in swooping down to eat helpless little efts running for safety.

Something just smelled about the third planet's seemingly helpless condition. What if those feral offspring of the cursed bird clan womb ship had a rotten egg sack type of a powerful weapon asset completely hidden somewhere now and looking for all the world as nothing more than just another un-powered, weaponless, and innocent giant rock?

The Rigelian commander stopped his digital rubbing. Assumptions of easy pickings, especially false ones, got egg sacks, efts, AND warrior newts ripped open, eaten, and/or torn into bite sized shreds for cursed bird clan hatchlings. He would prepare for the absolute worst scenario he could possibly face and assume nothing would go as planned. Once again, he would adhere to the old saw about if something could rip open a highly protected egg sack, it would. He hissed out concise and revised orders.

"Stabilize our formation and maintain current, meteor swarm attack strategy for 30 hours or 1.25 planetary rotations. After that time the fleet will raise all defensive screens and maneuver into the tightest, close support cylindrical formation we can achieve. We will be assuming that the cursed bid clans' inner defense ring will be activated and operating at full power. Once lead surviving elements have punched through that energy ring's destruction, they will immediately spread out into the standard defensive and evasive mode around the fleet commander's vessel. We will also assume we will be engaging a fully armed and manned, cursed bird clan rock ship."

There. That should assuage all his currently disturbed thoughts and unusual sleep cycle dreams. Yet, one thing remained.

Was there any significance to that dream image of small sacks of husked legumes hitting loudly yelling and possibly inebriated simian hybrids in the snoot? If so, what could it possibly mean? And why hadn't the sacks been caught when easily thrown? He had time to think that insane type of dream image over though, but understanding might not be very easy, and probably make future sleep cycle dreams highly vexing too.

***scene break***

While she worked deep into the night along side many different Sekirei, Uzume's mood had long since went from tight lipped resentful, past outright troubled scowling, and was now in highly distressed, red faced, but still silent anger. Her working companions weren't actually saying anything to piss Uzume off, but they certainly weren't disguising their easily read and uniformly spiteful thoughts. Their open scorn and contempt of her went unabated through the long night.

_"dumb … nasty tempered bitch … can't be trusted … never liked by anyone really … always lashing out … throwing tantrums … won't mesh … ruining the prime circle … no other circle would even have her … panicked … hurt Cash-chan … almost choked her own Ashikabi … shameful … criminal … Himeko had to knock her away … dumb …" _

When this started Uzume tried to ignore their snarky little mental digs and kept her own thoughts shielded against their crap. But it did piss her off. She would never hurt Joe on purpose! It was true she had panicked a little when, when, but the choking had been an accident!

_"disobeyed orders … let Riko get creamed from behind … left Riko to die … Riko ten times better fighter … Riko's electrified fence and Karasu battle suits saved all our lives … poor Riko deserves much better bond mate … Uzume needs replaced in prime circle … can't be trusted … doesn't belong … Mother better for Riko's bond mate … Kuruse can conjure almost as well … criminal Uzume not needed much longer … Cash-chan should replace bitch Uzume before invasion … shameful … criminal … nasty … dumb … disliked … always feels angry … hurtful … criminal … replaced … gonna be replaced …" _

Those constant criminal and replaced shots finally got to her. Unable to handle their constant daggers of disapproving thoughts and yet knowing to angrily lash out in return was just what they wanted to justify their scorn and contempt for her, Uzume fled. Announcing to no one in particular she needed some hot tea, Uzume left the engineering section of the ships' hull and went up to where Miya and her crew had set up cooking vats of steamed sticky rice and pots of hot green tea under the ship's nose. There she found Toyotama also taking a break from her continued patrolling of the island's perimeter.

Fuming, Uzume poured a mug of tea. Several other Sekirei in the vicinity pointedly moved away. Toyotama, still in her Karasu battle suit and squatting on her haunches while nursing her tea, eyed Uzume with a very neutral expression. Uzume glanced sideways and took a deep calming breath before speaking.

"Is it true, Toys? You guys thinking about replacing me with Natalie?"

"Up to Kazehana," Toyotama shrugged noncommittally before taking a slow sip of her tea. "That move would get my vote though, if that's what you're asking. We've never liked each other, Zoomer, and you ain't been winning any points with anyone since, especially after yesterday's tantrums and fuck ups."

"Yesterday was an accident! You KNOW I'd never hurt Joe on purpose!"

"Yeah? What if I told you Akitsu won't ever again tolerate you hurting Master even accidentally, let alone you having the opportunity to be around him while angry? In case you didn't know it, Himeko saved you from never being allowed near him without Akitsu always in your back pocket and ready to freeze your ass."

"WHAT?" Uzume startled hard enough to slosh half the hot tea out of her cup.

"Hey, Uzume, that's news to you? You know she adores him as much or maybe more than any of us. You scared the hell out of her yesterday. We've mostly tolerated your bitchy temper for Master's sake up til now, but crunch time is coming. You're solo, poor troubled me act and refusal to get meshed together with Riko ain't gonna fly any more."

"Riko's the one who has refused to, and, and I don't have a troubled me act or any other..."

"Stow it," Toyotama broke in with a derisive growl. "I KNOW what happened to you. Higa got his fangs in you, and you went along with it to save Chiho. That pissed you off, and him letting her die even more so. But in the meantime you got in touch with your inner predator's taste for blood, and the more you fed it, the more blood it wanted. It totally shames and angers the good part of you, but it still thirsts. You got a bad case of survivor's guilt eating at you too, from Chiho and the ones you murdered. You've covered all that well since, but it tears at your guts all the time. I KNOW.

"Higa's winging made me into an even worst monster that I totally loathed but couldn't change. I was going to kill myself if Master didn't take me. Himeko felt the same after being used by Muts. It was do or die together to escape our similar bloody horrors and get LOVED. We meshed when we HAD to just to stay alive."

Toyotama used one hand to point to the padded collar around her neck before continuing.

"Since I knew I was going insane on my own, I HAD to get Master's loving control of that nasty bitch and bloodthirsty monster always lurking inside me. The same one you got, and it pisses you off almost beyond control because it's there. You're scared to death Master will not want to be around you anymore because of it too. That may be why you wrap him up when you panic, trying to keep him from rejecting you because of that murdering monster you got crawling around in your head. And you're jealous as hell that Riko doesn't have one and is almost as big a pacifist as Master, jealous just like I am of Kazehana. Oh yes, I KNOW you, Zoomer, but I'm not gonna stop you from cutting your own throat in our Circle. You're the one holding that knife, no one else."

Frowning at how closely Toyotama had read her constant inner turmoil, Uzume stared at the enigmatic expression in Toyotama's eyes before looking away.

"What can I do? I love Joe. I need him to love me as much as you do."

"Why should I help you?" Toyotama shook her head slowly, her masses of dark hair rustling in the low light of Miya's makeshift field commissary. "You panicked and almost hurt Master badly. Then you betrayed your oath to us when you didn't defend Riko yesterday and afterward tried to refuse orders. You're SUPPOSED to be our Circle's Defender, not some lone attack type that won't fight when and where she's told. Besides, you've always been a snooty ass towards me since we were kids, and I sure as hell don't need a Sister that I can't rely on during battle, none of us do.

"Hard to see how you're ever gonna shape up better for the rest of us than having Natalie in your slot either. She's got more power, more mature, calmer, well able to handle Riko's weirdness, and mesh with her too. And yesterday and since has proved we NEED Riko. With Kuruse stepping up to help conjure materials for the Forkball, and your dumb ass refusal to deal with your issues, you're starting to look pretty damn expendable now."

"So that's it, huh?" Uzume kept her voice low as well as the hurt and rejection she was feeling from showing on her facial expression. "I'm toast, and this your way of getting even?"

"Well, no," Toyotama relented slightly with a big sigh. Uzume was still a Circle Sister, one helluva proven fighter, and Master loved her deeply. He also deserved Toyotama's faithfulness to him and her Sisters to do what he would lovingly want in this situation.

"That's history, Zoomer. and I would like to think that Master's making me the kind of Sekirei I really want to be inside. You got a lot of upside if you'd just get your damn act together. We may never be pals. Just like neither one of us will ever probably be all that chummy with Karasuba, but for now, we're still Sisters. Miya's been working half the night to help cure other Circle's problems, especially Ikki and Oriha's deeper meshing troubles with some of their Sisters. She's explaining the sharing each others weaknesses thing the six of us are doing now."

"And that's really working for you? Inside, I mean?"

"Yeah, so far. It sure takes a lot of blood lust pressure off the old inner murderer if that's what you mean. I'm hoping for complete release when we get eight meshed like we need. In your case, who knows? Miya said earlier that she thinks you and Riko are actually the reverse sides of the same too selfish problem. You view yourself exclusively as Master's Sekirei. Riko views Master as exclusively hers. Neither of you want to view yourselves as OURS.

"Now, Miya's got a plan to get Riko meshed with Master as soon as he wakes up, and then get Reeker on the same page as the rest of us, with or without you. Maybe what you need to do is get with Miya and see if that plan could include you too. In the meantime it might ease things with the others if you publicly apologized to Riko for the shit you pulled yesterday. Might TRY to be sincere about it too."

"I, I am sorry I lost my temper," Uzume grimaced at the prospect. "I'm just not sure Riko will believe me now, or if I can make her."

"Then it becomes her problem, and you apologized to that Marine, didn't you? You don't have to be best buddies to be bond mates and fight efficiently together. Just got to be able to give and get trust while doing and being what you both are born to do and be. Kazehana and I aren't super best friends. Neither are Himeko and Miya even though oddly enough Karasuba and Aki-chan are. Now with Master's help and sharing our weaknesses, the six of us all respect and trust each other. Aki-chan says Riko's making progress. You're the Prime Circle's main troublemaker now, everybody knows it, and you'd better get a damn clue from Miya on how to dump that label fast."

"Will, will Miya help me? In spite of, of everything?" Uzume swallowed hard as a sudden flare of hope cut through the inner gloom, distress, and frustration she was experiencing.

"Well, maybe, since she got you meshed with Master in the first place, right?" Toyotama stood up and gulped the rest of her tea in preparation to resume her perimeter night patrol with Sanada's Sekirei. She jerked her chin at them to signal she was almost ready to leave. Oriha and her Circle nodded slightly in return and began putting on and snapping their battle helmets shut.

As Higa's thug enforcer and main hunter, she had run into Sanada's West Side gang during past troubles and clashes. There wasn't any real huggy type love between them now, but probably due to their Ashikabi's organizational skills and way of doing things to inspire trust and loyalty, Toyotama really appreciated Sanada's Circle no nonsense and organized way of going about their assigned business.

Even the solo Sekirei and their Ashikabi got along and worked together better around Sanada's gals. It made things a lot easier for everybody. And that was in one helluva stark contrast as to how the Prime Circle SHOULD be working, inspiring, and being trusted, but, Toyotama gave Uzume a hard look, that was going to be fixed real soon, one way or another.

"Maybe? That's the best you can give?" Uzume flared slightly in resentment as Toyotama's hard eyes locked onto hers and that last thought echoed. _"Fixed real soon, one way or another."_

"Hey, do I look like your crying towel? I'm doing MY job. You don't want replaced by Natalie? Fine. Quit screwing off up here and feeling sorry for yourself. Ditch your snooty ass pride. Get back to work. When you can, apologize to Riko, and then go see Miya and ASK politely for help. We both know you didn't have the juice to get re-winged with Master on your own the way you were then. Not my call for her to try and help you now though. I won't weep for you if she doesn't either. Then go see Kazehana. It's her decision to give you another chance with us or not, but you better understand one thing.

"With her sensing ability easily more able to sort motives and intentions, we all, even Kazehana, have pretty much given Akitsu control over our Circle's inner discipline. She won't be fooled, and doesn't have a lot of emotional range for you to play upon either. Anything you, Kazehana, and Miya come up with better make Akitsu comfortable, or your ass is going to be freezing and ignored for a long time to come while on the outside with Natalie in your Circle slot."

"Well, that's a whole lot more encouraging than what I've been getting from everyone else," Uzume nodded in understanding as she too finished her drink. And she even appreciated Toyotama's candid assessments and straight talk. "Thanks Toys."

"Can't say I'm super glad to help, but I want us fixed as bad as anyone. Better watch your ass until Master wakes up though. The other Sekirei ain't gonna let up on you until you shape up or get frozen out and replaced. They have a right for their Prime Circle to be properly meshed and meshed with them, especially with another battle we're facing where we win or die. I'm gonna bust my ass to win. So are they. But you? Any more temperamental bitch routines or dumb fights with Reeker, and..."

"I know. I know," Uzume threw both hands up in self exasperation. "I'll have even worse troubles."

***scene break***

Early dawn light the morning after the battle found Kamakura Island looking like a financially troubled baseball stadium whose underpaid janitors and field care staff had went on strike. The now barren and eerily shadowed central plain was pockmarked with black pulse cannon blast holes and also littered with slightly reflective Rigelian warrior gel sacks that had somehow survived the MOAB bomb detonations even though their imploded bearers had not. The ghostly early morning shadows made the whole island visible from the redoubt's platform look like a forsaken and forlorn alien landscape.

In addition, there was a lot of dead fish that had been blown sky high and become windblown fallout from the main scout ship's huge underwater explosion up north the evening before. Crabs, seagulls, and other island scavengers had already made their way onto the island's interior while live sharks, especially those to the north, were feasting on the island's off shore bounty. In short, although the island was a visual mess now, actually more like a moonlit New Jersey dump site than a post game Yankee Stadium, Mother Nature would soon have it cleaned after her own natural fashion.

Akitsu didn't care. Her one focus was to maintain contact with the highest wave length tendrils of Cash's far sensing mind. He had wandered a little too far afield in his quest for psychic power that had been pushed back into his Sekirei for battle use. He had went beyond his untrained limit in doing that and still maintain consciousness, and then had almost lost his innate sense of self. Ever since Riko's half panicked call had brought her scrambling down to Cash's unconscious body, Akitsu had instinctively reacted, latched onto Riko's faint connecting thread to him, and set herself into holding onto his too scattered essence.

Since then and with Akitsu's help, his unconscious and perhaps even astrally projecting mind began acting in self preservation to find, follow, and withdraw those questing and too stretched psychic tendrils back to his mind little by little. However, untrained and woefully inexperienced, that was very hard to do without a steady, basic reference point of exactly who and where he was, especially since no other brain on Earth other than Riko, unavailable Natalie, and now enabled Akitsu's operated on those far sensing high end wave lengths. Even so, Akitsu was hard put to help him since Riko HAD to use most of her mental abilities to physically prepare for the Rigelian space invasion.

Since none of her Sisters had immediately understood what had just happened either, the first thing Akitsu had done was to snatch Cash's body and hustle him up out of the ship's thick and psychic buffering hull. He HAD to be unfettered to sense more of his far flung mental threads as much as possible. How and why he had managed to hold onto one connected to only Riko was both a mystery and a miracle to be solved later. Luckily, she had been able to share her connection and soon help Akitsu reestablish her own stronger and more viable mental thread to Cash. Then, Akitsu had spent the entire night laying beside Cash on makeshift bedding spread atop the redoubt's platform under the pulse cannon.

Through the night, Kazehana, Miya, Toyotama, and Karasuba had also taken turns at keeping a sleepy eyed vigil over him with her. They were all greatly concerned, but none of them really understood the danger Cash was in, and Akitsu didn't have the logical ability to share it with them. They only knew that Akitsu felt like she was doing something extremely vital to help Cash in some way while he recovered his psychic energy and consciousness. As the four of them shared what energy they could to Akitsu's efforts as they went about their own duties, one by one as dawn approached they had each finally succumbed to the weariness every front line soldier knows after fighting too long without rest.

With her forehead against his and her fingers wrapped around the back of his skull, Akitsu had also fought extreme weariness and sleep while totally ignoring her body's other physical needs. She HAD to keep the glowing ball of her and her Sisters' love tethered to Cash's wandering mind. Himeko, also not understanding the depth of Cash's crisis, had still visited a couple of times to give Akitsu an energy boost, but had quickly returned back down into the ship. There were still some severely battle wounded to be attended as well as Mutsu needing assistance with gestalt downloading.

The big male Sekirei had begun the intricate process of transferring Natalie and the ship's back up gestalts into Yume and Yomi's artificially life sustained bodies. To Akitsu monitoring Himeko's thoughts, that process felt as tricky as keeping Cash in contact with his body, or as Mutsu had tried to explain to the healers, inducing a one way reverse meshing into a darkened brain that only had faint pulses of activity in the medulla oblongata. Akitsu thought that she could have helped with that, but her Ashikabi needed her sensing talents more.

When dawn finally broke long, long hours later, Akitsu sensed that Cash had finally managed to cross some critical threshold of self recovery. There was enough of his mind back to keep himself together and in anchored touch with his Prime Circle with a little less help. She could risk a quick bathroom break as well as get something to eat before resuming her vigil. She awakened Miya, Kazehana, Toyotama, and Karasuba sleeping deeply close by. The four of them together could temporarily maintain Akitsu's glowing reference point and now attached threads of their combined love to their Ashikabi.

Exiting the redoubt's latrine, Akitsu noticed the ever resourceful Recon Marines had used a few gel sacks and broken, empty ammo box wood to fuel a friendly campfire near the apex of the spiked fence. There was a mouth watering smell of fresh grilled fish and wood smoke as well as some kind of rice soup. Half starved, Akitsu followed her nose and headed for food. As she approached the fire, she heard the low murmur of the men cooking, eating, and sharing their breakfast.

"Been fighting all over the world for a long time and eaten a lot of strange meat. Boiled camel balls maybe the worst. Never had grilled shark before though," Gunny Sledge remarked while chewing somewhat philosophically as well as experimentally. He gave a sideways and skeptical look at the half empty pink bottle of fluid he held in his right hand.

"Let alone wash it down with warm bottles of original strawberry Yoo-Hoo. Wonder where in the hell those Japanese MBI guys that stocked their base got them, and why? I mean, you ask for flavored milk drinks back at our Oki base PX, and all you get is Calpis Gun Gun Gurt."

"Yeah, and Yoo-Hoo tastes kinda weird when it's warm too." One of the men agreed then grimaced after slurping a spoonful of hot soup. "Hey Buzz. What's this weird green stuff in the rice soup? And the yellow stuff floating on top?"

"Dried algae from packs in the base PX warehouse and Mrs. Grass golden flavored nuggets from my personal jump pack stash," Buzz returned somewhat primly while stirring the large "liberated" cooking pot he had scrounged.

"You clowns don't know shit about dried chicken and rice or noodle soup, do ya. My grandpa said he was raised on the stuff while watching the space adventures of Super Noodle back in the fifties. I always carry a couple of packs around for just these kinds of situations. Eat up boys. Add a little more sea salt and pepper if you need 'em. Even Wilson's gal loves the Mrs. Grass flavoring mixed in with udon noodles. He's always swiping my stash to give to her."

"Wilson, how in the hell did a sad sack like you ever score a pretty and sharp little gal like that Kaiyo?" A different Marine spoke up, but his vocal tone was in simple, friendly, and interested campfire chatter, not derogatory at all even though he added, "Is she nuts or something?"

"I saw her behind the onsen front desk, struck my best Johnny Bravo pointing pose, and then did the Monkey until she started smiling at me. Then I said Whoa! Mama! You're pretty! I'm pretty! Let's go somewhere quiet and STARE at each other! We more or less been together ever since."

"Man, there ain't no way that lame cartoon shit worked!" The Marine exclaimed in disbelief after a short hesitation while trying to figure out if Wilson was telling the truth. Even then that brought a playful elbow nudge and mocking chuckles from the guys around him for even considering the short yarn's reality.

A listening Akitsu, now dressed simply in her black Lycra body suit and soft soled slippers, was actually standing behind Jack Wilson and taking deep hungry sniffs of the cooking aromas before the Marines finally noticed her. The reactions were … varied.

"Well, hello there," the older staff sergeant greeted with a warm yet neutral welcome as others around him simply stared at her dark figure in amazed silence with blinking eyes and dropped jaws.

"Howdy, Ma'am," Gunny Sledge coolly shifted sideways and patted an ammo box seat beside him. "You look hungry. Want some hot soup and grilled shark? Maybe a Yoo-Hoo too? They're a little warm though."

"Whoooooah! Mama!" Wilson fell sideways and off his box perch while staring up at the undersides of Akitsu's impressive chest as well as the rest of her Barbie doll figure and face. He landed on his buttocks with knees bent while holding his helmet half filled with soup in both hands without spilling any. His dark eyes shown in the dawn sunlight as he paused to mouth a silent WOW. Then he just couldn't leave it at that.

"Hey! You're PRETTY! I'm pretty! Let's stare at each other for awhile and then go do the monkey!"

"Ignore the dummy," Buzzard rolled his eyes in embarrassed exasperation. "That's his worst Johnny Bravo pick up and flirting line again. It's pretty much all he knows that works about one time in a thousand."

"Flirting? I am married." Akitsu cocked her head and looked down at Wilson in amused but somewhat frowning puzzlement. She would only ever mate with her Husband. Why would this Jack Wilson think otherwise? It was very strange. Before sitting beside Gunny, Akitsu casually pointed her right forefinger at every bottle of Yoo-Hoo she could see around the campfire. There must have been at least a dozen of still full six packs. Buzzard and Wilson had gotten Matsu to use their robot pal to scrounge the flavored milk drinks from the MBI Base PX warehouse.

The other Marines were now outright laughing at a somewhat sheepish looking Wilson and at the same time giving approving looks at their now chilled Yoo-Hoo. Then they all grinned at Akitsu in appreciation.

"Ah perceive, Ah say Ah perceive that you must be Archer's Mrs. Akitsu, the Cold User," Sledge chortled at Wilson's exposed banality while nodding at her. "And maybe just as handy to have around as Missy Riko. Heah. Have some grilled shark if you'd like some."

"Yes. Hungry. Thank you," Akitsu nodded in appreciation. She took the proffered long grilling stick that was impaling a thick, smoking, and lightly browned filet as the razzing comments began amidst the laughter of Wilson's comrades.

"Hitting on a married gal and missing that badly kinda frosts your ego, doesn't it Wilson?"

"Hey! Got a little shrinkage going on there, Jack?"

"That ought to keep your Yoo-Hoo cool for a few days."

"And you even got a great abdominal workout trying to keep your soup from spilling during an epic fail too."

"I can't believe he actually uses that lame shit to pick up women! What a total tool!"

"Ya know," one Marine chuckled as he snapped a cell phone picture of the still nonplussed Wilson in his awkward position. "I'm thinking we should stick here around for a few days. Just to get a few more pics like these and Wilson's bloused lips from Miss Uzume to send back to Okinawa for Kaiyo to look at."

"Hey, you guys leave Kaiyo out of this!" Wilson angrily scowled up at his platoon mates. Internally he was kicking himself for blurting out that too well practiced stupidity even if seeing Akitsu out of her Karasu battle suit for the first time had been and still was a very stunning sight. Man, these freaky Sekirei babes were just too damn weird! Probably touchy like that Uzume too.

"I am not weird, Jack Wilson." Akitsu announced after swallowing. "Or a touchy babe like Uzume. She has her own troubles. I am simply married."

Akitsu's head turned slowly towards Okinawa far over the horizon to the southeast. Her eyes went half closed as she concentrated. She turned back and looked at Wilson with another puzzled frown, then went into what was for her a very, very long diatribe.

"I am also just a person who feels thoughts near or far away and able to use the cold to fight. I can feel your Kaiyo's connection of great love to you Jack Wilson. She is now weeping and praying in a shrine for your safe return. That doesn't make me a freak that I can follow your thoughts of love to her either. I was simply born to be like this the same way you were born to be you.

"All Sekirei are different too. I don't have your sharp eyes and ability to shoot like you do, Jack Wilson. I am not feeling superior to you because of my powers. You have different gifts. In a lot of ways you are a very superior person to me. You brain has not been damaged in a human lab."

"No, it wasn't, but that don't make it right for alien mind reading freaks to run around my planet and screw with my life either."

"I observed, but have done nothing in your life. And alien freaks? Your planet? Sekirei have been on Earth for many thousands of years. This island is my HOME, Jack Wilson. I was born here. I grew up here. I did not want to leave. The big city where humans experimented on me and hurt my mind and crest is too crowded, noisy, angry, and uncaring. It smells bad too. Are you humans maybe freaks for creating such a bad place?"

Akitsu stopped talking when Kusano sleepily shuffled up to her from behind, rubbing her eyes and yawning. Then the little blonde Sekirei, holding a small flower pot on her head with one hand, peeked around Akitsu's bountiful chest to take a deep, eye closed, and appreciative smiling sniff of the grilled shark meat Akitsu held.

Without further ado, Kusano climbed into Akitsu's lap, got automatically embraced by Akitsu's free arm and began hungrily tearing small bites of Akitsu's food from the grilling stick with her teeth. To the Marines it looked for all the world as another cute, very serene, simple, domestic, and charming mother and child life and love scene they had witnessed in the aftermaths of many different battlefields.

"My Husband is a very gifted, Sekirei and human mixed man. Him only do I love. He loves his Sekirei, the same as his family and all peoples. He is not a world savior either. He just has great love in his heart that he shares freely. I was lost, wounded, and rejected, but Husband accepted and loved me even though I was and am still damaged. The world smells bad to me Jack Wilson, but I will always follow my Husband wherever he goes. I would rather stay here so our life together could always be clean and fresh and full of love. Just like my Husband's mind and heart where all life is precious, even yours."

"I am not smart like others Jack Wilson," Akitsu continued after letting Kusano take complete two handed control of the grilling stick. "But who are the alien freaks on this Earth? Me? Husband? This little one? Or you? Or all the countries and peoples on this planet who sent their ships and missiles and bombs and soldiers to rob and kill us? Why is there such fear of us within you? Sekirei love and seek love. We have done nothing but protect from bad monsters that wanted to eat you, me, and all our families on OUR planet.

"Husband almost died protecting us all even as we fought together and is having a hard time recovering. Now there are still many more monsters coming from space. I can feel them and their hatred. All your human military weapons couldn't even invade this island. What they gonna do to protect the whole Earth? You want your Kaiyo and all peoples eaten?

"We need Husband very badly to help us all fight yet again. You need us. We need you. This little one and I eat your shared food to have energy to give to Husband and also fight once more for our home. None of that is weird or freaky to me.

"It is my duty as his Sekirei wife and as a protecting Sekirei warrior of our Earth. I may die to save my home, my Sisters, and Husband, and even this little one on my lap, but it is my duty to fight Jack Wilson, not for any countries or bad smelly places, but for who I love and who love me. Jack Wilson, what is YOUR duty?"

The Marines had long since stopped grinning and were now all staring at Akitsu and Kusano. Then almost as one they turned a narrow eyed look to Wilson. After a few seconds, they bowed their heads to stare uncomfortably into their campfire or looked away to silently resume eating in sheepish and shamed embarrassment. The thought of another and even larger Rigelian alien invasion coming had made their morning appetites dull too. Akitsu simply and hungrily resumed eating her grilled shark she was unselfishly sharing with Kusano.

"Mrs. Akitsu, ma'am," Gunny began after a very long silence and then an embarrassed clearing of his throat.

"NO!" Wilson interrupted while coming slowly to his feet and now looking down upon the calmly eating Akitsu and Kusano before bowing his head.

"Thanks Gunny, but this is on me, not on you guys. I'm sorry, Akitsu-sama. I let my mouth and dumb thinking overload my ass, again. You're right, and you were right to frost me good and set me straight. My words, and, and my thoughts were very dishonorable. Please forgive me."

"You're forgiven Jack Wilson. I do not mind being thought of as a babe either," Akitsu paused to swallow before calmly continuing. "Or even have my breasts stared at. And old Johnny Bravo cartoon reruns are my favorites."

"Really?"

"Yep," Akitsu nodded before giving a smiling Bravo imitation, "Hey Foxy Mama! You smell kinda pretty. Wanna smell me? Hoohah!"

The Marines chuckled at this and the astonished look on Wilson's face. Then laughed harder when Kusano asked in naïve like curiosity, "Hoohah! Was Johnny Bravo a Recon Marine too, Jack Wilson? I like him. He's so silly."

Gunny Sledge was as charmed and amused as his men, but then he noticed his older staff sergeant giving Akitsu a very contemplative look as she enthusiastically chugged a cold bottle of Jack Wilson's Yoo-Hoo in one go. Sledge turned to look at her a few long moments before he too saw what had caught the staff sergeant's interest. Now that he thought about it, especially from the way the cold using Akitsu had been constantly touched and looked at by her Sisters and even the arrogant Karasuba during the previous day's battle, Sledge finally understood.

From her performance last night in the tense control room, Kazehana was clearly and certainly the cohesive nuts and bolts center of all the Sekirei and Ashikabi. Archer might be their attitudinal glue and stabilizing central figure, but she was also looked upon by all, even Mutsu, as their command leader, protector, decision/strategy/policy maker, encourager, comforter, adviser, and even arbiter of disputes. Others, even her Archer, could make suggestions, but Kazehana actually made all the final operational decisions as the one in overall command.

To her credit and with Cash, Natalie, and her five Sister's help, Kazehana had finally grown to be their Prime Pillar despite her past failures and ongoing character shortcomings. She was also now able to heavily rely on all her Sekirei and Ashikabi for support and advice. However, Gunny realized, Kazehana was NOT the cohesive and emotional center of her own Prime Circle. That was Akitsu.

On most championship teams and even recon platoons there is usually one quiet, unassuming, steady, unflappable player like the older staff sergeant who, while not the main leader, is actually the inclusive team glue at crunch time. These reliably play their position, mostly without fanfare, largely non vocal, never begrudging nor jealous of their flashier teammates' accolades, and rarely too high or too low emotionally no matter what was happening. Maybe not the most talented, risk taking, innovative, or even overly intelligent, still their teammates would often unconsciously glance at their team glue player for reassurance that their steady emotional center was simply there with the game on the line, and even during any need for team decisions and/or internal discipline later.

Gunny and his staff sergeant exchanged understanding glances across the smoking campfire. Both men could see that even little Kusano deferred comfortably to Akitsu's inclusive influence. The calmly eating, smiling, and cutely interacting Akitsu was also the key to their Marine platoon's future. After "asking"/ordering Wilson to sit down and grill more shark meat for the still hungry Sekirei, Sledge moved over to the other side of the campfire and sat beside his staff sergeant. The move also got him away from the drifting campfire smoke that had been stinging Gunny's eyes.

"Let's pow wow, Staff, we got troubles heah, and future worries back home. I gotta feeling we'd be dead men walking if we go back."

"Yeah, but hey, Sledgehammer, we actually died when we jumped outta our plane," the older Marine leaned forward to idly poke the glowing red coals of the fire and send a few sparks crackling upward. The quirky fire's smoke, as often happens, then drifted around to waft into their faces, but the two men ignored it.

"Gunny, I was a young pup fresh out of basic the last time the U.S. sent a strike force to hit this island," the staff sergeant continued quietly. "4,700 sailors and air crew on that old Ford class carrier alone, not to mention the guys on the missile cruiser, frigates, supply ships, and sub, almost 8,000 crew total. An entire air wing of 70 planes for crap's sake. Only the sub came back, Gunny, and that was the SECOND group we lost. NATO ships, Ruskies, and Chinese lost even more in those combined strikes.

"I did a little chatting with a few Sekirei last night. All, and I'm telling you ALL of that destruction was done by just the first five Sekirei that DIDN'T include our cold user over there, nor the two fire and decay boys, lightning twins, or Miss Riko. They didn't use their ship's heavy weapons either. Just FIVE Sekirei. Then the black op raids to steal Sekirei babies and DNA began. Only one was partially successful. The team almost killed the one called Musubi by doing a live vivisection on her as a baby before Karasuba slaughtered them all. Then another Sekirei sacrificed her life for Musubi to live. Can you picture that?"

"Well, no, but what's your point, staff? That they could totally wipe out the Earth's human only population if they wanted to and start over with just themselves and whatever hybrids they want to keep? I know that. Pretty sure all the governments on this planet know it now too. Or are you trying to say that we're gonna be put into some black ops and DNA wringer and never come through if we survive the next battle? I already KNOW that too. What we don't know is what to do about it."

"That Akitsu was right to point something out, Gunny. What IS our DUTY now?"

"Well," Gunny returned slowly while shifting uncomfortably. "Fighting off those alien newts coming at us. Mighty tough to see any priority higher than that. Need a lot more ammo though. Gonna need these Sekirei for the fighting too."

"Then why don't we just stay here? We've fought with them. They seem to like or at least tolerate us. With their powers, especially Miss Riko's, they can get us more ammo, probably as much as we need and more too. We could become permanent detached duty for island security or liaison or whatever. The world is gonna have to accept a new status quo, right? Especially if we don't all want to be turned into alien newt fertilizer."

The staff sergeant turned his head to look up at Gunny with a calm expression of acceptance.

"We could stay here, IF they'll have us, that is. I mean, damn Gunny, humans doing a live vivisection on a Sekirei baby? We humans got a lot answer for to establish any kind of long term trust with them. Akitsu was right. Who are the real monsters on this Earth right now?

"But look, weird as it seems, none of us are married or have kids, not even Wilson, and it seems these Sekirei are more than willing to interact with humans on a limited daily basis. Especially if we ain't trying to screw them over, steal their stuff, or kill their babies. I hear they're gonna build a shrine and hot springs tourist resort on this rock as well as fix up the base. I'm pretty sure they'd let Wilson bring his Kaiyo over here to live with him and run the resort. Hell, they already got some human civilians here now. We're safer here too, AND we'll still be on the ultimate front line of fighting those newts. Us staying here would sure beat being disappeared into some damn black ops lab in Cheyenne Mountain never to come out again."

"And how's that gonna work?" Gunny sighed skeptically. "If we win against the invasion, sooner or later the human race is gonna get their bigoted heads together and still throw the kitchen sink at these Sekirei."

"Maybe, but then they'll get their asses handed to 'em for the FOURTH damn time, and even worse than the Rigelians. Think, Gunny. These Sekirei just fought off an alien invasion along with a combined multinational nuclear missile and bombing barrage without exploding any! Hey, Gunny. This here's the winning side. We're safer here than anywhere else. I think these kids can protect themselves pretty damn good if you ask me, and us too. And maybe the world can eventually be brought around to a little more live and let live mood."

"Well, Ah have heard that this is a private owned island," Gunny nodded thoughtfully.

"But don't forget, still in Japanese territorial waters. That technically makes 'em all Japanese citizens since they were natural born here, right? And from what I've pieced together, it seems a couple of their Ashikabi are already richer than Croesus and King Midas AND Solomon all put together. Think the Japanese government is just gonna let some other country or even the UN simply waltz in here and destroy or even take over that kind of tax income? Hell, since they're the only ones even remotely capable of staving off a full scale Rigelian invasion and with the right lawyers, these Sekirei could probably get UN recognized as natural citizens of Earth as well as all countries."

"Knowing the power hungry boneheads we got for politicians, that ain't gonna get these Sekirei any special privileges even if they do save Earth's butt," Gunny sighed from remembering all the unappreciative crap they had taken after winning war after war only to be constantly shit upon when they returned home. "Probably be lucky just to get an Attaboy Medal or two."

"Okay so they might just get total hands off dual citizenship with another country of choice." The staff sergeant shrugged while conceding Gunny's cynical point. "If not, then no one is going to actually invade Japan over exclusively having Sekirei citizens. No one is even going to enact trade sanctions or worse, an embargo on Japan over it, except some ideological extremists who run the government of some Podunk backwater country, and who really cares what they think anyway?

"Why would Japan want Sekirei as citizens? Because it's better to have the Sekirei living in Japan and owning whatever enterprises the Sekirei and their Ashikabi are going to be involved with than having them do it elsewhere, like China. Not even counting the potential for whatever technology might be gained that the whole world would pay through the nose to get access."

"Ahhh, that won't work, staff," Gunny firmly shook his head. "These guys already got star drive technology even if they ain't currently got the resources to build or repair one. Plus they're right now building an orbital anti-gravity weapons platform with a pulse cannon, super lasers, and a damn rail gun all powered up by some kind of advanced cold fusion. They ain't gonna sell any of their weaponry to any government, not even Japan."

"No shit? Cold fusion and anti-gravity?" The staff sergeant's eyes went up in surprise.

"That's what I said when they told me," Gunny pointed at his visibly impressed friend's identical reaction. "And they got a lot of other green power generating stuff too, including high efficiency solar. But even that would start wars to corner the markets on, and it's impossible for them to stay hidden away from human society now. I already told you about the world wide riots when the whole Earth saw videos of our latest little tussle heah."

"Huh. Damn. Okay, well, sunlight is the best disinfectant anyway. The only reason so many abuses have happened to the Sekirei and their Ashikabi have been due to the ongoing secrecy and conspiracy of that MBI corporation. Since the Sekirei have now HAD to go public, now they also go transparent, and make it obvious that all of the Sekirei and their Ashikabi are people who were born on earth just like the rest of us and not part of some kind of current alien invasion."

"Well, Ah'd say they shore have laid claim to Kamakura Island," Gunny conceded as he rubbed his chin in thought. "Ain't nobody gonna kick them off in the foreseeable future either, probably never. They also gonna live and breed whether anyone wants 'em to or not. Shoot, they can sustain this island by their own inherent psychic powers if they have to."

As if on cue, Kusano instantly grew a long vine out of the flower pot on her head that within seconds produced several normally very expensive Yubari melons. The Marines around the campfire gaped in astonishment for a few seconds before whipping out their K-bar knives and quickly cutting up the shared treats. This occurred amidst Kusano's gurgling laughter while tasting and heartily approving their strawberry flavored Yoo-Hoo. Akitsu also smiled in pleased delight. She loved melons, and could get quickly addicted to Yoo-Hoo too.

"There ya go." The staff sergeant watched the shared melon and Yoo-Hoo feast with interest for a few seconds before continuing. "The Sekirei have sole claim to Kamakura Island, and if common sense, reason, and tax incentives don't work, then their money bribes them into the status of a legal Japanese protectorate. That way they can always legally use the island as a home and school for their children and even a shrine to their mother ship who gave everything to get them here. The rest of the world with no legal leg to stand on would just have to deal with it."

"Then in the meantime, Ah suppose these Sekirei are well able to protect themselves here and probably even out mingling in public society? That being the case, it might even be in every one's best safety interests for each country to pass comprehensive hands off laws just for their own human citizens' being deterred from getting their asses kicked when the Sekirei act in self defense."

"Yep," Gunny's subordinate nodded. "Oh sure, it might take a generation or two to change the lousy and inhumane way the corporations and governments of earth have been dealing with the Sekirei for the last 20 years. But let them get Japan to recognize their basic citizen rights first, then maybe the U.N. acknowledgment of them all being native born earthlings, then let them make a public declaration of willingness to share some of their home world's peaceful technology over time, just like they're sharing those expensive melons over there."

"Ah suppose that MIGHT work," Gunny glanced up with a contemplative gaze at the lightly cloud laced sky and dawning sun just peeking over the eastern ocean horizon. "If these Sekirei only share those aspects of their technology that they are capable of releasing on a measured basis, over time, and to everyone at the same time, via public internet publication. That way no nation, no company, and no individual will have a monopoly on the technology released. Other than maybe that Kouji fella's anti-gravity invention, there won't be no patent lawsuits and shit like that. And no wars get started either since every one benefits equally. Just might keep a happy world wide peace that way, maybe."

"Eh, free markets will probably take over and sort it all out like always. Meanwhile we stay right here as permanent Recon Marine war prisoners serving a life sentence for attempted Sekirei high technology theft and war crimes. Our asshole blue falcon general on Okinawa can just go screw then. If and when we need go to town, Sekirei can go with us and bring us back. Simple. And at least this way we don't get a few worthless medals as returned heroes and then mentally and physically dissected by any damn eggheads down in Cheyenne Mountain back home."

"THAT shore would be troublesome," Gunny nodded in cynically sighing agreement. Maybe a Recon Marine on permanent detached duty to Kamakura Island would be the best way to at least nominally stay in his beloved Corps. He let his eyes drift up higher to the sky. "And just as bad as more hungry newt troubles we still got coming at us from up theah somewheah."

"Ya know, staff," Gunny added after a very long and contemplative pause with both Marines staring into the still crackling campfire. "Just now y'all sounded like some science fiction writin' futurist."

"Hey, I watch them science shows on TV. I'm educated. And can you even spell futurist?"

"That's why Ah has a staff sergeant doing all the reports, son." Gunny affably chuckled. "Ah may not be a spellin' whiz, but Ah ain't no report writin' dummy like you all."

"Dummy? Man, I'm gonna make a fortune with my first book. I'm gonna call it 'Kamakura Marine: Fighting Aliens With The Old Breed'. I might even cut you guys in on a small piece of the royalties, Sledgehammer."

"Then Ah better keep your profitable and educated ass alive so you can keep on writin' for me, dummy."

Akitsu glanced over the smoke and flame dwindling, coal reddened campfire at the pair of low talking, likable, and now chuckling Marine noncoms before gently pushing the still giggling Kusano off her lap. The closest guy with a full grilling stick then got a still hungry little visitor hopping up and sitting on his knee, both looking for and getting Akitsu's nodding and smiling approval. These human men had good hearts and were good fighters too. Although Akitsu could also sense the two Marines noncoms' thoughts for a peaceful shared future were warm, kind, and felt good, any such plans were useless unless they were alive to make them a reality. She looked past the Marines and up at the morning sun to the east.

The monsters were coming from behind the sun. She could feel them. When they arrived, she and her Sisters would fight when and where their Pillar ordered until the monsters were all slain, or until all Sekirei were dead. Her Husband would lend his strength and shield their minds during battle. For that, they needed Husband to made mentally whole again as soon as possible, and he, like any other gifted but untrained novice, would have to realize that he had definite limits to be learned in using his psychic power channeling and mental shielding talents. They would work together to find those before the fighting started, and then they would kill all those monsters coming to steal and hurt their home.

Right now Akitsu was exhausted. All other current and future troubles, especially Uzume and Riko's, were actually Kazehana's and other peoples of Earth to handle. Akitsu had no worries. She just needed some well earned sleep.

Akitsu stood up and snagged another hunk of grilled shark and a six pack of Yoo-Hoo from the hands and beside a surprised but acquiescent Jack Wilson still ogling her impressive breasts. Munching on he chewy meat as she went, she turned to enter the redoubt and go back up the steps where she could once again lay down and snuggle her still comatose Husband. They would recover their strength together in the pulse cannon's shadows made by the rising and warming sun, the same sun behind which the invading Rigelian Conglomerate fleet lurked. The monsters were no trouble now however, and she could cool and share her Yoo-Hoo with Husband later.


	39. Chapter 39

**The Game Changer**

**Chapter 39 – Prime Time Players, Circle Changes**

Worrying over Archer's deteriorating condition and the unhappy change his recent turn for the worse had engendered in the Sekirei Circles, a still half asleep Gunny Sledge exited the heliport's revamped control tower. He had grabbed a couple hours of combat style snoozing during the night while mentally wrestling over how to stop the downward spiraling gloom and morale now gripping the occupants of Kamakura Island.

He had their leaders respect and confidence, and they listened to him well, but how should he play upon all that to help them? And how in the hell could they get Archer to at least respond to their healers? The morning's red dawn sky had no answers.

Matter of fact, he reflected, what was the old saying? Red sky at morning, sailor take warning? Stormy weather ahead for sure, especially since the whole world's population would probably be fighting for their lives against the Rigelians by this evening, not just these morale challenged Sekirei and their human cohorts on Kamakura. And their brain damaged, weenie civilian Prime Leader.

A gentle morning breeze scented with the newly terraformed island's grown trees, flowers, and grass greeted Gunny's nostrils. He then stood contemplating the giant red ball of the dawn Sun just peeking over the island's serene and shiny ice ring horizon while he nursed a hot cup of coffee. So much defensive progress had been made since the last island battle, but something really drastic had to now happen to get the Prime Circle in condition to fight the Rigelian invasion from space.

Gunny noticed the sun's rays were also reflected off the new tree lined lake on the eastern side of the island's central plain. Behind the lake's east shore loomed the still shaded and massive Shinto temple style Shrine of Life and Love with its attached hot spring bathhouse. The dawn light glowing through the shrine's open columned walls behind revealed the shadowed, giant sitting statute of a war uniformed Natalie protectively holding and comforting a small, long hared child on her lap; the child's statute a remarkable facsimile in stone of a clinging Kusano looking up at her Mother in an adoring fashion.

Another wildly unbelievable accomplishment, Gunny reflected, as the lake, shrine, and onsen along with the island's entire terraforming had been accomplished in less than two hours, but he had seen it done himself. In fact, what the Sekirei had accomplished and built all over the island in less than 20 hours total was truly mind boggling. They were simply incredibly gifted beyond belief as well as super strong and quick. The problem was, however, these Sekirei had all their great powers, but yet were helpless when it came to reversing Cash Archer's slow yet steadily degenerating physical and mental condition. As well as its morale and unity destroying effect on them all.

Gunny shifted his contemplative gaze to overhead, noting that, despite the old sailor's warning, it promised to be a good day weather wise to fight. A few, wispy thin strands of clouds were highlighted by the dawn's soft colors. The star filled heavens still visible above the island's western skies would also soon give way to the rising sun's light; maybe like a Prime Leader that was the bright center of his Sekirei's universe.

That out of left field and odd mental comparison made Gunny puzzle over what had made the Kouten Empire so successful for eons if their Circles were so damn dependent on the life of one central commander, especially a puny and lousy one like Archer. A huge glaring weakness in Gunny's opinion; one that was very likely to kill him and all of them today.

He also wondered if this would be the last day of all human/Sekirei/hybrid dominance on Earth. Or would the massive Rigelian invasion be somehow miraculously defeated? Odds were heavily stacked in the invaders' favor though. There were now less than13 hours until the leading edge of the invading space fleet crossed the still inactive Lunar Defense Ring. And there was still little to stop them afterward even if an activated Ring did cut the Rigelian ship numbers by some considerable measure.

Thanks to Archer's earlier epileptic like seizures when coming awake the first time and now current high fever, his Prime Circle was a bigger incoherent mess at present than before the last battle. His other Circles and solo Sekirei were in pretty sad emotional shape now too. No way were they emotionally ready to fight an intergalactic invasion, or even compete in a kindergarten Red Rover, Red Rover tournament for that matter.

Gunny heard a slight slapping noise to his left that had come from around the tower's corner. It was followed by Buzzard's whispered voice gleefully crowing, "GIN! You sorry assed prick! I win again! Pay up, Jack!"

"You stacked the deck, you cheating bastard! That's the third lay down after only one draw! Nobody's that damn lucky, especially a clumsy dumb shit like …"

"Ah hopes," Gunny announced loudly to his coffee cup in interruption. "Ah say, Ah TRULY hopes you two malingering sad sacks have finished every detail Ah ordered you to do. Otherwise, battle or no battle today, we just gonna have to have us a little hand to hand combat training session as soon as Ah finish mah coffee, you two against just little ol' me."

"NO!" Wilson yelped in dismay followed by the same from Buzzard a half a heart beat later. The pair of Recon Marine Corporals scrambled on hands and knees around the corner before staggering upright, trailing an unheeded deck of playing cards spilling behind and about them.

A large loose wad of five thousand yen banknotes also began drifting overhead in the swirling breeze around the tower. They looked like a spring flock of migrating, Asian red rumped swallows pausing to flit around the base's buildings and rooftops while hunting flying insects. The wafting higher and dispersing yen notes made Buzzard do a series of whining double takes between his stacked deck winnings winging serenely away and his irate sergeant ready to anatomically rearrange Wilson and Buzzards' goldbricking butts into operating with horizontal cracks.

"No?" Gunny returned mildly, but it was accompanied by a very evil looking smile of anticipation. "Ah say, are you all telling ME no to some little ol' morning exercising?"

"Ahhh, ahhh, no Gunny!" Wilson sputtered in genuine fear. "We ain't saying no to nothing! What I mean is, ahhh, we HAVE finished everything you ordered except, ahhh, well, training and drilling those young Japanese Ashikabi in the emergency manual loading and firing of our new Dragon Fire mortars was pretty much a bust. Then they all kinda just quit when Archer woke up and then went screwy a couple of hours ago. We was just waiting here for chow call is all."

"But you are STILL on guard duty, aren't you, and NOT relieved yet. And I ORDERED you two deadbeats to supervise all new weapon emplacements and TRAIN hands to man them in case the automated systems took a big dump on us! I truly suspect you all didn't TRY your best to impart the seriousness of our position heah should power to the long range mortars fail. And have let OUR PLATOON down again in the process!"

"But, but, but," Buzzard began stuttering before blurting out their mutual defense. "But Gunny! The tower's control room has got Faraday cage protection as well as the backup command board that has been installed in the redoubt in case the tower goes down. But that ain't likely. Shoot! All the rest of the new energy beam weapon systems salvaged from the spaceship are set up around the island, online, and ready to go! Sarge, they got another pulse cannon, two super lasers, and a couple of tractor beams to boot. They've even been test fired by that Kouji fella. Ain't even an enemy airborne seagull gonna get on this rock now, let alone any missiles or aircraft.

"Miss Riko's got new automated rail guns supporting every one of them beam weapon positions too. Before Archer went nuts, they finished and launched that Forkball orbital platform and even made three smaller orbital space rail guns slaved to the Forkball's robot brain for targeting, firing, and evasion. On the hill behind the redoubt, there's even a bigger mass driver between those tractor beams that can target suborbital threats. We got us a really sweet fire base here now, Gunny!"

"That Missy Riko is a flat out weaponizing wonder, Gunny!" Wilson added in growing desperation. "It stinks she cobbed onto the repair robot's computer brain and ruined the latrine to make the Forkball's command system, but man, has she and the others turned this island into one giant, kick ass automated fortress! Damn near impregnable!"

Wilson winced as he realized he had said the words "kick ass" to remind Gunny about his recent intent. You dummy, Wilson castigated himself. You're trying to get his mind OFF kicking your ass! He mentally reloaded and tried distracting his sergeant again with a sure fire item, automated belt fed weaponry.

"Gunny! She's even scrounged two Phalanx CIWS, put 'em on top the redoubt by the first pulse cannon, and hooked 'em both into our new automated defense network. Plenty of ammo for 'em! The rest of our conventional Recon weapons are sighted, locked, and loaded too! We just couldn't get those young Japanese guys understand the importance of our new Dragon Fire mortars being able to target the backside of the island's ice ring in case we somehow get another close in, undersea invasion attempt."

"Where in the name of Ned did she even FIND two close in weapon systems? Really? Phalanx Vulcan Gatling guns and all the radar gear to go with 'em?" Gunny blinked in very pleased surprise despite anticipating his kicking ass morning exercise and knowing he was now being played.

He had known about the new energy beam and rail gun sites on Kamakura, but he hadn't heard a thing about this additional Phalanx CIWS development. He really liked it though. The added automated, remote controlled, and long range Dragon Fire mortars that he also knew about were just as nice. Even nicer were his two beloved Ma Deuce machine guns for close in newt killing, but there was nothing like 4,500 rounds a minute of Phalanx armor piercing ammo flying a couple miles down range at any incoming nasty newt crap to liven up a good fight, especially one where a few Marines' butts were on the line. However, no defense was impregnable. These two goldbricking knuckleheads knew that too and should have done as they had been ordered.

"I think the operating word is STOLE, Gunny, not find," Buzzard shrugged somewhat apologetically. "Ummm, a bunch of those Sekirei decided there was some logistical stuff they might need from our Okinawa base and military docks when they dropped off those sleeping Chinese sailors and our Lieutenant at our old Marine base hospital. They asked me and Jack for a few suggestions and, ummm, well, we kinda supplied a list of items we'd like to see brought here. And POOF! It all just appeared like magic!

"Remember those old U.S. Aegis class destroyers that docked at Okinawa last week? Turns out these Sekirei have a gal named Miss Yahan. She's is a sneaky teleporter type and works real well with her Sisters and with that telekinetic Mrs. Miya and Missy Riko. And, uhhh, well, they're simply world class thieves and scroungers like you ain't gonna believe until you've seen 'em in action. You HAD to know they stole those new Dragon Fire mortars from our old base, right?"

"Gunny, while you was in the sack last night, we got more shit and hardware from Okinawa and even Tokyo dumped on our butts so fast," Wilson chimed in quickly now that Gunny had been somewhat distracted from his original threat. "We spent half the night just telling the other Sekirei where to put it all and start setting it all up. They had pretty much finished too when Archer went nuts a little while ago.

"They ain't hardly done shit since though. A lot of moping, bawling, and carrying on. Since we couldn't buck 'em up any, we thought it might be okay to take a little break since all the equipment is more or less ready to rumble big time. Okay? Our real problem now is Archer and his half crazed Circle. They're killing everybody's fighting morale."

"Yeah, Ah know that for a fact too," Gunny frowned reflectively down at his morning coffee. "We got us a sure fire top command type problem heah. One that has to be solved pretty damn quick too. Okay, Ah'm gonna go check on Archer and his Circle over at the clinic. Buzzard, go get a large trash bag from inside the tower. BEFORE you two hit the chow line, you malingering Moe Rons police the grounds of this heah entire base. Ah better not see one piece of trash or scrap when I come back, flying or otherwise, got it? Or ELSE!"

"Crap!" Wilson began bitching as soon as Buzzard returned and Gunny was out of earshot. Nevertheless he began picking up everything his sergeant might even possibly construe as trash and/or scrap. There was no way he wanted any part of Gunny's "or else" and what all might go with it. He also preferred wiping his ass in the good old vertical position too.

"We actually worked our butts off last night, Buzz! Ain't our fault this whole Earth defense thing went to shit on us! Or the fact Archer's a brain screwed jock and these Sekirei are a bunch of big damn natural headcases too, especially those Prime Circle chicks. But here we are, up to our necks in total bullshit again! Typical Recon SNAFU in operation, I guess."

"Yeah, and holding the shitty end of the FUBAR stick too," Buzzard agreed mournfully before letting out a bigger squawk of indignation. "HEY! Those are MY yen notes you're stuffing in your pocket, you thieving prick! I won 'em fair and square!"

"Says a card cheat like you? Well, not all of 'em!" Wilson sneered wearily in return without pausing his pocketing of every yen he could snag. "Some came out of the wad that teleporting Number 57 Yahan store from our general's safe. They fell out of my pocket when Gunny yelled. Besides, we're probably gonna get our butts kicked and then killed today anyway, so unless something changes with Archer and his cockeyed Prime Circle, all bets are off, you card cheating asshole!"

***scene break***

Now that he thought about it, CJ mused to himself, a circle change up WAS reputed to be a fairly easy fooler of a pitch to master and control, much easier than his damn fork ball had proven to be. He wondered if maybe he needed to altogether forget about forking an off speed pitch. After all, he could throw a pretty good slow curve and usually keep it low and around the corners of the plate. A circle change would make his slow curve ball and hard slider even more effective and still set up his four seam fastball and two seam cutter as his get 'em out pitches. Should he give up on his favorite tricky pitch then, and go to a simple circle change?

It was really hard to make a life changing decision like that in all this racket though, especially since he had worked so hard for years trying to perfect his quirky fork ball. Some VERY unhappy, scary, alien, and predatory feeling females were emotionally circling like hungry raptors outside Old Man Warner's barn where he was hiding. Or maybe more like circling hungry vultures and/or loudly quacking and wounded ducks, angrily honking geese, or whatever the squawking bird comparisons.

Actually, the mental clamor these females were making had long since left normal everyday overhead honking of a few migrating geese, passed the din created by seasonal giant gatherings of flocking blackbirds, and became like the almost overwhelming crescendo from thousands of insane chickens caged by twos in commercial growing and egg laying houses. The avian alien females were making it very hard for him to concentrate, and it felt like they were slowly sucking life energy from him as well. Hey wait. Could they be alien vampire bats of some kind?

Even though it was kinda hot in here, it was a good thing there seemed to be a thick heavy curtain covering the entire barn and hiding him away from them. Otherwise those crazed female aliens might start pecking away at him and/or hurting him somehow instead of whoever was out there that was pissing them off. Or maybe even drain him dry like some cliched dumb schnook spending the night in Count Dracula's castle after the clueless dope's car broke down on a back country road in stormy Transylvania. Why couldn't these crazed gals go someplace else and just let him rest and think in his dark, cozy, and peaceful refuge? Or at least decide about simply adding a circle change up to the repertoire of pitches he could throw.

Besides, his head really ached from, from what? Oh yeah, he had fallen from a high place and hurt his head. He didn't need all this racket if he was to get better either. And he HAD to get better soon and try to get to the pitching tryout in Tokyo he had surely missed when he had fallen and been knocked unconscious. What if he couldn't get another chance to make that Japanese minor league team? His whole life would be ruined, that's what.

Damn those alien gals were loud! He could feel that there were eight of them, and man, were they a study of various feminine bad moods. Although he nominally knew the silent screwy one called Riko that he had briefly met … had met … where? Was it on a rooftop while painting his future Shinto Dawn masterpiece or somewhere else? Did it really matter? And who cared?

At any rate, she seemed calm enough now for the stressed out avian alien weirdo and wagtail she had claimed to be then. It would sure be nice and a lot less mentally nerve-wracking if she would just wag her emo little tail right back to whatever planet she had come from. CJ also irritably wondered just who the rest of them were and why they had all chosen to make such a huge emotional racket in his private little recuperating neighborhood.

They were certainly giving off some very bad vibes too. He felt sorry for them, but he didn't know who and/or what had gotten those gals feeling so cross and out of sorts either. After all, he was just a hick baseball player from Springfield, Illinois, named … named … oh yeah, CJ Archer. Why was he having such a hard time just remembering who he was? Well, no matter, because he KNEW he had never been a suave, debonair, sophisticated, and bon vivant Don Juan who understood the finer nuances of human female emotions, nor their causes, let alone the roiling desperation of these alien types.

Other than maybe having someone offer them a customary and calming hot beverage and/or some sugar free snack food, he also didn't know any way to help those alien females control their wild mood swings either. He had no idea what was needed just to make them feel better and happier, let alone get control of themselves. Maybe some chocolate bon bons or chocolate covered fruits and nuts? Weren't his favorites, but hey. He wasn't a female either. Just give him a good old double cheeseburger every time. And salty fries with ketchup.

Hell, as far as that went, good ol' CJ What's His Name was pretty much an emotional mess himself thanks to his insane Mother, and maybe that was why he couldn't even control his pitches better, let alone his fork ball. Face it. Knowing anything about the inner emotional workings of any type of womanhood was as far beyond him as Tokyo was separated from Batavia, New York. Maybe they too just needed a good, hot double cheeseburger to eat, and some french fries. A meal like that was total comfort food, right? Shouldn't it work for other normal folks, even if they were aliens?

However, he could sense those avian, circling, and predatory feeling gals for sure weren't any basic sweet, kind hearted, and normal girlfriend or motherly types; the ones a normal fella could find on any given Midwest America weekend doing some pancake and sausage fund raising breakfast for some local church, or a donation only car wash trying to help the poor and homeless, or maybe a school band going on a donation funded trip to play in a Disney parade.

Nor were they any soft, pampered, polished, and worldly young socialites scheming to snag rich and aristocratic husbands using sneaky, sexy, and underhanded lures while enjoying their daily afternoon tea and crumpets like the Pride and Prejudice gang. He also suspected that these unhappy alien females hadn't grown up playing with dolls and coloring books, doing cut and paste, or pretending to play house or nurse or fashion or rock star divas and such either.

Nope, CJ finally decided. These yelling, weeping, pleading, and calling gals felt more like, well, warriors, even man subjugating Amazon types, or at least a highly competitive, ball busting, eight member female baseball team playing in some world series championship final game. They were very definitely in a league of their own and NOT normal.

Six of them in a central group had that really tense and edgy vibe about them as if they were heading off to do battle or compete any minute now and ready to tear somebody a new asshole. The other two were more off to either side and separated but no less tense and unhappy. It was all pretty scary to him actually, and the main reason CJ had decided to stay down here in this nice dark, warm hiding place in his mind that resembled Old Man Warner's hay barn.

He did wonder again what all the big fuss was about as he listened to them carrying on outside, but trying to make sense of it all still eluded him. It seemed they were all looking for or trying to capture some bunch of mismatched sort of guys and for completely different reasons. Those female warriors' minds felt really messed up too, but since he was a total dud when it came to understanding females, how could he really tell for sure?

True, he could also feel there was something really not right within his mind, like he was missing a big chunk somehow. It had left him very fuzzy around the edges where maybe some memories had been lost or something, but he seemed to be thinking clearly enough even if he couldn't understand what all was making these female warriors cause such a highly irritating and scary ruckus. The more he listened, the more he felt sorry for the guys they seemed to be searching for, or more to the point, trying to capture.

One was loudly pleading for her Master to help her, just how CJ couldn't tell. Another one off to the side away from the others was weeping and wailing to some guy named Joe about how sorry she was and that she'd never hurt her Ashikabi again, ever, whatever an Ashikabi was. Both of them had that very clingy, entrapping feel about them, sort of like Venus Flytraps waiting for some dumb bug of a fella to come within range and become a life long meal. It was little wonder their Master and Joe guys had run out on them.

A third was almost angrily insisting for some guy named Sweet Love to quit blocking her healing powers. Now how did her fella do that? And why would he if he was really hurt? Especially if it was making his Amazon warrior type gal sound so desperate that she had gotten this pissed off at him?

On the other hand, the angry way she felt, that Sweet Love guy would probably be wiser just to drink some willow bark tea, get a few bandages, honey mixed with sheep balm, and needle and thread to sew his wounds. Better to just try healing himself than to constantly put up with that kind of highly dominating female. And for crying out loud what mother in her right mind would ever would name a young baby boy Sweet Love? He would be sure to get his ass kicked on the school playground on a very regular basis growing up. Yeeesh.

A fourth was crooning "Lover-kun, please come to me" over and over, yet her crooning had a very demanding edge to it. It was almost like some kinda desperate black widow spider or female praying mantis had decided it was way past time to mate and was also hungry. CJ had long since thought that whoever was her Lover-kun had better watch his ass and keep his distance, or he would kiss any of his male freedom and self respect sayonara forever. As well as become some female cannibal's after mating snack.

A fifth gal was doing the old broken hearted, pitiful, pity me routine as she wailed about how hurt she felt inside for so badly failing her Husband. The old, big eyed, woebegone puppy dog ploy, CJ thought sagely, one that was always female designed to melt any unsuspecting and unwary yokel's heart and brains until the dog leash was on the guy and not the other way around. Her Husband had better run as fast and as far into the woods of freedom as he could go before it was too late and he'd only be able to run to the end of her chains on him and bark.

The sixth seemed to be doing some weird kind of clarion yet Zen like praying as if she was a lavender smelling empress trying to use The Force to make some wayward Jedi dummy obediently reveal himself and kowtow to her will. Good luck with that, you poor bastard, whoever you are, CJ shuddered to himself mentally. This was no sweet and tender hearted Queen Amidala. No siree.

That unknown doofus Jedi of hers needed to flee from her Dark Side and hide out on the ice planet Hoth or the deserts of Tatooine as a damn hermit for the rest of his life. Better to constantly fight predatory Wampa or Tusken raiders than to be a mental slave to this controlling type.

The seventh screwy feeling female seemed to be just marching back and forth with a military air and loudly demanding for Sweetums to report for duty, dammit, or else, because they just didn't have time for any more of this shit. CJ didn't know who Sweetums was, but he quickly decided that "or else" threat sounded pretty final and maybe even fatal. Sweetums had also better run for the damn hills pronto if he knew what was good for him. This one was really the scariest of them all except for the eighth one he knew was named Riko.

She just stayed in one spot away from the central six group and even the weeping one on the other side of them. Riko was just silently watching all around her for some dumb and unsuspecting dork male victim to come along; waiting like some sleek lioness in tall veldt grass to ambush, run down, and then pounce on her prey.

The really scary part about her was the fact that Riko felt a lot like his too controlling and even conniving ex Agnes Mortenson AND that CJ was pretty sure that Riko's dumb dork prey was HIM. Man, how did always GET in these kinds of things around predatory females? Couldn't he just once find and catch the interest of a live and let live kind of gal? And how in the hell did he know her name was Riko anyway? Wait. Hadn't he remembered more about her just a little earlier?

CJ mulled this last question over as he mentally backed deeper into his mind barn and even blocked out all the female yelling above him. Was he losing bits of his memory or something? Oh well, no need to listen to all their crap since he needed to concentrate and think better in order to avoid being pounced upon by any of them. Something like that just couldn't end well for him at all, and even if it nominally did, then he could still most probably kiss his baseball career a huge bye bye. Why risk it?

Riko, Riko, yes, now he remembered. After his fall, he had somehow been lost in total darkness and then followed and found her on the other end of some weird connecting string. Matter of fact, there seemed to be a lot of strings on the barn floor around him. Riko's string was on the floor too, part of it in a small tangled pile at his feet. However, the very end of her string was very loosely tied to his left pinkie finger, but he knew he damn well better not tug on it again, or she would be instantly on him like white on … on … mice? Lice? Rice? The last tug on her string had resulted in, in what?

CJ carefully searched the fuzzy edges of his mind. Oh yeah, there. Riko had said he needed to find other strings and pull them back into himself to feel better and not be lost any more. Then after some time had passed with him obediently pulling other weird strings, he had realized that he had been unconscious and tried to come awake. He also had felt hungry, thirsty, and had to piss pretty bad too.

Yet when he had come awake, it had been a disaster. Some unknown female with big tits had made him drink some yukky, strawberry flavored milk, which he had never liked at all and didn't still even if he was real thirsty. Then he had caught a giant, cloying, and overwhelming whiff of dead and rotting fish all around him. That had done it. He had started barfing his guts out and hadn't been able to quit. Every time he had tried to take a breath, he had gotten a bigger dose of sickening and overpowering dead fish smells. He had heard Riko distantly shouting in horrified dismay something about they shouldn't have left the explosion's fallout to go ripe in the sun all over the island, but it had been too late.

His barfing and gagging had went on and on to turn into totally helpless, foaming at the mouth, pissing on himself, full body convulsions until some older, white haired gal with a black eye patch had finally jabbed a big damn needle in his butt. When that hadn't helped, she had stabbed another smaller one into the side of his throat to knock him out faster. Then he had realized that there was a couple of strings in the mess he was holding that felt really wrong to him, and they had helped make him so damn sick to his stomach and even made his head hurt more.

In sheer self preservation CJ had garnered what dwindling mental strength he had left, dropped all the clinging and sickening strings, and retreated within himself. It had just been like hiding out in Old Man Warner's hay barn any time he had gotten hurt, confused, mocked, and/or beaten up by older and bigger bullies at school. Except this time the barn had been real hot inside, but hey, it was still safer in here than outside getting kicked and pounded for being the neighborhood loner and oddball.

Man, he had always hated getting beaten up by the bigger kids and had always fought back, well, except when it was the older girls kicking him around. Then he had just taken his tooth and claw whupping like a little gentleman until they had finally let him alone to bleed and crawl away to his safe hiding place in the hay barn. Just like this time. Then he had noticed Riko's string since it had been tied to his finger somehow, but why it had been was a total mystery to him.

As he had finally faded back down into blessed and relieved darkness from lack of oxygen, he had heard Eye Patch say that he was most probably experiencing post traumatic epilepsy and to take him to the base clinic where she could do brain scans and testing. That had REALLY worried him. He certainly didn't want any scanning or poking or prodding or testing since that implied more painful damn needles in his ass. So he had thought, screw this, he was just gonna hide in his one known and familiar happy place.

Then another unknown female had abruptly exclaimed that her Sweet Love did not feel right at all and was still blocking her powers and even pushing her away. That had developed into almost instant panic and then a LOT of females had began screaming and yelling in dismay, shock, and weeping unhappiness. It hadn't let up since either, just gotten worse.

At the time Cash had wondered who her Sweet Love had been, and pitied the poor bastard, but then decided it didn't matter. He had to go hide and stay safe from any gagging world full of rotting dead fish, weird screaming females, and yukky flavored milk.

Matter of fact, he was gonna stay here in Old Man Warner's barn until all the goofy yelling and weeping and screaming quit and everyone just went away and left him alone. Especially that female warrior type Riko chick who had lied to him about feeling better and not being lost any more by pulling on those weird strings around him. And he wasn't about to pull on hers again either, CJ decidedly grimly. Ain't gonna fool me twice. No way. Take it to the bank. 100% Uh Uh.

Pulling on any more mental strings could just go screw too. What if they led to more alien female warriors like Riko or her weird duck companions yelling outside his mental hay barn? They all felt soul smothering worse than his ex Agnes Mortenson. Man, he didn't need any part of THAT repeat type of grief, and he was no warrior like them either. Just a full time baseball player that didn't need to be involved in anything heart breaking and/or hurtful, let alone possibly lethal. All he really wanted to do now was just play baseball, and maybe think how he could best add a circle change up to his repertory of pitches.

That decided, CJ felt around in the dark barn to find a hay bale and sat down to wait the yelling alien females out, but as he did, he heard sobbing coming from somewhere deeper in the barn's interior. Turning his attention that way, he could feel two more loudly weeping, alien female warrior types inside the barn with him. And he could sense two faint but twisted together gold strings on the barn floor at his feet heading back in their direction.

Now wasn't that just his damn lousy luck? CJ groused to himself. Man, if anything could go wrong in his life female wise, it always had, and now he was stuck in here with two more unknown, unwanted, unwelcome, and weepy alien chicks also probably dogging some poor schnook around. Nuts. And dammit, how in the name of the Strongest Disciple Kenichi had his mind's happy place been invaded by these two gals anyway? Didn't they have minds of their own to mess up, let alone his future career in baseball?

Sighing in exasperation, CJ stood up and moved cautiously along the twisted glowing strings on the barn floor without touching them. These two had to go away from his happy place and just leave him alone. He came to an interior door that he knew led to the old tack room and cautiously opened it since there was a soft glow of yellow light coming from under the door jamb.

Old Man Warner had raised and trained ponies in the old days to sell to state parks for kiddie rides and petting zoos. After retiring, the barn's tack room had become a convenient place away from his shrewish wife for the old drunken pervert to secretly stash his cheap booze and view his thumb worn porn magazines. Now however, the old guy's hideout had two lithe, long legged, highly fit, and stunningly nude females sitting in the middle of the room's dusty concrete floor. One seemed to FEEL a little familiar somehow, but on a closer look, physically she was a complete stranger.

CJ also noted irritably the twisted gold strings he had followed were separately attached to their naked and rather spectacular chests right where any lusting old pervert like Old Man Warner would certainly want to play motorboat. Both had unique but equally beautiful facial features as well, and very attractive, dark chestnut colored hair that fell in long tresses about them. They looked as naturally unabashed and without shame as if they were models for Michelangelo painting them as two virgin adult daughters of an Eve that had never been exiled from the Garden of Eden.

On the other hand, the two weepers were also holding onto each other and lustily bawling like a pair of hired professional mourners for some Near Eastern nudist's funeral. And from the real gloomy feel of things, CJ sighed anew, the pair had settled in for some long term tear jerking to give the dead guy's relatives their money's worth. It figured. Just his damn lousy luck too.

"What's with all the freaking waterworks?" CJ half shouted peevishly over their din, but the startling sound of his voice and jerking surprise at his presence did little to minimize the pair's decibel and falling tears output. If anything, they clung to each other harder, and began sobbing louder.

"We're ABOMBINATIONS! And ALONE!" Both, as one, managed to bleat hoarsely between their mutual and rather fetching body shaking and shivering expressions of total woe.

"Abominable, huh? Like Yeti? The snowmen in Nepal? Or snow women as seems to be the case now, except, here's a news flash! Neither one of ya got any white fur, claws, and big teeth, let alone being eight feet tall! Nor are we in the flaming Himalaya Mountains! And as for being alone, the TWO of you are hanging all over each other like 100 year old ivy! How in the name of Kamikaze Girls can you even think you're alone?"

"FOOL! JACKANAPE! We have no CIRCLE!" The slightly smaller one turned to bark viciously at him. "And now we're both so shamefully disgraced that our names will NEVER be honored in our Royal Hall of Ancestors!"

"Yeah? Izzat so. Well, listen up, you two! This barn is MY happy place and has been declared a drama free zone for years and years. Now you two drama queens are really screwing up the ambiance in here with all that damned bawling. It's starting to royally piss me off. I want to be alone and think. So, forget your ancestor fetish! And if you're that freaking ashamed of yourselves, then put some damn clothes on! Then get the hell out!"

"Just go away and DIE! You don't understand! And let us DIE too!"

"Die? Are you two NUTS?" CJ paused to eye them both in critical disgust. "Life is precious! I ain't gonna die! I'm gonna play baseball! Who in the hell are you two anyway? And how did you get in MY happy place?"

"I'm Charlyll, One Who Senses! Seventh Royal Daughter of the Kouten Empire's Imperial Defending Queen! That's who I am!" This came from the one who had barked at CJ earlier. The other larger one, her eyes still almost totally tear filled, turned to look at CJ in frowning puzzlement while her companion continued in a highly spiteful tone. Spiteful, but at least the two had momentarily quit their damn loud bawling.

"SHE calls herself Natalie for some dumb reason, but SHE is really my half Sister, Ashanna, One Who Kills! Second Royal Daughter of the Kouten Empire's Imperial Ruling Queen Mother! We both fell in battle to later become womb mothers, but, now we're both cursed ghouls that mock our ancestral histories! Forbidden abominations that NEED to die!"

"Yeah? Again! Izzat so! Well no wonder you two made me feel sick and too hot to be around you! You don't even KNOW that all life is PRECIOUS? And not to be just thrown away for stupid reasons even if you feel bad about yourselves or even abominable sometimes? You poor dumb shits! That's a pretty lousy Empire you got if it makes ya feel like that. Those feelings always pass if you have guts enough to fight 'em. All that right there just means you're just a couple of complete Imperial headcase females that feel as totally nutso as the others yammering outside. Insane and stupid alien cowards! AND royal pains in the butt! Both of ya! THAT'S who you really are!

"And both of you suicidal kook ghouls look pretty dad gummed young and healthy to me! So what the heck you wanna die for? You need a Circle? Fine! Then go find one! Whatever it is! And some clothes not to feel ashamed! Start a new ancestral hall for abominable alien females while you're at it! But you're gonna do all that and any dying and more bawling OUTSIDE OF MY BARN, got it?"

With that, CJ irately reach down and grabbed their twisted strings. He impatiently jerked both weepy females to their feet, callously towed them towards the tack room's exterior door, opened it, and with both hands, quickly yanked the astonished pair of nude females past him. That event did register in the back of his mind as pretty visually fetching too as he let their strings go, but the rest of him was just too royally pissed off to care.

Just before CJ angrily slammed the door shut behind them, the one named Ashanna found her voice while holding and staring at her particular string in wonder.

"LFE IS PRECIOUS? CASH DARLING! OH MY! IS THAT YOU?"

"No! I'm CJ! Don't know anybody named Cash Darling! Who'd want to?"

"But it's ME! NATALIE!"

Natalie? Did he know a Natalie? That name sounded a little bit familiar, but no. She had to be lying because the other one had just called her Ashanna. And these two alien weepers just did NOT belong in his happy place.

"Liar! She called you Ashanna! I don't know you! I don't know any Natalie either! I'm just a freaking baseball pitcher who wants to be left ALONE! Now just go away, both of you, and take your shallow, too self centered, dying, abominably bawling, and royal bullshit someplace else. Go bother some other poor bastard and make HIM sick! One that's dumb enough to put up with it! And while you're at it, you tell that kook Riko and those other yammering babes out there with her to go away and leave me alone too! I NEED privacy, peace, and quiet in MY BARN to start working on my circle change!"

***scene break***

Coming into Archer's base clinic room carrying her clipboard and a book of notes, Sahashi Takami's one good eye saw a noticeable posture change sweep through the Prime Circle Sekirei. That rapid change wasn't for the better Takami realized, especially after seeing Riko's sudden look of puzzled horror as she sat on the bed holding Archer's hand. Takami also noticed that a sharp spike in the fevered Archer's brain scans must have been the reason for pained shifts in the Sekirei's room positions and attitude.

That change left the other seven who were barely hanging on to their sense of his mind's presence gasping for breath, eyes squeezed shut, and trying desperately to "hang in there" for their fevered and mentally wounded Ashikabi. Takami also noted that their new mutually shared and increased distress had nothing to do with her arrival either. Archer's mind must have also taken some other psychic turn for the worse away from his Sekirei.

Just prior to their attitudinal change, Kazehana had been rocking in one of the room's overstuffed chairs with her arms wrapped underneath her bosom, eyes closed and softly crooning/almost whining to herself. That went to a rigid clenching gasp with her teeth gritting in pain.

Karasuba had been quickly pacing back and forth with a very pissed off scowl on her features before staggering as if hit from behind and gasping for breath.

Uzume had been in the far right corner doing her best imitation of a silent fetal curl with her face to the wall. She then began a pitiful groaning. Miya had been sitting seiza on the tiled floor's center near a small candle lit shrine and praying in a stoic, Zen like fashion, but she went into a sideways slump, head down and one arm bracing herself from doing a total agonized sprawl.

In another chair Akitsu had been gently weeping in deep remorse and self pity. That went to a loud, long, drawn out wail. A silent, shell shocked, and hollow eyed Himeko had simply been sitting on the end of Archer's bed. When the change in attitude hit the others, she just kept staring straight ahead in more unseeing shock while holding onto a groaning in pain Toyotama still kneeling on the floor beside her. Toyotama then clung tighter to her healing Sister's torso and groaned louder.

"Dammit Riko! Keep your mind shield down so we can still feel him!" Karasuba hissed through clenched teeth while staggering to keep upright. "Your thin link to Sweetums is all the rest of us have to keep from going totally NUTS! And Takami, if you keep smiling at the way we're hurting now, I'm gonna rip your fucking throat out, you old bag!"

"We've never liked each, Blackie," Takami returned wearily while again her one good eye professionally scanned Archer's digital vital sign and brain wave monitors mounted over his head, "and we both KNOW I'm certainly bitchy enough to enjoy any discomfort you suffer, as well as Kazehana's. But we also all KNOW you arrogant brats NEED me now, so just cut the crap! Riko, what just happened with him? His Zeta and Epsilon brain wave patterns have just dropped to near baseline!"

"He just kinda went even further away behind his mind shield from all eight of us," Riko bit her lower lip in consternation. "I, I think we are scaring him, or, or something! I caught a couple of very unhappy thought fragments, some about his wanting to play baseball, maybe making some kind of adjustments, then a few being really irritated at us!"

"But you're still linked to him, right?" Takami frowned. "He didn't drop your link like he dropped your Sisters during his seizures? Can you communicate with him? Ask him to come awake or at least let Himeko use her powers?"

"He, he doesn't know her, barely recognizes me, and doesn't trust me at all. He thinks I've lied to him about something, but, but I didn't! I'm pretty sure if I try to call him now, he'll cut my link too! And, and, he doesn't even know himself as Cash Joseph anymore! Keeps thinking of himself as CJ!"

"What's he worried about with us?" Kazehana spoke for the first time through tears of frustration and hurt. This latest crisis was absolutely tearing her apart to where she could hardly speak, let alone think coherently. "Why are we scaring him? Can't he feel our love for him? Tell him we want to help!"

"NO! It'll drive him further away! And, and I'm, I'm pretty sure part of his mind is still missing!" Riko vehemently shook her head.

"You can at least try!" Toyotama groaned almost in desperation. "Muts got the other seven original jinki from that American sub before he left us, and we have all eight now. Wear them for a power boost to call Master and make him understand."

"No! Don't you realize even now?" Riko exclaimed in sheer exasperation. "The jinkis power boost won't help! He's fleeing the power that he feels from us already! And anyway he already blocked Himeko's healing when she used them. They're worthless here! To Cash Joseph it's like he doesn't remember anything after he fell off his apartment roof right after I first met him!

"He doesn't KNOW any of you, doesn't like me much at all, doesn't trust me, and, and somehow we all feel like domineering females trying to take away his freedom to be himself, especially when it comes to playing baseball! He doesn't think of me as his Sekirei at all either, and I'm, I'm not sure what it means, but the last thoughts I caught from him was wanting to eat a cheeseburger, getting rid of everything irritating him, and needing to change his Circle!"

"WHAT?" An aghast Karasuba stopped her renewed nervous pacing at that last statement to stare at Riko in utter disbelief. The other six Prime Circle Sekirei also jerked upright and turned to stare at her in wounded horror. A very long moment of mutually fearful, panting, and shivering silence ensued.

"Are you sure?" Takami broke the silence with a voice tone of pure skepticism tinged with disgust at Riko's lack of logical thinking.

"I mean, if he doesn't even know seven of his Sekirei at all, and doesn't acknowledge you as his, then why would he want to change a Circle he doesn't even have? Use your brains Riko! It's more logical to think that we're just missing something very basic in his relationship to all of you that's causing him to mentally hide from you. Help me correlate my tests and psychic readings on Archer with what we already know to find out what it is."

"Your tests, as if we have any confidence in them!" Karasuba half sneered in ill concealed contempt. "The very first of which when we brought him in here was for you to sneakily measure his Johnson three times when you thought no one was watching!"

"Well, I was surprised when I stripped his messy and wet clothes off to clean him up," Takami shrugged somewhat guiltily. "And I must say even impressed, but let's just call that clinical curiosity, shall we?"

"Clinical my ass, you horny old crone," Karasuba snorted derisively. "We aren't fooled and haven't forgotten. The SLUT is still strong in this one, Sisters."

"We remember," Kazehana's eyes glowered in a long unforgiving manner at her former rival for Minaka's affections many years past.

"Perhaps," Miya also turned an equally jaundiced and definitely unfriendly look at Takami, "you could put aside your usual chippy, slutty, and flippant attitude for once and help me rectify our years of damage and emotional neglect to Natalie's Sekirei. Neglect that has now put the whole world in terrible danger. And we are rapidly running out of time.

"If we are going to have any chance at all against the Rigelian invasion, we need Cash alive and at least lucid enough to mesh Riko and Uzume with the six of us. Especially since Natalie and her gestalt are still comatose too. So how can we best accomplish that? After all, you do want a more loving future now too, right? With Madoka's FORMER Ashikabi? What do your tests of Cash reveal?"

"All right, point taken," Takami sighed in acknowledgment of Miya's wisdom. She also wanted this meeting over with as soon as possible so she could get back to monitoring her own heavily sedated male patient down the hall. There was and would be no love competition for his long experienced and highly satisfying romantic favors which certainly appealed to Takami's innate horny SLUT nature too; one that really LIKED big men that she had already measured without a ruler.

Madoka's former Ashikabi, and older American ex-teacher, had been drugged to forestall any further suicide attempts since his Sekirei had recently been re-winged by Seo to fix his and Haihane's Circle. Not that Takami was complaining. The older Yankee scholar had volunteered to give Madoka up after some hard lobbying and/or coercion from both Miya and Haihane with a little sneaky help from Himeko on the side. Madoka's ex was rapidly becoming the center of Takami's own lonely world now, especially since they had so much educationally and intellectually in common.

"This is what I know for sure. Your Ashikabi's seizures have ceased, but he is still in a coma, although the drugs inducing that condition should have long since worn off by now. I can't get him, Natalie, or her backup to wake up, nor has he dropped his instinctive mind shield to allow any of our healers to use their powers for his recovery. Natalie and her backup simply aren't responding to any healing attempts either, and I don't know why they aren't as well. It's possible he's blocking access to their minds too."

"Thanks to Akitsu's cold packs around their bodies, the best I have been able to do for them and Archer is keep their fevers from climbing above 39 degrees C to do irreparable brain damage, and I have stabilized their bodies' electrolytes as well as most of their vital signs. I've gotten Archer re-hydrated and nurtured by IV too, but the two Sekirei are going to be very hungry if and when they wake up from my past experiences.

"Physically, other than being badly dehydrated from all his vomiting earlier, Archer's internal organs are functioning normally and his blood work, vital signs, and musculature is that of an extremely fit and healthy young male. A highly conditioned athlete actually. But for some unknown reason, and from what I can see in all my tests, x rays, MRI, and brain wave monitoring, Archer's mental condition is still slowly deteriorating as is his hold on life. He's dying, and so is Natalie and her backup."

"FUCK! Dying AGAIN?" A totally frustrated Karasuba exploded snappishly. It was a sentiment completely shared by her Sisters. "What can we DO? Why does he even have a high fever in the first place?"

"I simply don't know for sure," Takami returned as mildly as she could, knowing that irritating the still fairly unstable and rapidly growing more so Karasuba could be a fatal mistake. "But I DO have a working theory."

"Oh that's comforting," Karasuba growled between clenched teeth while rolling her eyes in exasperation. "Is it any better than the one you had before you went to work on Aki-chan and screwing her up some years ago?"

"We were flying pretty blind back then, and you know it," Takami scowled peevishly "And IF I and the other scientists at MBI had been allowed to study the Sekirei and help them, instead of Minaka's insanity forcing us all into spending 90% of our time and effort brainwashing and adjusting them for Minaka's lunatic plan, things would have turned out much better for everyone. Also, I wouldn't be flying so blind now in helping you and your Ashikabi because we simply weren't allowed to do any in depth gathering of observational data."

"Look," Takami relented a little while pointing to the notebook she was carrying. "Up until a few weeks ago, we didn't even know a male native to this planet with Archer's freakish psychic power even existed, let alone operated on the upper Zeta bandwidths that all of you and he possess. We wouldn't even know that now except for the sophisticated psychic monitoring and transfer equipment we have been able to salvage from the ship. It would have made a huge difference years ago if we'd known about it, but Miya shut the door on us then, remember?"

"And a good thing I did too," Miya murmured at Takami's resentful tone. "There would be no telling how much additional damage you and Minaka would've done to us all with access to Natalie's more advanced technology and weaponry. Actually, I am quite pleased the way things have really turned against Minaka now. It's left him little more than a karma reaping, drooling idiot weeping at the feet of Natalie's shrine statue. Serves him right."

"Yes," Kazehana agreed bitterly for all the wasted years of pain she had endured because of the madman. "It does. Better if Muts had accidentally dropped the fickle bastard into the ocean to drown a few miles out after that pretty shrewd American captain insisted on taking Minaka off his sub along with the original seven jinki. Now that we have all eight rods, I can declare us all Sekirei Plan winners, right? YOUR ex-lover has lost."

"That's rich, Kazehana," Takami sneered in disdain at that crude jibe. "Okay, let's have it all out in the open now. You hate me for being a normal female having hormones, a desire to be loved, and wanting a family. AFTER he rejected you, I subsequently had two children with Minaka in our good years before he started going nuts. At least I stuck it out and tried to help him. YOU ran away and hid for years in endless bottles of booze while doing nothing to thwart Minaka's growing insanity. So who loved him more?

"As for the real truth about the Sekirei Plan, the reasons Minaka was able to get away with what he did was due to Natalie being willfully ignorant of what he really was in the beginning. Then like you, Miya deliberately turned her back on Natalie's offspring while Karasuba became the very willing, even eager, enforcer of Minaka's rule over the rest of the Sekirei and all MBI personnel.

"Matter of fact, Karasuba was the only reason Minaka's Sekirei Plan was viable at all. No one was afraid of Benitsubasa or Haihane showing up to force them to stay in the city, or to punish Ashikabi and Sekirei for being too friendly instead of trying to kill each other. Only Miya could have stood up to Minaka AND Karasuba from day one of the Plan, but she selfishly shirked her duties and refused to do so. Everyone and especially the younger Sekirei suffered badly because of her choices. If you don't believe that, then just go ask your other Circles what they really think of Miya, IF you have the guts.

"And I really fail to see how any one of the three of you have ANY moral high ground over me now as I at least had two children to feed, support, and protect in the best manner available. AND I did my best to help what Sekirei I could to mature normally, and yes, made a few mistakes in doing so, but face it. The TRUTH is that you three and Natalie are far more culpable as to the causes of where we find ourselves now than I."

"You certainly seemed to ENJOY your job though," Kazehana replied in a very snippy and bitter tone.

"I was and still AM a scientist working on the greatest discovery in mankind's history. So SUE me. But all of that's past history, and totally moot now, so let's work our current problem. Together for once. You're Ashikabi is dying, and the whole Earth hangs in the balance awaiting YOUR decisions. Do you WANT my help, or not?"

"Okay, okay," Kazehana finally ground out after a long, introspective, and very uncomfortable silence. "Help us."

Takami nonchalantly waved the notebook she carried, but her bland facial expression now was very telling. She was very willing to let past enmities fade. Screw Minaka and his dashed dream about a new age of the gods too. She had her own life and ambitions totally free of him now. And she didn't really want these powerful females too focused on how much Takami had greatly aided now insane Minaka's devastating plans in the past. Better they should reflect on their own guilt as well as her now being a resource instead of a former adversary.

"See this notebook? Even without sophisticated equipment, Madoka's former Ashikabi has made some very in depth and interesting Sekirei and Ashikabi study notes, mostly through observation, interviews, data collection, and extrapolation from his understanding and dedication to the scientific method of determining the truth of the observable world around us. It's the type of understanding and dedication to science of which I have long known that I and MBI fell far short, all due to Minaka's insanity. As a side note, I do plan to spend the rest of my life to actual scientific study of the Sekirei, not only because they deserve the complete truth about themselves, but also for their benefit and that of their eventual children."

"Well isn't that just ducky for you AND your goody two shoes," Karasuba sniped impatiently. "We aren't interested in your personal reclamation makeover and future self forgiveness activities. WHY is Sweetums dying NOW, and HOW can we stop it?"

"In these notes," Takami pointedly ignored Karasuba to look at Miya and Kazehana. "My guy says he believes Archer to be a VERY strong, far sensing empath with Master Class Operant power, or at least potential. Archer must also have some creative abilities to draw, redirect, and manipulate psychic energy to and from others as well as form an incredibly effective mind shield."

"Yes, yes, we know," Kazehana and Miya chorused impatiently before Miya added. "So what is your theory about what is wrong with him now?"

"My best guess is that Archer unknowingly took some significant psychic damage from the mental attacks he experienced from the Rigelian leader during the last battle. After all, Archer was and still is a novice in that arena, under educated, untrained, and totally inexperienced, yet he still managed to deflect most of the attacks' harm and still function while maintaining his mind shield.

"When Archer, in order to help save us and not realizing he had been hurt, made that last all out psychic power gathering and pushed it to Matsu, he greatly over extended his abilities and hurt himself further. It knocked both him and Natalie unconscious and into self preservation modes. That over extension of his energy manipulation talent has now greatly affected his memory and sense of self since Riko says he had to send pieces of his psyche out to make power gathering contact.

"I think instinctively he maintained a mind link to Riko, and it was good that he did, because he simply didn't know exactly how to get those pieces of himself all back. But he had made a start when he finally got enough of them to come awake earlier. Then the rotting fish smells on the island combined with drinking Akitsu's cold strawberry Yoo-Hoo triggered massive epileptic seizures in his still damaged brain."

"Yeah, yeah, we know all that too!" Karasuba half shouted up at the clinic's ceiling with impatient disgust. "So why ain't he recovering NOW? Why won't he let us help him? And why are Natalie and her backup still in a coma too? Time is running out on them as well as us! So what can we DO dammit!"

"Well, I just came from checking on them, and this is what I think may be happening. Look at these current brain wave readouts from Natalie and her back up gestalt in Yume and Yomi's bodies. They too are slowly deteriorating, but notice the faint traces right below Natalie's main Zeta and Epsilon bandwidth readouts. When I overlay them with Archer's, I get an almost perfect match. You can see an even fainter but still a same type of match under the backup gestalt's Zeta and Epsilon bands.

"There's a couple of curious small anomalies though, especially in the cortex scan lines from Archer's hippocampus areas. I'm leaning toward thinking there is where some short term memory damage has been done by the Rigelian's mental attacks, but Natalie somehow had already imprinted Archer's complete identity into her psychic circuits and memory banks before the attack and still had his identity copied when Mutsu initiated the transfer procedures."

"So you're saying that some missing pieces of Cash's memory and maybe psyche are still IN Natalie and now her backup's brains too?" Miya asked as she and Kazehana both leaned closer in avid interest to minutely examine Takami's charts. "How did the backup gestalt get anything? She wasn't even brought out of storage by Mutsu when Cash and Natalie went unconscious."

"I THINK," Takami shrugged while shaking her head uncertainly, "if I understand these notes right, that during Mutsu's transferring procedures, he brought their two Sekirei minds in psychic contact, and they naturally formed a mutually supporting bond between them to keep from being totally ALONE. That instinctive reaction ingrained in a Sekirei's tama also included Natalie's imprinting and bonded link to Archer, one that's maybe flawed a little now due to his current brain damage. It could be they just don't recognize each other enough to support one another as they would naturally do at other times.

"It could also be the backup and maybe even Natalie had been in completely formed Circles since being toddlers, and now it's just the two of them. So they feel suicidal without their other six Sisters. We have very little data about what emotionally happens to surviving members of broken Circles, but according to what I've gleaned from Haihane and her gang, it is pretty devastating to just lose one. Losing six Sisters? That had to be very bad. Sekirei are proving to be pretty flexible in their relationship building though, current company excluded maybe. The problem is that Natalie and her backup also need to wake up before anything can be done to properly heal them."

"We've GOT to help Mother live! We NEED her too!" Kazehana clenched her fists in frustration. "I NEED her! Isn't there some way we can telepathically reach her and explain our danger? Or at least reach the backup? Maybe Madoka since she's our strongest mind reader?"

"She's tried already, but they're minds are being cloaked as well as her healing powers also somehow being blocked by Archer. According to Madoka and also complicating matters, when she tried to telepathically scan the backup gestalt's mind earlier, there was also sense of emotional rejection to the transfer into Yomi's body; a suicidal feeling that the backup felt she had become some kind of cultural abomination that she just simply could not bear to be. I suppose we could best think of it as fictionally analogous to her somehow realizing she was now the transferred brain of some monstrous abomination like Mrs. Frankenstein and simply yet totally refusing to be one."

"My THEORY is that currently Natalie is most probably drawing what psychic strength she can through her now slightly flawed link to Archer. Her transfer pair bonding is making Natalie instinctively try to save her new bond mate, but she can't get enough power from a weakened Archer to override the backup gestalt's desire to die. Therefore Natalie's drawing upon Archer's damaged resources is weakening him further in ways his brain can't handle. In short, basically the backup gestalt, Natalie, and Archer are all suffering from a kind of reverse Sekirei rejection shock and its fever. That along with the three way 'suicide versus life is precious' emotional conflict are slowly killing all three of them."

"Well that's simple enough to fix!" Karasuba instantly exclaimed with a derisive snort. "First we can kick Mutsu's ass for screwing up again, the dumb prick. Then we just kill that fucking backup gestalt! We don't really need her anyway!"

"Get a grip, Blackie!" Takami irately shook her head and impatiently held up one hand in a flippant stop motion. "Mutsu's in Tokyo now, remember? Besides, according to these research notes, if the backup's bonded to Natalie in their mutually weakened and unconscious state, then you'll also most certainly kill Natalie too, and lose whatever pieces of Archer they have within them. Especially his memories of YOU. Very risky, don't you think? And maybe killing just isn't the first option for once, you homicidal nincom …"

After a quick twitch of quiet until now Akitsu's right forefinger, Takami suddenly got a fat round icicle conjured into her mouth to stop her from saying "poop!" at the end of nincom.

"Kara-chan is MY bond mate, One Eye," Akitsu growled softly in warning. "Do not forget yourself and anger her further, or else. You have little power on this Island now, and are here on sufferance only. I will tolerate no more disrespect."

"Heh," Karasuba nodded in snarky smiling approval at the sudden fear in Takami's facial expression before the speech limiting icicle was delicately spat into a free hand. There was no telling exactly what Akitsu's "or else" could mean, but the cloud of frost now suspended around Takami's body seemed to be a good indicator.

"Uh, my apologies, uh, Akitsu-san. As I was about to say, what we NEED is for Archer to come awake, or at the very least stop blocking the other two so they can be healed and stop draining him."

A somewhat mollified and now shivering Takami paused while trying to appear professionally unruffled. She cleared her throat while internally admonishing herself to REALLY watch her mouth and that she was NOT among any friends here, especially Miya, Kazehana, Karasuba, and now possibly revenge minded Akitsu. Even if she was Minato and Yukari's mother and Homura's closest human pal, those weren't buying much good will here at all. Takami bowed her head in polite and expedient acquiescence before continuing.

"Or, Archer needs to come awake and avail himself of Himeko's healing to where he can nominally function well enough to mentally contact and convince the backup gestalt to live. That might also help solve your Prime Circle's current meshing problems too, right?

"Lacking either scenarios now, I've already tried taking saliva swabs from Archer to swirl them inside Natalie and her backup's mouths in hopes of generating some real Ashikabi mating interest in them both and also giving the backup a tangible reason and desire to live. It didn't work. She's gonna need Archer's instinctive emotional and psychic cooperation for their mating, maybe even with the six of you helping as well as a revived Natalie, and again, that's only going to happen once he comes awake."

"What if he doesn't want her either? IF he comes awake?" Riko blurted while flushing with sudden hot jealousy and angrily leaping up from the bed.

She had tried with all her heart and self control to stay quiet and helpful, but, but … DAMN them all! No one had ever tried that hard to HELP her bond with her Ashikabi! Least of all her six Sisters! And she had found him first! And fought her heart out for them during the island battle! AND worked like a dog to get prepared for the coming invasion since! Now they wanted to help a complete stranger mate with Cash Joseph before her? Maybe take her place with Cash Joseph? Well, they could just …

"NO! REEKER!" Karasuba half shouted as she staggered anew in trying to stay upright. "Dammit! You and your damnable temper! Drop your shield!"

"Riko, please," Miya gasped from the instant lancing pain of being totally cut off from her Ashikabi's mind. "We WILL try to help you with Cash! He had already agreed to mesh you and Uzume during the battle! Events just got in the way since! This is very hard on us all, but Cash NEEDS all of us and our help if he and all of us are to survive!"

"Cash Joseph doesn't NEED all of you scaring him! AND driving him away from ME! I'm telling you he doesn't KNOW any of you! Why can't you believe me? Stop pressuring him and making him fear us all to flee healing contact and trust! That is what is really killing him! And none of you would even BE here if I hadn't found Cash Joesph first! You, you …"

"PUT US DOWN, RIKO!" Kazehana yelped in a somewhat muffled fashion as she and her seven Sisters were forcefully thrust up and mashed face first against the room's ceiling.

"Not until you all stop yelling at Cash Joseph in your minds! AND stop scaring him!"

"New troubles in paradise, eh?" Gunny softly inquired from behind Takami now edging out of Archer's room in proactive self preservation. Her sneaky exit was to the dismayed shouts of Riko being heartily damned with some fairly inventive cursing, complaints of not being able to breathe, and being bitched at in general.

Gunny wisely joined her backing motion while gazing up at the weird scene of seven really pissed off Prime Circle Sekirei writhing helplessly about against the room's ceiling. Gunny also noticed that Archer seemed to be just serenely sleeping below it all.

"And no change in Archer or his gals' condition?"

"I'm afraid not," Takami shook her head in disgust as she closed the room's door on the increasing volume of squabbling, kicking, and griping, "and not much hope of any improvement soon seeing the way things are in there now. They're all emotionally unstable as hell to begin with, and without Archer's calming influence, not taking their current high stress levels well at all. Like main line dopers forced to kick their addiction habits cold turkey, actually."

"Sure looks and sounds like another ring tailed doozy of a cat fight starting up," Gunny winced in dismayed agreement as several loud and most probably room damaging thuds sounded on the other side of the hall's walls.

"And I'm thinking Missy Riko can be a real terror in close quarters when she wants to be. I purely hope we can find a way to get those Prime Circle Sekirei fighting the Rigelians instead of each other, and damn soon too. Which we Marines didn't even know either existed a few days ago, let alone that those Sekirei have been fighting them alien newts for ages and ages, or even Sekirei invading way back in ancient days to protect the Earth, then staying and interbreeding with humans to make those Ashikabi fellas. Never knew a psychic talented guy like Archer could be possible either."

"Well, he is the product of a very closely monitored and ages long program of genetic engineering for high metaphysical potential," Takami said conversationally as she leaned back against the wall opposite of the room door and lit a cigarette to await the multiple cat fight's end. "Which might very well explain other famous psychics in times past and even such extremely gifted polymaths like da Vinci, Newton, and Einstein and our own current wunderkind Kouji. Matter of fact, the Sekirei advent to Earth in millenia past also potentially explains so much of long questioned enigmas about our ancient civilizations too."

"Yeah? Like what? Ah consider myself a fairly astute student of history, military anyway. Ah don't rightly recall much of anything pointing to any Sekirei or killer newts being here on Earth."

Gunny also leaned companionably against the wall to listen to Takami's expanded speculations as the clinic walls shook and he too settled in to await the Prime Circle fight's outcome.

"I'm talking about so many analogous types of mysteries, myths, and unexplained phenomena about similar ancient human/bird gods, dragon monsters, ancient astronauts, and warring aliens from so many long ago ages and seemingly unrelated places around the world. The likewise similar petroglyphs and legends of gods and/or star beings coming to Earth, ruling, teaching, and interbreeding with humankind to later create demigods. The building of such inexplicably perfect edifices like the huge stone and precision cut structures of Puma Punku in Peru, megalithic places in India, southeast Asia, and even those in ancient Egypt's engineering mysteries that had to require technology far beyond stone age tools."

"Puma Punku Peru?" Gunny involuntarily half snorted in disbelief. "Sounds like a bad alliteration pun."

"No pun, no joke," Takami shrugged while carelessly waving her cigarette as a dismissive gesture at his disbelieving humor. "Just controversial archeological finds amidst different claims about whether or not there really were ancient astronauts or sky gods building fortresses and communal type sites in the far past, those whose concise and polished structures have stone blocks weighing more than a 100 plus tons and align perfectly with seasonal constellation positions prior to 10,000 BC. Pretty hard to believe that mathematically and astronomically ignorant Neolithic humans using simple stone tools, sand abrasives, ropes, and crude measuring instruments were capable of doing all that."

"Ancient Sekirei colonization of Earth also explains so many inexplicable historical anomalies like similar pyramids in divergent and totally separate cultures all around the world. Those possible nuclear wars in ancient India. Carnac. Stonehenge. Carahunge. Gobekli Tepe. Angkor Wat. The Nazca Lines. Huge Maoi stones. The Rapa Nui stone statutes on Easter Island. Parts of the megalithic stone temples of Malta built way before 5000 BC. The disputed age of the Sphinx as being carved before 10,000 BC. Depicted gray aliens and toothy reptilian devils found carved in stones dated from 10 to over 40,000 years ago in many different and otherwise totally unconnected archeological digs and caves. Way, way too many deep and unexplained mysteries for ancient mankind that can all be very easily explained by what we've seen our Sekirei accomplish in less than the last 24 hours, eh?"

Takami and Gunny both involuntarily ducked and winced at what sounded like a hole being blasted through the roof in Archer's room. They shared a disbelieving and head shaking glance before mutually shrugging.

"An eon or two of Sekirei influence and also Rigelian wars could certainly explain the destruction of Atlantis as well as the incredibly in depth knowledge of some ancient humans in mathematics, geometry, engineering, astronomy, and possibly electricity, some pre-dating the earliest Sumerian cultures. Maybe even gravity manipulation. As well as so many unrelated and vastly separated cultures fixated on the star Sirius and the Orion constellation, and even similar deities like the Annunaki. Warring extraterrestrials might even be the real truth behind last century's Roswell crash.

"All those years of our studying and experimenting and just watching the Sekirei grow and interact under MBI's thumb made us think we had found new alien life in the cosmos. Only to now learn we barely scratched the surface of them as very ancient aliens, their wars, influence on Earth and humans, and even what was right before us here on this island for twenty years. Especially about their Ashikabi and pair bonding relationships."

"Ya know, maybe you could explain something," Gunny squinted and cocked his head sideways to look at the now equally contemplative Takami as a mystery solving resource, even if she had just sounded like a rabid, ancient astronaut theorist kook. "What REALLY doesn't make sense to me is these Sekirei's total dependence on one overall weak as hell central fella like Archer. It doesn't make any real military sense to me anyway."

"It makes sense if in the dawn of Kouten's history you have super powered, very aggressive, and competitive avian evolved females that have an instinctive need to protect their young, especially from other psychic females just as powerful as they. One way is to form strong bonding pair alliances around a communal nest with other emotionally compatible females that have complimentary powers. And enough pairs of them to share child rearing, hunting, protecting, and sentry duties. Turned out to be four pairs seemed to be their normal affinity for all that."

Takami dropped her still lit butt, reached into her lab coat pocket for another cigarette, lit it, and took a quick puff before continuing.

"Yet having competing and raptor like males in the same nest would have been dangerous to the young, so it was natural just to share and protect one male mate. Maybe that also led to a proportionally disparate rate between the births of females over the much fewer males which also settled into their current 8 to 1 ratio in almost everything they do.

"We see all kinds of similar polygynous behavior in birds and mammals here on Earth too; just not the Sekirei's fairly rigid societal numbering structure. You could make a loose comparison to say, an Earth pride of lions maybe, a small group of related females sharing and breeding with one male. My new colleague suspects in his notes that very early Sekirei sisters probably formed female pair bonds and even Circles when very young and then sought out their male nest mate together upon maturity. Not as adults like our current crop on this island."

"Well, that do explain it all a little, Ah guess," Gunny nodded slowly. "Especially their constantly fractious behavior now, but how did they ever manage to become an interstellar empire?"

"After finding success as individual Circles, they began forming integrated fighting and mutual protection colonies with other complimenting Circles. Like a pecking order in communal Earth birds, one Circle becoming the dominant lead in what eventually became a structured hierarchy of octet battle groups. As eons passed the Sekirei system must have naturally integrated into one cohesive whole and finally evolved into building an interstellar empire, still female dominated yet male dependent as their natural cohesive center.

"However, we are seeing signs of great and inherent flexibility in their structured approach even here. Female lion prides will tolerate multi-male cooperatives within them, and I'm hearing rumors about our solo bonded Sekirei doing something along the same lines within Sanada's loose confederation of Ashikabi; Yahan and Kuruse as lead Sekirei and meshing two new Circles with their own Ashikabi as dominant yet accepting cooperatives with their west gang allies. That might even be the new norm in the modern day Kouten Empire now. Who knows?"

"So what's the problem with those Prime gals fighting and screaming at each other in theah? Why ain't they mutually supporting around their shared fella yet?"

"I'm pretty sure that what we have in our Prime Circle in that room is a very aberrant case, even for the ancient Kouten Empire. If you think about it, Sekirei Prime Circles designed to lead interstellar exploration and warfare are most probably carefully bred and then formed when very young; nurtured, trained, and raised to lead their battle groups. Perhaps even introduced and bonded to their Prime Leader during puberty.

"The ones screaming at each other in there are marginally insane and damaged adults with very little parental nurturing, no training, and weakly formed pair bonds. Which is partly my fault, I suppose, but even so they're all mostly doing little more than lip service support of each other now and doing a pretty piss poor job of that too."

"Ah can't say Ah'm too impressed with 'em at the moment," Gunny nodded in understanding tinged with situational disgust at their lack of cohesive discipline, "Nor with their weenie, epileptic Yankee carpetbagger that can't stand strawberry Yoo-Hoo and fish. Seems to me gals with their big time fighting talents could have done a better job of picking a more militarily astute and tougher type of fella though. Especially since he might be heading up their planetary defense efforts."

"He certainly has no military training," Takami shrugged in agreement, "but during the last battle, Archer DID get the other Ashikabi to give their Sekirei unified support, and to be fair, also imparted a merged, do or die, never give up type of stubbornness to all from his indomitable will to win. He also made a very bad tactical mistake then too, but he also instituted that Team Love togetherness thing, and helped empower Natalie and Matsu to greatly aid in the victory. Can't say he didn't give it all he could even while mentally damaged either. He does have some guts, as you Marines might say."

"I can give him that, and he's down right popular with his troops. That's for sure, and inspires their best," Gunny frowned thoughtfully, "and there's many a top commander in history that didn't have as much. He may be a good unifying figure and even have a few enviable charismatic social traits, but I just can't see why he was chosen as their overall Prime Leader."

"We'd have to ask Natalie for that if and when she wakes up," Takami paused to drop her dwindling cigarette butt, mash it on the floor beneath her right shoe, light yet another cigarette in chain smoking habit, and took a quick puff. She did all that while gazing up at the hall ceiling in slightly frowning rumination.

"I'm not sure I understand her choice of him either, Gunny. There's more to it than just the man's capacity for love. Other men with little or no metaphysical abilities can and do love just as deeply, yet Sekirei require more to pique their interest. However, the more I have recently learned about real Sekirei societal structure and gender roles, I'm coming to believe Archer's most important strength as a Prime Leader has very little to do with his own powerful yet underdeveloped psychic battle powers nor any military ability.

"Other than he can emotionally resonate and even project on their highest brain wavelengths, like a very specialized, metaphysical tuning fork actually, it has more to do with the very affectionate stability his particular empathic ability and low key personality provides and projects to his high strung female Sekirei, and not much else, other than maybe his big schwantz. He's like a very powerful, resonating, and stabilizing metaphysical cure for their hard wired but unstable emotions, maybe even analogous to an emotive calming addiction from which they're suffering acute withdrawal pangs now.

"They certainly don't need him to fight, build, supply, or do anything else for that matter, let alone be some kind of action hero battle commander. He just has to calmly provide the shared mating center of their communal nest and fulfill their absolutely driving need to be loved. That is what he does, and apparently nobody, especially other Ashikabi with varying degrees of talents, does it better, on this planet anyway.

"Archer's mostly insane Prime Circle even coming together as much as they have without killing each other already is proof of his leadership's emotional strengths, as well as all the rest of our Sekirei that now totally revere and are fiercely protective of him as their most beloved big brother type. So the simple answer in my mind is that emotionally low key Archer loves deeply and can PROJECT it more powerfully on metaphysical levels only these Sekirei can feel. Or, more simply, his specialized mind's tuning fork resonates a soothing, accepting, and loving calm in a very positive manner with theirs. That's why he is their Prime Leader. I think. Maybe."

"Yet keeping him protected seems to be a very glaring weakness in the way they fight," Gunny shook his head in continued puzzlement. "It's a big distraction and a diversion of resources as well as being a pretty obvious Achilles Heel for an enemy to target. The redoubt battle fiasco proved that."

"Well, true, I guess, but doesn't every military formation and/or command structure have some inherent weakness? The Sekirei warriors seem to instinctively form an integrated tough shell around a softer center when they fight, kinda like an egg now that I think about it. At any rate it seems to have worked well for them and their Empire for eons. They've at least managed to thwart Rigelian desires to possess Earth since even before the dawn of human recorded history. Until now anyway.

"The problem we have at this time is threefold as I see it. First, the Prime Sekirei shell hasn't been properly formed around their center. Second, because of that and due to his self sacrificing nature for those he truly loves, Archer has been damaged in battle to the point where they can hardly feel him as even being alive. It's quickly destroying what teamwork they've managed to achieve so far as well as overall morale, and dangerously delaying their true battle shell formation. But he was also the most vulnerable to damage too, now that I think about it."

"I suppose it WAS kind of naïve of everybody to think we had come through a battle of that magnitude relatively unscathed," Gunny folded his arms over his chest at this thought, "and he HAD been the main target after all. And probably will be again. So what's the third thing?"

"Third, the Prime Circle, probably because of Kazehana's sordid history, is now absolutely paranoid that a brain damaged Archer is going to get fed up with them, dump them all, and start over."

"Really? He could do that?"

"As a full blooded and mutually bonded Sekirei male, no, but as a human hybrid, and a powerfully psychic Ashikabi, I think maybe yes. But it seems a little late in the game for that now. Besides, from what I've seen and heard about Archer, he is very uniquely loyal to his loved ones and self sacrificing way beyond most normal human males. I suppose our third problem is more a case of the harpies in his Prime Circle now painfully going nuts more than him being ready to dump them because his mental faculties have been damaged. Once he and Natalie are healed, I'm very hopeful that we'll see much better emotional balance in all the Sekirei including those flaming idiots in there."

"I see," Gunny digested this while rubbing the day old beard on his cheeks and glancing sideways in appreciative admiration at the brainy one eyed older female beside him. Whether her historical and medical speculation was accurate or not, she was absolutely right about one thing. Every fighting unit and their battle positioning had their strengths and weaknesses. And the ancient Sekirei battle formation was all he had to work with now, including their screwy fixation on a brain fried Yankee civilian as their central military leader.

That meant the cure to their current ills had to be internal in their present system, unless they'd maybe accept a little outside advice and common sense? And good ol' Gunny Sledge was gonna have to play nursemaid again before they all got killed and the Earth was lost to those damn bulgy eyed and toothy alien newts. Might as well get started then.

"So, Miss Takami, is there some way to use those Prime gals alien bonding relationships to reverse what's going on now before they become too unstable to even function as individuals?"

"Well if there is," Takami shrugged anew and sighed in resignation. "It will all hinge on Riko, and currently, she's rapidly becoming a bigger basket case than the rest of 'em. Again. We have to get her calmed down, and maybe convince the others to give her and Archer a little room to interact on a positive note. Somehow and also to get him healed, she has to make him desire a connected reality instead of his currently detached hiding in a dream state. Exactly HOW she does that while going terminally insane from Archer deprivation shock like her Sisters is what we all have to work on, and right now I don't have a clue where to even start in doing that."

"Ah suppose calming Missy Riko is our first priority then," Gunny also sighed as he saw where his immediate duty now lay; inside a room filled with cat fighting alien females. "As well as the rest of them. Ah guess Ah'll have to tackle that female fracas in there and douse the fires. Missy Riko will listen to me, Ah hope. Then maybe we can all put our heads together to deal with reviving Archer."

"Good luck with that," Takami shook her head in disgust at the decibels of very pained female screeching that waved over her when Gunny entered Archer's room.

On the other hand a small smirking smile of amusement formed on her face as she was enough of a self acknowledged and spiteful bitch to really enjoy Kazehana, Karasuba, AND Miya experiencing any kind of discomfort. The problem was the current brouhaha now enveloping the Prime Circle was pretty likely to get one Sahashi Takami killed along with most of Earth's inhabitants.

Unaware that increased brain scan alarms were now simultaneously sounding in Natalie and her backup's room down the hall, Takami turned to leave and check again on her own male patient of interest while adding under her breath, "It certainly isn't any wonder to ME why Archer wants to change his way too bitchy Circle."

***scene break***

The more upbeat emotional mood of the Sekirei Circle members and their Ashikabi in the upgraded heliport air control tower changed not long after Gunny's marginally successful clinic intervention. The tower's good mood had now left any lofty pretensions of cautious and subdued optimism, quickly descended down past the darkest depths of Jack Wilson's usual total gloom and doom despair, and settled into a universally felt, fatalistic resignation to a very unhappy and soon approaching fate. Nor was there any immediate emotional happy place available for temporary flight and escape either. In a short phrase, tower morale now totally sucked.

True, the far sensing instruments, spatial holograms, and readout screens transferred to the tower from the recently slagged hull of the Sekirei rock ship were not giving any causes for much optimism as they monitored the approaching and massive Rigelian fleet. Nor were there few reasons to cheer about the pathetically and comparatively small number of resources signaling now available for planetary defense to meet the interstellar threat.

Even less hopeful were the chances of the Sekirei Lunar Defense Ring being activated in time, or Cash's Prime Circle finally getting their act together to form some kind of unified weapon along the more traditional octet battle groups of the Kouten Empire. One could correctly call all that a giant positive mood killer.

However, the current local emotive darkness in the tower was largely thanks to a snapping, scowling, growling, teeth grinding, and nearing homicidal fury of a very tense and "barely holding it together" Karasuba pacing back and forth. For those occupying the seats of the heliport's modified command center, their immediate concern was mainly the extremely wary and very justified fear of being summarily beheaded. It had the entire room's occupants hunched down, on edge, and totally silent, even the usually unflappable Kouji.

"Current status!" Karasuba snapped while squeezing her eyes shut as if battling a very severe headache, which she was. Even Himeko's group assuaging attempts weren't helping much. Leaving the clinic and Gunny's maddeningly soothing sounds to a sobbing Riko telling her entire life story to him had been the only way to save what little sanity Karasuba had left, but being any distance away from her gravely ailing Ashikabi was taking a murderous toll on her already frazzled emotions.

"ISLAND DEFENSE!" Sanada began loudly when startled by the viciousness in Karasuba's tone, but he didn't turn his head to look at the pacing Black Sekirei before continuing in a softer voice.

"The remaining two hyper lasers have been been mounted on separate outer peaks northeast and northwest, flanking the last pulse cannon on the middle mountain. Those three beam weapons will cover the northern coasts while the pulse cannon still on the redoubt will cover the southern plain, coasts, and our base buildings.

"In addition, each major energy beam weapon has been flanked by automated railguns firing 3 kilogram ammo. A larger mass driver firing 8 kilogram projectiles at low orbit targets has been built on top of the fusion generator hill just north of the redoubt. It has been flanked by the ship's two tractor beam systems. All energy weapons have been hooked into the island's new power grid furnished by the cold fusion plant in the heavily fortified bunker under that hill. Their automated targeting and firing control have been hooked into our command center here, and we have a backup control board in the redoubt, but all weapons can also be manned and fired individually if need be.

"The ice ring around Kamakura has been repaired and made higher and thicker to forestall any future seaborne invasions. Thanks to Yahan's new circle teleporting to Okinawa and stealing what they could with Riko and Miya's lifting powers, the Marines have added and positioned around the redoubt hill eight automated Dragon Fire 120mm heavy mortars with their country's latest rocket assisted projectiles. According to Corporal Wilson, the mortars will be able to cover and hopefully stymie any underwater approach just beyond the ice out to about a 13 mile or 21 kilometer radius.

"The Marines also have two self contained and radar controlled Phalanx Gatling gun pods for additional anti missile and personnel support installed on top of the redoubt hill too. Corporal Wilson has assured me that enough ammo for those and their other current weaponry have been stored in adjacent bunkers to last at least through another larger scale Rigelians assault on us, maybe even two. Wilson also advises there is still some manpower deficiencies in ammo resupply once battle is joined, however, and after we eat, I am personally going to organize our people to remedy same.

"Along with Matsu's electronic control and disruption and our other Sekirei shield generating powers, we should soon be defensively safe from attack and capable of complete control of the air and sea to the horizon around us as well as up to suborbital space above. Beyond that, we will have just to rely on the remaining fighting capabilities of the Russian, Indian, Chinese, and American surface and submarine fleets and their air force and missile assets, as well as their own nations' defensive networks."

"As if they'll suddenly start actually mutually cooperating with each other AND us?" Karasuba snorted in mocking derision at Sanada's last assertion. "Which they've NEVER done? Also, what happens if the Rigelians decide to drop a few island size asteroids on the planet? Which WE might be able to deflect with our tractor beams, but what about surviving the earthquakes, volcanoes, tsunamis, and worldwide nuclear winter that would follow? What then?"

"We're assuming the Rigelians want to capture Earth as intact as possible to maintain breeding stocks as their food," Sanada returned somewhat defensively, "and not destroy the whole planet. According to what we know about carnivorous amphibian life forms, they'll need water and very temperate climates as well as a continuous supply of indigenous meat, right?"

"Okay FINE! So we then might have to fight a protracted war of attrition for at least our little section of the planet and let the rest of the world go screw. Then what? How long can THAT last?"

"Then it's a matter of logistics," Seo continued diplomatically and in a neutral tone, interjecting himself between the now obviously pissed off and darkly scowling Sanada. However, Seo talked to the command center's readout screens before him without actually looking at Karasuba or acknowledging her lousy attitude. His facial expression, along with most everyone in the tower, could be plainly seen as acknowledging Karasuba's battle command right to be there, but her welcome was close to nil without Archer's soothing influence on her volatile and nasty attitude.

"Everything of use has been salvaged from the ship, and it's interior slagged to permanently seal the anti-matter leaks. The base buildings are all repaired, two new warehouses are stocked with dry goods and canned food, and a new water desalination plant along with Kusano's large hydroponics garden have been built and now operating.

"The base's old food warehouse has been retrofitted with refrigeration units, and between what fish we have netted and Yahan's gang of teleporting thieves have appropriated from various sources, we now have enough frozen beef, pork, chicken, fish, and other seafood to last about a year. That will give us plenty of time to grow enough protein, fruit, grains, and veggies in our hydroponics to virtually sustain us here as long as we have means to fight.

"We can now conjure up the materials and set up an ammo factory for the Marines if we have to. We have also tapped the methane hydrate wells for back up power and heat for the entire island as well as heating the waters in the new shrine and adjoining onsen baths. The ice ring will deflect any tsunamis. Volcanic and earthquake action will only lift island elevation, and we can repair any damage done quickly. I'd say we're relatively safe here, but yes, the rest of the planet's population is pretty much doomed in the advent of any totally catastrophic bombardments from space."

"Oh really? Safe here?" Karasuba shook her head with her eyes again closed in pain. "From the survivors of a space fleet able to fight its way past EIGHT rock ships and the Arcturian defenses around Jupiter? They're just gonna somehow let us sit here like some planetary pimple they can ignore while devouring the rest of the world? Get real! You ALL feel this way?"

Kouji took a deep breath, exchanged a pained look with both the glowering in resentment Seo and Sanada, shrugged, and then sighed softly in resignation before answering.

"Ummm, I respectfully disagree with any assessment of long term safety here. The Rigelian fleet has given up all pretense of being a meteor swarm and are moving into a cylindrical attack formation as my earlier algorithmic estimations estimated. The Sekirei Lunar Defense Ring is still inactive, but even if it becomes activated, the enemy are massing an attack in a way that will sacrifice their outer perimeter in order to shield the cylinder formation's inner ships.

"This tactic is consistent with the way they suicidally stormed our hillside fortress and used point of attack numbers to overwhelm defenses. A tight and efficient globular approach would be too clumsy and time consuming to use, and I have assumed a more compact and number overwhelming point of attack mode.

"From data in the ships memory banks, I have postulated that the Sekirei Lunar Defense Ring is most probably a global standing plasma wave of ultra-relativistic electrons very similar to a Third Van Allen Radiation belt but much more densely packed. If I am correct about the destructive energy available within a plus or minus factor of 3.77, then approximately three fourths of the Rigelian fleet will be eliminated. However, even inactive, the threat of the Lunar Ring's activation has forced the Rigelians into more of a singular point assault rather than the looser long cloud they have been using until now.

"Current planetary defenses available to meet their point of attack are thus. The major military powers of Earth have revealed that 37 atomic missiles were illegally placed on secret and space treaty violating orbital platforms by the Russians, United States, China, India, and European Union. There are also seven illegal rail gun satellites controlled by those countries. All of these have been made available and now electronically commandeered by Matsu. Less than 12.4 hours remain until the fleet's leading circular edge of that cylinder crosses the Lunar orbit. The nuclear armed orbital missiles of the world's military powers will require 8.2 hours to effectively meet that circular area. The rail gun ammunition will make the trip in 2.22 minutes. They could await the most propitious time to be fired for maximum effectiveness."

"Is that all Kazehana's United Nations speech did for multinational cooperation to fight their common threat?" Karasuba raised one eyebrow in cynical disbelief. "They got a lot more military assets to put in play than that, even land based ICBM's could be used by Matsu, at least on suborbital targets, right?"

"There has been no word on their willingness to lose total control of their land based arsenals. They have rearmed and resupplied their carrier fleets on station around our Island for extended air cover," Seo returned somewhat casually, "but how much help that will be for our extended aerial defense is debatable.

"The two U.S. Carrier groups are much closer, but again, we're supposing that they will be too busy trying to survive themselves than ally with the other fleets or us for any coordinated fighting. Who knows what they'll be able to do in defending their own cities and countries? Civilian populations around the world have finally figured out they need food, water, and shelter, so they're starting to return home. The problem is they're still fouling up transportation routes and hindering their military forces assembly and readiness."

"Well, that's the worlds' military problem, not ours," Karasuba made a dismissive hand gesture. "Besides, we don't have the resources to defend Rigelian attacks and landings on the other side of the fricken planet. So screw 'em. I want to know what we have done and still CAN do to stay alive here. Kouji? Got an answer?"

"Under current parameters?" Kouji asked warily.

"Are yesterday's important? Yes! I want to know what we're facing now, dammit!"

"CURRENTLY," Kouji emphasized the word after taking a deep breath. "Our own cold fusion powered, space weapon platform named the Forkball with its pulse cannon, rail gun, and two hyper lasers is in anti-gravitational and stationary orbit above us. Riko and I have made and launched three more bare bones anti-gravity rail gun systems using the ship's advanced capacitors and solar panels that we salvaged for their power source. They too are in stationary orbit above us. Using three confiscated grid communicators, Kochou has slaved all targeting and maneuvering for the four platforms to the repair robot's control circuitry aboard the Forkball.

"Current estimates of combined impact from all orbiting weaponry available around Earth indicate a range of 10 to 20 percent effective damage on the enemy fleet. More succinctly put, if the Lunar Defense Ring is not activated in time, they will initiate mass attacks on Kamakura Island until we tire from exhaustion. We will eventually be overwhelmed in disastrous proportions and then the Earth's population decimated.

"IF the Defense Ring IS activated in time, we'll still be overwhelmed by the surviving 5 to 10 percent of the enemy fleet including the large mother ship tucked into the formation's rear. Its potential sustained firepower has to be measurably higher than the fleet's smaller ships as well as its defensive capabilities."

Kouji stood and took a couple of steps to indicate a global hologram depiction of space around the solar system from the Asteroid Belt in to the Sun. He pointed at the somewhat still misshapen but now clearly cylindrical mass of red blinking points of light heading for the Earth between Mars and the Moon. It was easy to see the much larger mass of the Rigelian mother ship enlarging the formation's trailing group. Actually, the shape of the Rigelian fleet resembled something usually depicted in an obscene fashion on public latrine walls.

"I believe this ship, once safely past the Lunar Defense Ring at the expense of its minions, is more than enough to devastate the planet's nominal military defenses as well as all of us on Kamakura Island. We have nothing to counter its power … yet."

"Ahhh! Finally! So there it is!" Karasuba snarled in exasperation as Kouji's last word stabbed deep into what was really wrong in the heliport tower.

"Why didn't you mealy mouthed shits just say what you're all thinking to start with! Our current situation and defenses totally suck because the Prime Circle is a pathetic bunch of losers unable to form an effective Sekirei fighting group. AND with our Prime Leader still in a coma from which his Sekirei can't get him to come awake, we REALLY suck! So now we've got a giant Rigelian dick headed for us, and we're all basically and royally screwed because of US no matter what!"

"That is my assessment, yes. A meshed octet of Circles does seem to be our only hope to augment our current defensive strategy," Kouji replied warily as he edged back towards his seat, "and I would be remiss in giving a true status report in not stating that there is still time to form same, as well as activate the Lunar Ring.

"There are reams of statistical data in the ship's memory banks about the combined power enhancements such ancient Kouten Empire formations can engender and even greater if a full battle group were made. It's either that or we hit the Rigelians with what we can and then fight a protracted and statistically very unfavorable guerrilla war for decades to come."

"Well, even with all eight jinki now in Kazehana's hands, we still don't HAVE a meshed octet, now do we?" Karasuba half shouted in total frustration, "NOR a fucking battle group! And your lousy statistical data doesn't say a damn thing about how we get either one because we're just too damned nuts to do it on our own!"

"Boss, can we take a walk?" Haihane asked somewhat gingerly after getting a silent dark look from Seo demanding that she do something about getting the half crazed and about to snap Black Sekirei out of everybody's hair. The mood in the tower was already now bad enough without suffering from any more of Karasuba's murderous vibes.

"Walk? Now? This is all driving me INSANE!"

"Well? …. Yeah?" Haihane replied drily with raised eyebrows. "Like, we've noticed? C'mon. Give it a rest for a little bit. You're too damn tense and over tired from being on edge too long. We still got a couple of hours until crunch time. Let's head over to the onsen, take a hot soak, relax a little, and talk things over. Maybe give our whole situation a calm think or something between us."

"Oh all right, fuck it," Karasuba half slumped in released keyed up tension and knee buckling surrender as Haihane dipped under one arm and came up in support. The pair stumbled out the door together and made a leaping trip into the distant onsen springs as the tower occupants all gave one mutual sigh of aggravated relief. As one they also thought that their Prime Leader just HAD to come awake soon before they all decided to turn the island's weaponry inward to frag the again insufferable and potty mouthed Karasuba.

"There's something really wrong with you Prime babes, Boss," Haihane bluntly began after they both nakedly emerged from their scrubbing baths and settled into the onsen's swirling, bubbling, and heated water. "Meshing was pretty damn easy for the rest of us when we got our four bonded pairs. What's with you guys?"

"Ahhh, to begin with, it was all of us," Karasuba mumbled truthfully while letting her head fall back onto the onsen pool's rounded stone edge. "Now it's those two shitheads Riko and Uzume. So quit gloating, will ya? And your Circle's Big Momma zapping the eight of us like you did me outside MBI's towers ain't gonna help anything either."

"Hey, I'm not gloating," Haihane winced at the memory. "And me zapping you was just a new and heady power rush kinda going to my head, ya know? Sorry about that, really. But you six guys gotta lighten up, get your shit together, and add your last pair. We're almost out of time, and you gotta forget all that talk going around about Arch replacing Zoomer and Reek with Natalie and the backup gestalt gal. You KNOW when he gets cured he ain't gonna give Zoomer the boot. He's way too loyal, and even I can feel that. And we both know he had already decided to keep Riko too.

"And face it, Zoomer and Reek are hands down the most powerful duo of all of us anyway. They can stand off high up, conjure, and fire enough high powered shit down range even you and Aki-chan couldn't dodge it, let alone their making an instant defensive shield none of us could penetrate. What the hell's the matter with you other six gals that you can't see that and bend over backwards to get them meshed with ya?"

"Hey, those two boneheads have had every chance to..." Karasuba began with a disgusted growl, but Haihane quickly interrupted while shaking her head in refusal to accept that line of logic or even its premise.

"Now see, right there's a big part of the problem, Boss. That's the absolute wrong attitude for coming together, but understandable I guess since you six gals have always been and still are the biggest queen bees in our whole damn hive. You HAVE to set those huge egos aside and be setting the meshing example, dammit, for each other and even for your two bonehead Sisters!

"Look, case in point. Madoka is a real class act. The rest of us in Seo's Circle are just a bunch of low life tramps and peasants in comparison. Yet, even if she's a real battle weenie, we NEEDED her and her healing powers to fix our Circle. She NEEDED a Circle and bond mate to love and protect her! We didn't demand that she change her basic personality and manners. Hell no! We asked her to improve ours! Get it?"

"Soooooo," Karasuba squinted in thought up at the steamy onsen's tiled ceiling. "You're saying WE need to move to THEM? Adapt to them and not demand they adapt to us? Is that it?"

"Yes, dammit! Take them as they are! Even if they are both still oddball kooks! And appeal and play to their strengths for everyone's benefit.

"Look, Uzume is a dominant, tomboy, and defender type like Itchy, right? Those two need to be in total CHARGE of something vitally important. Like protecting their Ashikabi! Make Zoomer Arch's personal body guard like we did to Ichiya for Seo, especially when you guys are out in public. Nothing gets past her to hurt him, see? Nothing! Where he goes, she goes, 24/7.

"And Reeker supports Zoomer to protect Arch as her bond mate should, just like we're using Mado-chan and her powered up mind reading and healing abilities to aid Itchy. That frees the rest of you to do what you do best, attack, fight, and lead our battle group!"

"Ummmm, okay," Karasuba nodded somewhat uncertainly while still frowning. Haihane was making total sense, but six submitting to the whims and vagaries of two? THAT was pretty damn hard to swallow for her, let alone the other five. On the other hand, Haihane had the most experience in Circle meshing of them all, and maybe she was just the right supportive and aiding resource that the Prime Circle needed to be tapped and listened to now. Matter of fact, they had been pretty damn dumb in not asking for her help a whole lot earlier.

"I can see that scenario being emotionally appealing to Uzume big time," Karasuba continued while looking at Haihane in a new and more appreciative light, "and it turns her attention outward to watch and gauge potential threats to Sweetums instead of just watching him and being jealous of the rest of us. It would free us up a little from constantly worrying about Sweetums' safety too. So how would you and your Circle appeal to our ditzy, bad tempered, mentally fucked up, and fairy tale dreamer Riko? Emotionally I mean.

"By the way, that little turd royally kicked all seven of our asses over at the clinic a little while ago. Squashed us all against the ceiling like helpless bugs until we agreed to leave the room and come up with something positive to offer in helping Sweetums come awake."

"Still no change in Arch, huh? Damn!"

"No, and going downhill little by little with Natalie and her backup too. So what would you do with Riko?"

"Awww, that's a tough one. She's a real feisty little oddball all right, so I don't know really," Haihane shrugged and then moved to put both palms on the side of the pool's edge. She let her chin rest on the back of her hands as her body naturally rose to float in the pool's warm bubbling and swirling waters.

"Except she IS a big brain type, even beyond our Kochou in some ways, so maybe the same things apply to her as well. I'm just guessing here, but, ummm, we've put Koko in charge of keeping Seo happy with his life, now and in the future if we can somehow knock off those damn Rigelians. Since he's essentially a lazy bum with no ambition, Koko's decided that she's gonna make him the Chairman of the Board of some insanely rich and huge corporation where he won't have to do a damn thing and yet can financially do anything he wants whenever he wants."

"Sweetums would never go for anything like that," Karasuba scoffed while shaking her head vigorously in negation. "All he wants to do is play fucking baseball."

"So let him!" Haihane almost snorted in half amused disgust. "What do you guys care? And hell, put Reeker in charge of keeping her Prince Charming ballplayer happy by making sure he plays as much baseball whenever and wherever he wants! She's your nest builder, right? Build you guys a home anywhere within a few hours? You guys really don't give a damn where on Earth either as long as he's safe and your nest can be defended. And you get all the popcorn, peanuts, hotdogs, and beer you want!"

"Oh goody, and YAY," Karasuba's eyes crossed at the thought of enduring such boredom.

"C'mon, only Zoomer and Reek would have to go to Arch's every game and practice. You could plan on joining him in the showers afterward once in awhile though."

"Well now, THAT at least has some merit, I must say!"

"And Reeker's ALWAYS been a full fledged believer in fairy tale, forever and ever type romances, right? Like all those old Disney cartoons we used to watch all time as kids growing up here, ya know? Then make Riko in charge of that for the other seven of you! After the war, of course."

"What? What do you mean? How?"

"Ahhh, you know, let Reek set up romantic scenarios in weekly getaways for all of you. Like, ummm, hey, Toys could be like that cross dressing female warrior in that old Disney cartoon movie, ummm, what was her name? Mulan! That's it! Mulan! The one that saves her empire and her prince and then screws him silly afterward.

"You could be Pocahontas, the wild in the forest type. Zoomer would be a cinch for Rapunzel. Kazehana could be Belle. Aki-chan is a natural Snow White. Himeko plays syrupy sweet Ariel or even velvet fisted Jasmine. Miya, umm, is like Hercules' girlfriend. That lying sneak he forgave and helped. What was her name? Megara? Natalie could be Sleeping Beauty, and Riko is naturally Cinderella, the biggest, unluckiest, and misunderstood klutz of all those gals."

"A cartoon princess? ME?" Karasuba let out a snort of total derision at the idea. "You gotta be kidding! Except … well, I really like the Sweetums and me screwing each other silly part, a lot actually. I'll never get enough of that."

"Yep! And don't forget you get to mentally share your Sisters' fantasies too, like when you were helping Arch and Akitsu's first broadcasting all over Tokyo, remember?"

"Yeah, the good ol' days, eh?" Karasuba reached to massage both of her badly aching temples before asking, "Claws, if you needed Riko to get Sweetums to come awake, what would you do? And at this point he only remembers their first meeting, which went badly. He doesn't trust her at all, and her innocent girl next door approach fell pretty flat then too."

"Then that means Arch has to come awake because he really wants to do it, but not because of her. You know, for something really important to him besides sex. Like, ummm, maybe his mother wants him to come home for dinner or something. Or he has to catch a plane back to the States. Whatever.

"Maybe Riko would have to lie to Arch a little, but the important thing is he wakes up, right? Then the rest of you can make your pitch to let Himeko heal him, or you all can distract him enough that he drops his mind shield while she nails him from behind. We're getting pretty desperate, Boss. Time to maybe get dirty and sneaky if you have to."

"You're right," Karasuba growled in exasperation, "but using Riko's low vibe sex appeal on him is out. Even in black lace panties, she just ain't the steamiest babe in our current chorus line, ya know? He'd probably rather eat a cheeseburger."

"Reeker's no Kujou, that's for sure. There's one horny slut that can really turn it on for our Circle's love engine when she wants to. And it sure feels super great to be hitting on all eight cylinders again too!"

"That's right. You got a meshed Circle again now that Seo re-winged Madoka, and you got your glow back, huh? Nice. Say, how'd you guys pull that off anyway? And legal enough for Kazehana to accept?"

"We sorta asked Mado-chan's Ashikabi to give her to us," Haihane shrugged while deliberately not elaborating much on the more coercive details, "and that older guy, he's pretty gutsy for a low level Ashikabi actually, finally agreed that she and Ichiya both really needed each other as bond mates to get over Yosuga and Saki's deaths. Although Mado-chan turned us down flat when we approached her first, he knew she was very unhappy as a weakly bonded solo to a very under powered old geek. She was way, way above him on a psychic and physical basis actually. Also, he totally knew our entire battle group needed Seo's Circle fixed.

"So he, uhhh, with some teeny weenie help, saw how much he was holding Mado-chan back, as well as our saving the Earth efforts. He then reread a lot of his notes and stuff about Sekirei bonding and re-winging, especially where the very weakly bonded and unhappy ones were ONLY re-winged by their willing cooperation and even actively seeking out more powerful Ashikabi with potential bond mates and uncompleted Circles. He even noted that there have been no FORCED re-wingings since Arch came to Tokyo and we all found it was even possible. So, you know, he eventually did some scientific logic, pro and con thing, came to a self sacrificing decision for her to become a LOT happier long term, and then talked his weakly bonded Mado-chan into quit glossing over and hiding her secret yearnings and letting Seo have a go at her, finally."

"Finally? That simple, huh?"

"Well, no, it was kinda," Haihane paused to search for the right word, "ummm, awkward at first since she and her Ashikabi loved each other. I have to really, really admire that old guy's guts to give her up, even if he really had no business winging a young alien gal in the first place. Still, even those bonds are HARD to break. Not like leaving a cold monster like Higa or an uninterested Natsuo. And she's just got a lot more refined class than me and the gals, but Itchy and Mado-chan had both been pals with Toyotama back in their school days.

"That helped a lot, as well as the fact Mado-chan secretly REALLY wanted to be in a protective Circle, yours actually, with Uzume as her new bond mate. Except Arch, well, he wasn't in any shape to snag Mado-chan even if she hadn't already been winged."

"Total pipe dream on her part," Karasuba made a rude noise in negation at that thought. "There's no way he'd knowingly do that. Besides, she's not even close to being his type. Way too submissive. Our Sweetums only goes for us real aggressive types."

"Ummm, maybe," Haihane gave her pool companion a quick, head shaking, slightly cynical glance at that irony. It was actually the Prime Circle aggressive types that had gone bat shit and ape insane for Archer, and his endowed manhood about which the innuendos and tales Takami's "tests" had now confirmed. Not the other way around at all.

"So why'd you guys target such a little battle weenie like Madoka?"

"She was the best healer vulnerable to being talked into re-winging with Seo," Haihane replied bluntly. "As well as being a nest building type like Saki. After that bad scare with Seo in the redoubt battle, and the fact that he's a natural fighter like Sanada, we all decided that we really, really needed a healer too, so, uhhh, we kinda talked sense to her Ashikabi, a lot, and so did Miya. Eventually, ummm, the rest of us sorta pitched in to help Seo get in the mood, and, ummm, Himeko might have pushed on Seo's and Madoka's pudenda nerves a little bit when they got close enough together. Ya know, to get Mado-chan interested and then eventually get her bell rung pretty hard.

"She's actually a pretty hot number in the sack to start with, but it took some doing to get her bonded and meshed to us all. That last was was one helluva rush though! But, she's still got a lot of left over guilt about leaving her old Ashikabi, and her Ashikabi, even knowing that he would beforehand, still took her loss really hard too; had to be sedated by Takami finally, and still is, but he did the right thing for everyone, even himself. Mado-chan is all ours now, and nobody's gonna take her away from us! Not even you guys!"

"Hey, hey, relax," Karasuba grimaced slightly at Haihane's sudden defensive and defiant tone at the end. "Nobody's busting your chops for that, least of all me. So you fine lined Kazehana over fixing your Circle by re-winging Madoka. It solved a huge problem, and even if he would, which I doubt under the circumstances, our Sweetum's can't do anything about it anyway. Why would he? According to Miya, Seo, your Circle, and Madoka are all much happier now, as well as her former Ashikabi has that old slut Takami measuring his dick and planning for their future together. Total win, win, win all around as far as all the rest of us can see, even Kazehana.

"Besides, we all got bigger problems. The fucking Rigelian space fleet is still coming to wipe us out. The six of us talked over some plans after Riko threw us out of his room, and especially after she said Sweetums wants to change his Circle."

"A Circle change? Arch?" Haihane's features screwed up into puzzled amazement. "That don't make any damn sense at all. Not after what we all know of how he truly and deeply felt when he almost died on my claws in the gym. Which still haunts me, by the way. But I don't want to think about that now. What new plans you Prime gals making? Not to be picky or anything, but don't you think the rest of us ought to be in on them? Even help make 'em?"

"Well, not really, because these are just basic alternatives in case we keep failing you guys. But, Plan A is to somehow still get Cash and our Prime Circle fixed real quick. Plan B was earlier sending Mutsu and his gang to Tokyo in hopes the Petal babes can get organized enough to activate the damn Lunar Defense Ring. If neither happen soon enough, then we've decided we're gonna have to step aside for a new Prime Pillar and Circle to lead the fight. Call it Plan C, a circle change. Then we'll fight as best we can to support the rest of you."

"WHAT? Plan C?" Haihane gasped in alarm and eyes going wide in total disbelief. "Ahhh, no! You guys got most of the elemental powers! What do ya mean step aside?"

"Just that," Karasuba threw up both hands in aggravation to make the pool's swirling and steamy waters splash slightly. "Minato will probably just have to become Prime Leader. His Sekirei are the next strongest, and another solo meshing Circle will have to form and complete the octet battle group. Yours is fixed now, right? And in replacing Muts and Shiina's Petals, Sanada has gotten his cooperating west Ashikabi allies to let their Sekirei form two more meshed Circles around Yahan and Kuruse. There's seven meshed Sekirei Circles on this island now, and enough solo gals left to form yet another, maybe even two.

"All that meshing flexibility between solos and their Ashikabi showed us and Kazehana that we can be replaced too if need be, and dammit, we're running out of time, fast. There's only about 12 hours until that damn Rigelian fleet hits Lunar orbit, and the Lunar Defense Ring STILL isn't operating. But it HAS to if we're even gonna have a ghost of a chance. So, unless Riko can pull off a miracle now and get Sweetums to lift his mind shield somehow, you guys are gonna gonna have to step up and …"

"Oh, whoa, Boss, hey," Haihane interrupted while shaking her head vigorously. "Ain't no way! I mean Minato's a nice guy and all, but …"

"Okay, Sanada then, he's a natural leader, or even Seo, and you become Prime Pillar," Karasuba chopped her right hand between them impatiently. "Like I said, Claws. We're running out of time and options. Besides, with the common sense you've been showing here, I think you've got some real Prime Pillar potential here, maybe even better than Kazehana."

"ME? As Prime Pillar?" Haihane's eyes bulged in total disbelief at the concept. "Or Oriha? Are you guys NUTS!"

"Well, Kouji and Namiji then, or maybe you all just need to take a vote or something. What the hell do I know? We should have had our meshed Circles when we were kids, right? We're all in new territory here and trying to make do on the fly, but waiting around for Sweetums to be healed and us to get our sorry act together is fast becoming unacceptable. Depending on Muts the Putz to come through in Tokyo is just as remote. Just think of it as you being Plan C being upgraded to Plan A, okay?"

"NO! No! It's NOT okay! Look, you guys can do it! It's not that hard, dammit! I mean, me and my gals slipped into it right away! So did Sanada's, Kouji's, and Mikogami's. What the hell's the matter with you guys? It ain't that hard!"

Karasuba swept her long ponytail back over her right shoulder in agitated frustration before answering.

"Well, it is if you don't basically like each other to begin with, as well we're all jealous as all hell and don't really trust each other hardly at all. Toss in the fact that we're all major head cases to boot. Sure, six of us are more or less operating together now, but we had Sweetums and Mum help us finally mesh. Now we don't. The way he is now, he can't even remember us, let alone be our cohesive center. And it seems that even the eight jinki crown needs a Prime Leader to gather a great deal of combined power for the Pillar to use it, which Cash can't remember how to do either. So it hasn't helped us fix Cash or wake Natalie."

"And our last two blockheads are still pretty much feuding too. Not even speaking to each other now actually. Riko and Uzume don't have Cash and Natalie available to help them either, and try as hard as we six have, neither one is any closer to us than when we all came to Kamakura. All you guys trying to help us fizzled too, remember? Unless Cash can come out of his current funk, face it, we're sunk."

"Oh man," Haihane began swearing at the onsen's roof in high agitation. "There's just gotta be something we can do, dammit! There's just gotta be!"

"Well, I'm open to ideas, just all out of any myself," Karasuba sighed then let her aching head fall back and rest upon the pool's edge once again. "And if Madoka needs any advice on how to handle Ashikabi betrayal/replacement guilt, send her to Kazehana or even Miya and Uzume. Our experts."

A long silence ensued as the two Sekirei simply relaxed in the warm pool and thought things over until Haihane finally spoke again in a rather soft and contemplative tone.

"I just don't understand why Archer ain't fighting harder to use his psychic connections to you Prime babes for his healing. Why is he not open for that, but even worse, mentally hiding from all of you?"

"Don't know. Riko says we're scaring him and pressuring him somehow, at least the part of him she can sense. There seems to be a missing part of him in Natalie, but she's not connected to him for some reason either."

"Yeah, you told me that already, but even hurt real bad, Seo would NEVER run from what we GIVE to," Haihane stopped in a blinking realization, and then actually glared in rising righteous anger before bursting out with, "Oh NO! That's It! You STUPID, arrogant, totally self centered BITCHES!"

"Wha?" Karasuba involuntarily shrank away from Haihane's vehement and outraged indignation.

"You idiots! You incredible IDIOTS! You've never GIVEN Arch much of anything of your selves! Actually DONE anything nice FOR him! It's all been TAKE, TAKE, TAKE, hasn't it! FROM him! No giving!"

"Whoa, hey, hey, back off, bat chick," Karasuba irritably held up her palms in a warding gesture. "We give him plenty. He can do any one of us at any time for …"

"For SEX? That's it? THAT'S what's WRONG! Dummy! A hot young guy like Arch can get laid anytime he wants on this planet! You saw all those human girls throwing their panties at him when he last pitched at the Tokyo Dome! But when was the last time any of you simply did anything NICE for him outside his bed? Just to show him you love him and are IN love with him? Don't you dumb shits know the first damn thing about really pleasing your Ashikabi and nurturing mutually satisfying relationships for the long term?

"I'm Mother's dumbest and plainest bitch, and even I know how to treat my Ashikabi better than that! You both give and give back, mutually sharing yourselves while demanding nothing. It's how love GROWS and matures! No wonder a wounded Arch wants nothing to do with you guys now! Geeeez! What you guys gonna do, say two or ten years from now, when there's no depth in Arch's feelings for you, or he don't even want to be around any of you?"

"Well, we have talked about that," Karasuba scowled defensively, "but we haven't had a chance to actually do a lot about it, except Miya cooked one of his favorite meals once."

"ONCE?" Haihane did a face palm of disgust. "Oh wow! And I bet even then she was wanting something from him, right? Boss, listen, you have to GIVE of yourselves expecting no return or favors to SHOW him your love. Even cold fish Oriha has learned that. Then Sanada knocks himself OUT to show his love in return for her and his Sekirei! So does, Seo, Minato, Kouji, and even Miko, but Arch is a freaking powerful empath and way deeper and emotionally giving than the other Ashikabi! We all have seen and felt it! He KNOWS how REAL love works!

"But his mind didn't hold onto any of yours except Riko's when he damned near killed himself to save us all. Arch instinctively knew he needed a lifeline, and yet Riko's the most lightly bonded to him. Can't you guys see why he picked her instead of ANY of the rest of you?"

Karasuba fell into a troubled silence because she had asked herself that question, as had all her Prime Circle Sisters. And it was true. She herself had never really done or given anything nice to her Ashikabi to express her love for him, and she had sometimes sensed his irritation over their constant self gratifying thoughts of having sex with him, except for maybe Himeko as a partial exception. But Riko?

A starry eyed Riko HAD recognized Cash's romantic and emotional depth immediately. And she had told a totally cynical Karasuba about it during their first confrontational day on the apartment roof. It was the one trait in an Ashikabi that the equally love worshiping but unable to bond Yume had constantly dreamed about giving to her Sisters and even to a derisive, disbelieving, hate filled, and combative Karasuba.

Cash must have unconsciously sensed a kindred, giving, and deeply romantic spirit in Riko, yet at their first and subsequently disastrous meeting, his being recently and badly burnt by Agnes Mortensen along with his intense love for baseball had kept Riko at arm's length. She had reacted and pressured him badly ever since, and he had rejected that freedom killing pressure. Just like he was rejecting his Circle's pleas now, but when his life had been on the line, he had kept a mental string tied to Riko, not to Karasuba or her other Circle Sisters. That had hurt, hurt them all actually, and was pretty much the cause of their calling desperation around his sick bed that had driven him deeper into mentally hiding from them. Until Riko had forced them to back off, yet she was in no better shape emotionally or positionally with Cash for it either.

"Wow," Haihane once again shook her head in disbelief. "All this time you're calling Riko a blockhead when you self centered dopes really NEEDED Riko's romantic, giving, and caring nature! And now you're killing Arch and yourselves because you don't know HOW to really love him! Oh man. Who would have thought our Prime Circle was this damn dumb about true love? Why in the fuck didn't you screwed up idiots ask the rest of us for help way before now?"

"All right, all right," Karasuba sank back in head aching and resentful weariness. Weeks ago Haihane would have already been chunks of bloody meat for talking to her like this. Cash's love and forgiving personality HAD changed his Circle's more murderous instincts, but they had all acknowledged since that there were vast areas of improvement needed in their relationships to him for mutual satisfaction and overall happiness.

She didn't need Haihane pointing that out in such a vitriolic manner. On the other hand, it had been very stupid not to ask for advice and suggestions from the other already meshed Circles and their Sekirei. Haihane was absolutely dead on about that.

"You think we haven't KNOWN what total duds we are in making him truly happy, now AND long term? Other than Himeko maybe. Remember our dream party meshing fail? We've talked about all of us joining and sharing his love for music. We've even talked about doing some things as individuals for making ourselves a lot more long term interesting to him. Things like maybe I could open up an art gallery to paint with him, and Toys start a physical fitness type of dojo so she could help keep him in top physical shape.

"The problem is we haven't had time to make long term plans with Sweetums, and now we may never. First things first, Claws. How do we get him to come awake, open up to us, take our help, and allow himself to be healed? Quit busting my chops over what's already past and HELP me think of something for that NOW! Why are we scaring him? Why is he hiding from us?"

Once again the two soaking Sekirei went silent in thought for several long minutes before Haihane decided to give voice to hers.

"Arch is a pretty independent and headstrong guy that doesn't like being pushed around. If he doesn't remember any of you except Riko a little bit, then it has to be something about baseball or maybe him thinking you're gonna keep him from playing somehow, or at least feeling free to do so. I mean, Arch is totally nuts about the game, right? Nuts enough to come half way around the world on some pretty slim hopes of just trying out to make the roster of a lousy minor league team in Japan. No contract, no guarantees, didn't speak Japanese, and so broke in Tokyo he had to sell bad paintings for peanut butter and cheese spread on crackers for his main meals. Man, that's total desperation right there."

"Damn! Claws you've done it!" As the thought hit her, Karasuba lunged upright so hard a mini tidal wave in the heated pool knocked Haihane sideways. "A tryout! A freaking pitching tryout! HELL YES! That's it! He damn near starved to death before he got his first one! One he don't even remember having had already!"

"Yeah? So? Wha'd I do?" Haihane failed to make the connection as she briefly struggled to hang onto the pool wall and keep her face above water.

"So we have Riko tell Sweetum's he's missing that pitching tryout!" A chortling Karasuba did a triumphant back flip out of the water and onto the tiled floor. She reached down and yanked Haihane's arms to haul her out of the pool too while adding to her game saving explanation.

"His tryout for Team Love! We'll set one up for him here! Or maybe for, ummm, Chi Mu Renai so he won't recognize the kanji for such a hokey name!"

"Ya think Reeker will be able to lie to him without his catching it? Arch is pretty damn sensitive when it comes to reading emotions, remember?"

"That's probably the least of our worries," Karasuba gave a negligent shrug in quickly turning for the locker room and her clothes. "Reeker is a real master at closing off her oddball mind."

"She'd better be. Ain't no time for Arch to start over with a new team."

"He's NOT going to change his Circle," Karasuba vowed fervently over her shoulder, "BUT, you and me are going to see to it that his Circle IS going to change!"

***scene break***

As they sat down with their breakfast food, Wilson and Buzzard noticed the subdued and gloomy mood change in the usually boisterous Sekirei Circles eating in the base mess hall. The two Marines exchanged cynical looks as their companions' down in the mouth manner meant that Archer was still out of action, prognosis dismal. Therefore, Wilson and Buzzard were in for a similarly dismal day as all out battle had been predicted by evening, the outcome depending on the fighting prowess and winning attitudes of these woefully depressed Circles.

"Man, fighting morale in here is flatter than our wallets when we're leaving a pachinko parlor," Buzzard said in a sour tone while eying his morning meal in a similar fashion. Miso soup, grilled fish, and steamed rice? Again? Hadn't these people ever heard of bacon, wheat toast, fried potatoes, and scrambled eggs? Or even the weird tasting gravy and grits Gunny always wanted?

"Good thing island defense is pretty much automated now," Wilson agreed as he warily glanced around to spot Gunny and a very glum looking Miss Riko making their way across the mess hall towards them. "Oh oh! Heads up! Gunny's got a bead on us, and he ain't looking happy either."

"Hey Miss Riko. What's the Word, Sarge?" Buzzard asked with a guileless yet slightly forced smile as he nodded in greeting to Riko.

Wilson also attempted a welcoming smile, but his was more of the sickly variety. From Gunny's facial expression, there was no telling if he still wanted to kick their butts or not. Time for emergency cover their ass mode to commence at once while shifting as much blame as possible.

"We got done policing the base, Gunny," Wilson blurted out a little nervously since they had only canvassed the two thirds of the base Gunny would most probably inspect if he had time. A real thorough check would also show that all the 5000 yen notes that had not floated on the wind out to sea and could be found had been pocketed, not trashed as Gunny most probably intended.

"And that Sanada fella came out of the tower and told us now was the last call for morning chow. I mean, Staff and the other guys ate over an hour ago and are over manning the redoubt. So it's okay for us to eat, right?"

"Yeah, yeah," Gunny replied impatiently as he and Riko sat down opposite of the two nervous Marines, "and if Ah could get you two Moe Rons to pay as much attention to your duties as you do your stomachs, ill gotten yen, and dodging your share of the work, you all wouldn't have to be keeping an eye peeled for me every waking minute. Listen up. We got a situation heah, and you two are gonna step up and help Missy Riko give Archer a baseball pitching tryout."

"A what?" Wilson half exclaimed in genuine surprise. "A pitching tryout? For the love of Mike, Gunny, we don't know anything about base …"

"I was the third string catcher on my high school team." Buzzard interrupted rather proudly as well as ingratiatingly in attempt to make a few positive brownie points for once.

"YOU? A catcher? A baseball catcher?" Wilson turned to gape at his goldbricking cohort in mocking incredulity and then make a rude noise imitating a loud fart. "You got two left feet, ya clumsy shit, and you're always tripping over them. Ain't no way. What idiot coach put you on his team?"

"I just said I was a catcher," Buzz returned in slightly miffed defensiveness. "I didn't say I was any good. It was a SMALL school, and there were only fifteen guys that tried out for the team, so the coach didn't have any choice. I couldn't hit a lick and had a noodle arm, so he made me bullpen catcher to warm up relief pitchers. We really sucked as a team so we used four or five guys a game. I use to chase foul balls during batting practices and game warm ups too, but I never actually caught a game.

"Got to bat as a pinch hitter in the last game of my senior year though. Struck out on three straight pitches, but my name was in the box score. We lost 16 to 1 and had a season record of no wins and 16 losses. Nevertheless, I had fun. Even got a letter jacket since I played three years and THAT helped me lose my virginity. Jacket got me jumped by the shotacon school librarian back in the library's storage room one day after school. Pretty active gal for being a fifty two year old fat spinster with bad fitting false teeth. She took out her teeth, thed my jacket was thoooo thexy, then she gummed me."

"Well, hallelujah. You're a wannabe pro," Wilson jibed derisively. "And an old lady killer WITH a letter jacket no less. And you think you can catch Archer during a tryout, huh? The guy may not be much else, but he IS a professional pitcher, and supposedly pretty darn good according to Miss Haihane. You do any other catching beside that?

"Uhhh, not exactly. You see, the rest of the time during the games when I wasn't needed, I just read manga in the bullpen; Naruto, Bleach, Fairy Tail, Toriko, The Gamer, Girls of the Wilds, you know, the old timey classics."

"The Gamer? Girls of the?" Wilson stared at Buzz incredulously. "Never heard of 'em, and none of the others hold a patch all time to KochiKame, Dragonball, and One Piece. Man, you are such a manga nube, you know that? Those last three have sold more..."

"Enough with the pedophile pervert and old timey comic cultural nonsense!" Gunny rolled his eyes to the ceiling. He had been as patient as he could since he was going to game these two chuckle heads into cooperating wholeheartedly for once. However, Gunny's patience had pretty sharply defined limits that Wilson and Buzzard had just crossed.

"Will you two shut your yaps? Just THIS once? We got us a serious problem heah!"

Gunny emphasized his request by reaching his hands across the table with the speed of a striking viper to knock Wilson and Buzzard's heads together with a resounding hollow knock before they could even flinch.

"Have Ah, Ah say, have Ah got you all's attention now?" Gunny demanded of his two head rubbing but eagerly nodding subordinates. "At Mrs. Karasuba's insistence, Missy Riko had to lie a little bit to …"

"I DIDN'T LIE," Riko broke in heatedly and then took a deep calming breath. "I simply told Cash Joseph that he had to wake up because there's a team that wants to see him pitch and evaluate any lasting physical and emotional effects from his prior injuries, which is totally true. If things work out, then there is a possibility for a long term contract, which is also very true and very long term."

"Okay, okay," Gunny rolled his eyes at her hair splitting. "Missy Riko fine lined the truth to get Archer's cooperation and come awake. Which surprisingly enough he has, but his brain and short term memory was damaged during our last battle. The boy's a mite confused, thinking fuzzy, and doesn't know or trust anyone, but he's maintaining a world class mind shield to forestall his healing and expecting a minor league team pitching tryout. We're gonna give him one. Right now he's eating a double cheeseburger and fries breakfast before taking a shower and getting dressed. Then he's gonna pitch."

"A double cheeseburger? That's just not fair!" Buzzard began in outraged jealousy while pointing to his bowl of algae laden soup. "And we gotta eat this …"

"Forget your gut, dummy, and LISTEN! Now the idea is to get Archer to pitching and becoming comfortable around everyone. We want him to relax his mind shield enough for him to let his Sekirei heal his brain damage. BUT, it seems he's real sensitive to emotions of folks around him, especially the psychic ones. So we three Americans are gonna initially help Missy Riko sell her pitching and evaluation fudging to him when he first leaves the clinic. Because you two are the best straight faced liars Ah've ever known, AND the dumbest blockheads that ever shirked a duty, soft or otherwise, you all are gonna help her. Your part is to just stand around to look and FEEL dumb as minor league team observers pretending to evaluate his pitching talents. Ah knows you can do it."

"I don't get it," Wilson frowned in puzzlement. "Why go to all the trouble? Archer is just a civilian jock with a high school education. These Sekirei fight just fine without him around, maybe even better from what we've seen. What do we need him for?"

"Because they'll fight exponentially better as a combined and cohesive unit once he gets his Prime Circle's love relationships with him straightened out. That unit may be the game changer we need to defeat those toothy newt Rigelians coming to eat everybody on this planet. At least, that's how it's been explained to me."

Gunny said this patiently while giving a glance asking for factual confirmation from Riko. She nodded silently and somewhat glumly in return.

"Oh man," Wilson began somewhat peevishly, "you mean we gotta help fix Archer's lovey dovey gig with eight gorgeous alien gals …"

"Ten. Two more in the clinic woke up a little before he did. Somehow that Mutsu fella transferred that Natalie gal's ship controlling mind and another one stored in the ship's computer banks. Ah have no idea how it was done, but in some unknown manner they both went into separate and still alive but not being used alien female bodies. Some kind of advanced transmigration technology maybe. Anyway, it seems they now got live bodies again but some hefty emotional troubles with Archer that need to be healed too. So there's ten."

"TEN?" Buzzard joined Wilson for a simultaneous two man chorus of totally indignant disbelief.

"When we had to go into the lousy latrine just to … OOF!" Buzzard got cut off by Wilson slamming a judicious hard elbow into Buzz's gizzards. No need to give Gunny any more reasons to kick their butts, was there?

"What Buzz means," Wilson continued with as much of a beguiling smile as he could muster. "It just don't seem right that we have to help Archer get laid by TEN alien gals. Especially when we ain't got one. Besides, we're Recon Marines, Gunny, paid to break things, blow up a lot more, and kill whatever we're told needs killing, not lovelorn advisers and pimps for civilian idiots and total headcase alien females. Except you Missy Riko. You're all right in our book."

"Thanks Jack Wilson," Riko spoke softly for the first time, but there was little joy in her tone.

The scowling look in Cash Joseph's eyes when he had finally flinched awake at her call and pretty vague pitching tryout invitation had been distressingly wary and very distrustful as well as VERY familiar. It had crushed what little hope against hope that the injured Cash Joseph wasn't really wanting to change his Circle, nor seeking a better one without Riko in it. Then Takami had pushed Riko from the room upon seeing Cash's negative reaction and hadn't allowed any Sekirei near him. A sympathetic Gunny had taken the gloom filled Riko in tow to begin setting up the pitching tryout Karasuba had insisted they all put together, because at this point, what was there to lose?

"Are you all telling ME," Gunny began with the most evil smile Wilson had ever seen on his Sergeant's face, "that you ain't gonna help Missy Riko and Mrs. Karasuba with Archer's pitching tryout? Or if you are ordered to, you all gonna just do the minimum effort like usual and not with your FULL enthusiasm?"

"Uhhh, sure, we WANT to help Missy Riko," Wilson exchanged wary, slightly frowning looks with Buzzard. Something abnormal was up with Gunny from THAT look, and whatever it was couldn't be good for them. "We're just not sure we'll be the kind of, ummm, observers that Archer will be comfortable around while he's pitching, see?"

"Well then, let's get you boys a little more motivated vis a vis becoming lovelorn advisers and pimps, shall we? IF, and that is such a weighty word ain't it? Ah say IF you all do your very best con job on Archer to sell the tryout fib, THEN you will NOT be shipped back to our Okinawa base to face court martial charges for engineering the robbing of that stash of cash from our sure to be unhappy general's safe, as well as all the base weapons and ammo.

"In addition, IF, and again Ah say IF, you do your utmost to help Archer get lovey dovey happy with his Prime Circle, THEN Ah, Gunnery Sergeant Beaumont Tupelo Sledge, will let you two goldbricking thieves stay safely heah, let you all KEEP that stolen stash of our general's yen, AND keep mah mouth shut about it."

"Blackmail?" Buzzard blinked uncertainly in astonishment. No physically damaging threats but blackmail? He turned to see that Wilson's mouth had dropped open too. The condition didn't last long.

"Just you all call me Diddy Jack Daddy and meet my sidekick here, Sweet Baby Buzz!" Wilson chortled in immediately gloating glee. Who'd ever thought Gunny would ever come over to the dark side of opportunity, plunder, and profiteering? "You done hired yourself a couple of real dedicated and pimpifying playas! But, uhhh, can we have a teeny tad more direction here? Just what specifically signifies as getting Archer love happy with his Circle babes? What is our mark for success?"

"We want him to mesh all of us, including me," Riko swallowed tearfully while answering Wilson, "and not change his Circle!"

"Change his Circle? Archer? Swap out eight of the most babelicious looking …"

"Ten," Gunny sighed in long suffering. The depths of degradation and depravity a good moral son of Moselle, Mississippi had to plumb in order to save the Earth could be downright stupefying, but these two Moe Rons were his best option to get these insane alien gals to fight like they presumably could. Or maybe his best option that could be better viewed as a matter of matching his Recon squad's more dubious talents to the mission at hand?

"Whatever," Wilson shook his head in continued disbelief. "But there ain't no way any or even slightly normal red blooded heterosexual male with at least one functioning gonad is gonna dump Mrs. Kazehana, let alone Mrs. Akitsu, and especially Missy Riko. The others, ehhh, maybe in some strange moe universe, but …"

"I HEARD Cash Joseph's thoughts!" A still highly agitated and emotionally hurting Riko turned her head away and squeezed her eyes shut to maintain tear control. "He ran away and hid from all of us in his mind because he wanted peace and quiet and freedom to work on a Circle change!"

A long silence ensued after Riko's outburst, a silence that enveloped the whole mess hall as nearby listening Ashikabi and mentally monitoring Sekirei alike quit eating to stare morosely at Riko and the three Marines. The silence was finally broken by Buzzard looking totally thunderstruck.

"I'll be danged," he half whispered in awe. "Ya know, this is probably the first time ever that I actually know something important."

"Yeah? More important than how to cheat a buddy when playing gin?"

"Would you all care to enlighten us poor folk with your big epiphany, boy?"

"Archer ain't changing his circle or even thinking about it. He just wants to learn how to throw an off speed baseball pitch called a circle change up. It's called that by how a pitcher's hand cups or circles the baseball in delivery."

"You're, you're sure?" Riko asked breathlessly. "I mean you're REALLY sure?"

"Sure I'm sure! Do you think Sweet Baby Buzz would lie to one of his top ladies when saving the planet is on the line? Hell, I can even TEACH him the pitch! It's easy!"

"There ya go," Gunny nodded in satisfaction at his "matching talents to mission" plan starting out so well. He also mentally waved bye bye to the general's stolen wad of yen; money not Gunny's yet well spent to get Archer and his Prime gals squared away in time. Why that had been left to be accomplished at the last damn minute was a pretty big mystery too, but one that hopefully didn't need answered if good ol' Diddy Jack also did his damn job for once.

No sooner had a huge commotion at the mess hall door began, than scant seconds later Kazehana and two unknown female Sekirei landed lightly beside Gunny. Behind them hushed and maybe not so hushed whispers of "It's Mother Natalie! It's Mama! It's our Mother!" sounded as the faces and demeanor of the Sekirei Circles and solos in the mess hall brightened considerably. They left their seats and starting gathering at a respectful semicircular distance to watch and listen in wide eyed interest.

The two still hungry Marine corporals weren't nearly as visibly or vocally impressed. The main reason for that was the unknown new pair of brunette and long haired Sekirei, dressed in nothing more than short white togas and clinic slippers, took one hungrily avaricious look at Wilson and Buzzard's still full trays of food, reached for them, and began stuffing their mouths with rice and grilled fish in a very uncouth mode.

"Hey!" Buzzard yelped at this new outrage and reached to retrieve his morning chow, but Wilson wisely grabbed his sidekick's arm as the smaller one of the females growled low in her throat in a most menacing and warning manner. She didn't miss a beat in uncouth eating however. Matter of fact, the two Sekirei only paused to gulp the hot miso soup straight from the bowls. Riko, taking an unspoken cue from Kazehana, began levitating more trays of grub to them from the tables of others that had been eating around them.

"Gunny-chan," Kazehana cooed in a warm, affectionate, and smiling greeting. "I can't thank you enough for helping us earlier. Now that our Cash-kun is awake and we can truly FEEL his mind again, we're feeling better too. Oh! And this is Natalie and her new bond mate Charlyll!"

"Charmed," Gunny bowed his head toward the two feeding females who summarily ignored him and sat down with food producing Riko in between them. The amount of edibles being shoveled and swallowed down their gullets was mind boggling. In truly impressed fascination, Gunny almost missed Kazehana speaking further to him.

"Haihane said you were arranging Karasuba's tryout idea with Riko. When can it begin, and have you instructed the rest of our people in their parts to play?"

"Uhhh, Ah'll leave the instructing to you, ma'am. Since Archer is as sensitive to emotions as you all say, all your folks should do is stand back a ways as interested spectators while simply trying to think happy, unconcerned thoughts. Ah suppose we can begin right after breakfast, whenever that might be in seeing these two appetites at work."

"The stasis tanks have left their bodies very hungry," Kazehana began apologetically, but she was interrupted by Karasuba's leaping arrival.

"I heard Sweetums had stopped blocking Mum and Chum so that Himeko could wake them up too! Good! We can get Sweetums pitching soon right?"

"Blackie, where have you been? And with your shield up?" Kazehana demanded. "Did you find Zoomer?"

"Yeah. She's on the clinic roof with Toys, Mekko, and Aki-chan, but she's not talking to 'em and still REALLY pissed off at all of us. Claws has some great ideas about her and Riko you need to hear. As for me, I've just been doing a little quick insurance work for our current Plan A in case Riko can't," Karasuba's somewhat mysterious and evasive explanation was cut off by a loud voice nearby.

"You there, give me that sword you're carrying, NOW!" the Sekirei that had been earlier named as Charlyll had stopped her famished style of eating and now pointed at Karasuba's katana hanging from the belt slung scabbard on Karasuba's left hip.

"In your DREAMS, sea biscuit," Karasuba returned with a short chuckle of total disbelief and sarcasm as Charlyll made Yomi's shorter and slimmer body stand up to make her next point. "Who in the hell do you think you ARE anyway?"

"I am Charlyll, One Who Senses and Seventh Royal Daughter of the Kouten Empire's Imperial Defending Queen! I am a weapons master that MUST be armed at all times to protect my Ruling Leader and my bond mate Ashanna. Now I am giving you a direct ROYAL command to hand me that sword or SUFFER my royal wrath!"

"I don't care if you're THE Imperial High Poobah of the Fucking Ancient Universe, you pushy old turd! You are NOT getting MY sword! And your royal wrath can just kiss my One Who Kills royal ass!"

"Ummm, Charlyll, please finish your food," Kazehana diplomatically stepped between the two, "and I will make sure that you are suitably armed as soon as possible."

"These AND Karasuba are MY daughters, Charlyll, and now OURS, so restrain yourself," Natalie paused her eating to speak in a calm but forceful warning tone. "Kazehana, I am also One Who Kills. Charlyll is right in needing to be armed since we will soon be facing our ancient enemies in battle. I too now require a suitable weapon like Karasuba's, and we do NEED our battle uniforms. And panties. It's drafty in here."

"Ashanna, you are the Second Daughter of the Empire's Ruling Queen Mother! You KNOW I NEED that sword to defend you and the Prime Leader! Our Enemies are coming! I must be armed! At ONCE! ORDER her to give it to me! NOW!"

"Charlyll please be patient. We still have a little time, and we cannot afford to make our Prime Leader angry while he's hurt. We must not cause him any additional stress until he allows our healers to restore him to us. He is very vulnerable now. So just calm …"

"All the more reason for me to be armed! I DEMAND that you …"

"I tell you what, Charley OLD girl," Karasuba half snarled in rising and barely contained anger. "Why don't we play a little game? Why don't you TRY to TAKE my sword before I kick your ancient royal ass TWICE around this island?"

"NO!" Kazehana raised a clenched right fist in warning while wrapping the other restraining arm around Karasuba's waist. "Charlyll! Sit down! I will get you armed and clothed properly as soon as I can! And please don't make things worse here!"

"Charlyll, as your bond mate I am demanding that you stop this! Kazehana is our Prime Pillar and IN charge! Obey her, or I'll have her use tama pain to force you!"

"Mother, please, I really don't like using that. Charlyll, I'm asking you again. Be reasonable and give me just a little time to arm and clothe you properly."

During the ensuing, silent four way standoff, both Wilson and Buzzard tried to not so discreetly ascertain whether Charlyll and Natalie weren't really wearing panties. They failed.

"I am NOT going to LIKE you," Charlyll finally snapped at Karasuba after a long and scowling pause before demurely flouncing back into her seat to royally pout.

"Stand in line, princess!" Came the instant sneering return from Karasuba. "And without MY sword!"

"Ya know, Gunny," Wilson, sensing yet another profitable opportunity, almost rubbed his hands together in anticipatory glee as he loudly interjected himself into the current verbal minefield. "It just so happens I KNOW where there are TWO primo and very expensive royal Samurai swords. For a small finders fee, I can show Yahan and her gang where they are and have both swords, belts, AND jeweled scabbards here in less than five minutes, IF Missy Riko comes with us."

"IF? Finder's fee?" Gunny returned drily along with a cynical arched eyebrow. "Money, or a perverted peek?"

"Money. Two old time, top shelf katanas made by ancient masters were stolen from a Tokyo museum a couple of years ago. The base quartermaster bought 'em from the black market. He got drunk one night and proudly showed 'em to me and Buzz. He said he used the money he skims from the illegal crap games he holds in the PX warehouse office. His stash of ill gotten yen AND the swords are in a big hidden safe in that same office, and he's just waiting for the still hot swords to cool before he turns them for a giant profit.

"Now, a mind reading Sekirei can get the safe's combination from him. Then me and Sweet Baby Buzz here can show Missy Riko where the safe is. Presto! POOF! Kazehana gets those swords for Mum and Chum. We split the cash. How about it?"

"OUR PLATOON splits the cash," Gunny corrected automatically while nodding his assent to the very timely deal. Anything was better than having another super powered cat fight start up. Besides, they had already stripped the base of its best, first line ranged weaponry and ammo. As well as the general's safe of money. What were a couple of itty bitty stolen pig stickers and some more equally ill-gotten yen?

"Send these miscreant minions forth for our weapons immediately," Charlyll commanded imperiously while flashing a triumphant look at Karasuba still being restrained by Kazehana, "and inform me of the whereabouts and qualifications of our Prime Leader named Cash Darling. I demand to meet him at once. Tell me, is he a great and highly trained battle hero of the Empire with many winning accolades? And of which ruling family is he?"

"Ummm, no, Cash Joseph is none of that," Riko spoke while giving Charlyll a jaundiced look of intense dislike mirroring Karasuba's. This Charlyll was a way too arrogant and presumptuous old bitch, and it was starting to really piss a still very irritable Riko off. Demand indeed! "He's never been off this planet, trained in battle, nor is he a Sekirei, but a human hybrid."

"Human hybrid? Then this is, this is," Charlyll surprisingly began stuttering while swallowing hard in realization. Her face flushed a dark crimson in embarrassment. "Then this is our Empire's new water planet? With the new type of, type of male leaders? The kind and gentle ones, that, that … he's one of the, the, the … lovers?"

"Welcome to our galaxy's little corner of orgasmic bliss, Charley," Karasuba gloated with a smarmy Cheshire grin at her new adversary's hotly blushing discomfort, "you horny old tsundere bitch. And you'll meet our Sweetums when the time is right, not before. He's hurt and needs healed first. Takami might share his dick measurements in the meantime if you're interested though."

"I don't need any second hand physical information, nor YOUR permission to meet …"

"You better keep your hands off MY Ashikabi until he's healed, you, you …" an instantly protective and REALLY pissed Riko attempted to mentally shove Charlyll's face into her half empty soup bowl, but failed due to the reactive strength and speed of her target.

"How dare you unruly and ill mannered ruffians demean a royal daughter of …"

"You mean EX royal piece of shit which I'm …"

"Charlyll! Riko! No!"

"Pin the mouthy bitch to the ceiling, Riko! While I bitch slap the living shit out of …"

"Blackie! You can't DO …"

"It's Riko! Again!" The onlooking and instantly alarmed crowd leaped into action as food, food trays, tables, and chairs went haphazardly flying. "Stop her before she hurts Mother! Look OUT!"

And the ring tailed cat fight in the mess hall was then ON as Kazehana and Natalie both tried to dive into and separate the sudden whirling trio of pissed off Sekirei now moving at super speed. That failed too as the surrounding spectators joined the fray.

Gunny did a sighing face palm while shaking his head and wisely backing away with Wilson and Buzz; their intent to leave in one piece as the mess hall was now fast being converted into a total royal shambles. He should have known from the morning's serene beginnings under a truly magnificent dawn sun that storms were nigh. That old sailor's omen had been right after all. However, there had been significant changes in Archer's circumstances and these volatile tempered Circles in a very brief time since, as well as their fighting morale, but were they for the better, and more to the point, in time?


	40. Chapter 40

**The Game Changer**

**Chapter 40 – High Heat/Cold Realities, Part I**

The Terran people of planet Earth had no idea that their world, the moon, and even the Solar System had just entered a weird and mystical hot zone of interacting situational ironies. They also didn't know that supernatural zone had an unknown and obtuse oddball of an erratic armed baseball pitcher named Cash Joseph Archer in its exact center. Nor did they realize the wide-ranging powers that could be spawned in the midst of these kinds of weird cosmic phenomena as well as the cold reality of Cash's peculiar importance within it.

All the planet's population really knew for sure was they were about to be invaded from outer space very soon and almost certainly turned into bloody alien newt food by the carnivorous amphibian hordes of the Rigelian Conglomerate. That worldwide doom would probably strike in less than twelve hours according to most fleeing news pundits in the know. Where safety lay on the planet was anybody's guess and probably hopeless anyway. Regardless, all knew they were certainly gonna die and be eaten sooner or later.

The Terrans also had no idea there was also an unlikely, potential, yet ironically complicated path available to avoid that particularly gruesome fate. It also involved food, but none any self respecting amphibian alien carnivore would envision eating. In fact, that ironic path was a very low odds kind of crap shoot that would never be logically planned for by anyone, let alone envisioned.

On the other hand, neither the planet bound Terrans nor the invading Rigelian hordes could envision that their competing food/battle fates might also be ironically linked to the conniving abilities and ongoing hunger of one "somewhat less than Gung Ho" Recon Marine Corporal. However, even duty shirking "Sweet Baby Buzz" had no clue that his current assigned mission could possibly coalesce the weird interacting zone of situational ironies surrounding Archer and turn them into one huge, potentially history changing, and even mystical event called an Irony Engine.

All Buzzard knew was that he had been assigned to meet Cash Joseph Archer and somehow convince the civilian jock to attend Karasuba's phony pitching tryout. Then Buzz would be free to scrounge some well deserved hot chow while the entire universe went to hell in a hand basket until he ate. Naturally, both he and Cash were also totally clueless to their ironic positions in the warp and woof of an interstellar clash between implacably warring species.

Now, this giant fickle tool of cosmic mischief called an Irony Engine that could potentially be set into full motion by Buzzard wasn't anything the British and even most Australians would nominally call a Buggerance Factor. That particular sort of crudely described event could be described as any random, singular, and untimely something that in varying degrees simply impedes progress on some important endeavor up to and including an intergalactic war for control of planet Earth.

It was also not any type of larger, fated, unforeseen, and unplanned weird obstruction/calamity caused by the Irony Engine's smaller cousin named Murphy's Law of IF something could go wrong in that war for either side, THEN it would. Old Murphy at least gave very small chance kudos to meticulous planning that nailed down and planned for every contingency that in the end totally insured nothing could go wrong once a plan was initiated. Rare, but hey, lottery winning odds possible.

Actually, the Irony Engine about to start up and spiral outward was a pretty insidious cosmic force that even went WAY beyond Reilly's Law. Reilly, the ultimate pessimist, declared Old Murphy an optimist by stating in absolute terms that something MUST ALWAYS go wrong with every plan, device, and endeavor up to an including any aforementioned massive intergalactic battle. In short, NO plan, brilliant, well conceived, meticulous in details, or even just stupidly haphazard, survives first contact with the enemy, let alone lead to any planned victory or even positive outcome.

To really describe what was possibly forming in Cash's gathering mystic clouds of irony, both Murphy and Reilly's view of wide ranged screw ups was just too narrow in scope and too nominally specific. That's because Irony Engines just haphazardly and indiscriminately screw over everyone. They engulf those with a plan, impact those nearby even if they don't have a plan, expand to become "to whom shit happens" collateral plan damage, and then blitzkrieg everybody not even superficially involved or near anything planned at all.

I. E.'s, especially those on a situational and cosmically linked scale, are also pretty much equal opportunity misery distributors too, or total buggers as the Brits and Aussies are wont to say. All one can really do when a potentially monumental Irony Engine actually forms is to duck, run, and seek cover as if in the middle of an international Green Peace riot complete with a LOT of multiple machine guns firing … or stop, duck, drop, and panic roll as if on the fireball fringe of a worldwide nuclear missile exchange … or just close one's eyes and murmur, "Ahhh shit."

An example of an Irony Engine's potentially global effect was Kazehana's holographic speech to the United Nations with her accompanying videos of the recent victorious Kamakura Island battle against the advance force of Rigelians. It was a Kouji orchestrated masterpiece of intellectual and pithy brilliance that captivated the entire world's attention and showed exactly what the human race was encountering in this alien invasion. No detail was left untold. She even demonstrated the enemy's psychic, shape shifting, and fighting capabilities with a life size 3D print of a monster newt model. Even under a Kouten war mask and caped uniform perfectly imitating Natalie's battle image, Kazehana had never been more beautiful nor, ironically, more calmly commanding and self sure. The entire world was totally impressed on every level.

And initially, her speech had been a monumental and rousing success. Kazehana's complete candor and no nonsense detailing of the nature, size, and imminence of the Rigelian Conglomerate's space invasion did, notably for the first time in history, cause every nations' representatives to unanimously set aside their differences. They all quickly agreed to mutually confront, support, and "rally together as one" in fighting this massive alien threat to the continued existence of the human race.

It was epic. Such was the completely successful and historic impact of Kazehana's speech that First and Second economic world nations finally embraced the much poorer Thirds. Centuries old regional enemies also embraced each other for cooperative defense the world over. Those with severe ethnic, religious, ideological, and racial differences also all set aside their bitter and mutually murderous enmities in deference to increasing everyone's odds of simple mutual survival.

Kazehana's UN speech was also an ironic epic fail. True, it was like the St. Crispin's Day of "Once more into the breach!" soul stirring stuff that had snatched victory from the jaws of defeat in legends past. However, her speech did nothing to change the cold realities of anyone's current ability to fight.

The previous worldwide panic that had been induced by Mikogami's "3D homie network" fiasco and other leaked satellite video feeds had pretty much precluded any swift integration of the world's military powers. Transportation, communication, and simple food, water, and ammo logistics were and remained hopelessly snarled. In short, mutual and integrated worldwide war planning between military leaders was being forced to operate on an epic fail basis of "Oh Shit! What do we do now?"

On the other hand, nobody voting at the United Nations had actually ever believed mutually uniting together on a global military basis for defense would effectively do any good against incoming alien hordes of voracious and shape shifting monsters. The delegates' flight from New York City to seek individual hidey holes of possible safety began a scant five seconds after their historic votes were cast. The resumed flight of the world's general population who had paused in their own panic to watch the UN's historic proceedings took even less time than the delegates before they too again headed for the hills to hide.

Everyone pretty much still figured that staying put and conveniently grouped in large cities was a real losing idea. If not butchered and eaten raw immediately, city folk would be the first to ultimately become sizzling meat strips on a giant Rigelian barbie, or at least be made into convenient dried and spiced jerky snacks for busy newt warriors on the go. After all, any invading space creatures that could travel across the galaxies at will had to have vastly superior technology as well as war making weaponry. The whole world was in fast approaching alien carnivore deep shit, and everyone knew it.

Therefore, although Kazehana's electrifying epic speech did authorize and then galvanize the world's military forces into mutual cooperation, it also ironically heightened and spread a bigger worldwide pall of fleeing panic, gloom, and doom. Now everyone realized there was very little time to prepare for battle against the Rigelian hordes, let alone totally inadequate resources for fighting them.

The collective worldwide mood became as if the entire planet had been put in a very bad and cheesy sci-fi movie and targeted for destruction ironically resembling that found in the opening chapters of the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. Only there were no miracle salmons of doubt nor Dirk Gently psychic rescue type help in sight for the Earth. Hence an ironically mixed result from Kazehana's world uniting efforts, however the ironic giant potential for global mass mayhem was there.

The Terrans of planet Earth also had no clue that in order to save their planet from its rapidly approaching doom, several separate and very unlikely factors on Kamakura Island and in Tokyo all had to somehow positively combine to form an Irony Engine. Yet even if it materialized, the quirky phenomena might only just help heal Cash's battle damaged brain as well as get his insanely dysfunctional Prime Circle properly bonded, meshed with him, and each other too. Neither did it necessarily make a subsequent Sekirei battle victory inevitable at all. Or even a draw.

A positive spiraling Irony Engine couldn't guarantee worldwide battle success for the Terrans of planet Earth either. An I.E. could flip negative at any time and either aid the invading Rigelian hordes, dissipate to nothingness, or not even start at all if the proper engine trigger wasn't formed and pulled. Maybe it was for the best that the peoples of Earth didn't know the cold realities inherent in all this, nor know that they had less than twelve hours before the Rigelian ships would hit the make or break point of the Lunar Orbit.

The coldly logical Rigelian hordes were just as blissfully ignorant of their entrance into the coalescing cosmic hot zone of ironies as the Terrans were, not that it made any difference to them. The amphibian alien invaders had no concept of irony, nor any idea what the word "irony" even meant, let alone the cold reality of their need to fear a cosmic sized Irony Engine.

***scene break***

As he stared at his changed image in the bathroom mirror, Cash had no clue that he had just become the exact and critical center of a galaxy encompassing Irony Engine that only needed a starting trigger to activate. Actually, due to his recent brain damage, he was pretty much clueless of many critical "need to know" bits of info, such as his now being the main prime target needing to be destroyed by an invading alien horde. Or that he was the only male on the entire planet able to be the master of a ten member, love obsessed harem of high powered alien female psychics. Or that he was even the potential future protective ruler of this entire galactic arm. Kinda, sorta critical, and high octane "need to know" stuff like that.

Oh sure, he now ironically realized that his leaving the States and coming to Tokyo had been a very, very, dumb idea from the get go. There must have been many cheaper, convenient, and more effective options to revive his dead pro pitching career while fleeing a too controlling, basically insane, and heartbreaking female named Agnes Mortensen. Even just staying put and living at the Green Frog Oasis Saloon in Batavia, New York like his best friend Juice Pardee had insisted upon would have been smarter. But to become a galaxy wide critical center of ironies while in Japan? Nah. Cash had no clue.

He could only see and feel that he had become a really screwed up mental and physical wreck as well as a complete baseball failure. Not to mention having been a total gaijin idiot for accidentally falling backwards off a six story roof. That had made him a worldwide prize dolt to boot.

What kind of obtuse oddball and moron loser almost kills himself simply to get away from some young, too pushy, yet incredibly beautiful female who was barely half his size? Even if she HAD claimed she was harmless as well as not human. Which actually only meant she was most probably nuts, not a mortal danger for Pete's sakes. Oh, the humanity, you dumb shit, Cash silently told himself while grimacing at his reflection, let alone the stupid irony of it all.

_** "LUNAR ORBIT CONTACT **__**IN **__**11.5 HOURS!"**_

That incredibly loud blast of sound made Cash flinch badly while jerking his aching head towards the bathroom window of his clinic room. The glass panes had rattled from the booming and echoing audio announcement coming from outside. What the hell was that? Had Japan finally sent their own astronauts to the moon? If so, why the Tokyo-wide loudspeaker news feed? There wasn't a more individually tech-connected folk in the whole world than the Japanese. They didn't need any screwy public and window rattling updates of current events, Cash thought irritably. At least not one that would scare the living shit out of a fella with a very nasty ass and thumping headache that was also making him feel dizzy and nauseous.

Cash sighed in disgust as he turned back to again peer at himself in the mirror. Riko sure hadn't stayed around long after he had awakened; turning red faced and bolting for the door when he had simply asked a few common sense questions. What was up with that? Had her quick announcement about wanting him to pitch for a new team in Japan really been on the level? If so, how much would they pay him? And when? What would he eat in the meantime? Or where would he stay? Better yet, how in the hell could he just stand up and try to pitch soon?

He gripped the bathroom lavatory for balance while he continued to stare at himself in the mirror. Geez. He REALLY looked like a barely warmed over giant turd that badly needed a shave and a haircut. Or at least some sloppy drunk and/or stray bum coming awake from a prolonged drinking binge. He had obviously missed his legitimate and scheduled pitching tryout in the Tokyo Dome, and man, that fall off his apartment roof had really messed his ass up. He was so weak and shivering cold he could barely stand, and his knees were shaking more than his hands! His facial features now looked thinner, sickly, and worry lined as though he had aged a couple of years somehow. He didn't feel like himself either, nor like a professional baseball player, let alone look like he should.

Huh. Look at that. Why was there a weird white streak in his overlong and curling hair? Brain surgery? And where had those three jaggedly round, angry red, chest scars come from? Injuries from his roof fall? None of his bones felt like they had been broken, or even ached, but he did feel damnably weak.

Even worse was the swirling and half dizzy rainbow colored pressure in the back of his mind plus the insane impression he was freezing his balls off right after taking a hot shower. He had shivering goose bumps all over, Little CJ looked like a shriveled, terrified, one inch long turtle head, and his nuts had shrunk down to raisin size for Pete's sakes! Damn it was COLD! Everything smelled like turpentine too, even the nasty tasting toothpaste. He was really screwed up, all right, even his sense of smell.

After hastily toweling off, Cash staggered weakly out of the bathroom. His dirty underwear were gone from where he had dropped them on the floor, but he found a clean and folded, black t-shirt and matching boxing briefs on the clinic bed. They were his size and had his Mother's laundry mark on their labels. Good. SOMEONE around here at least knew where the rest of his clothes were. And they probably knew where his cash empty wallet, passport, and return plane ticket were too. He sat down after donning his underwear and quickly snagged the loose bed covers to drape them tightly around him since the entire room was still freezing! What the hell? Why was this hospital kept so damn cold? Somebody needed to pay their damn heating bills!

Hey! There was a round, lidded, metal "warming dish" sitting on the tall wheeled tray beside his bed. Hot food? Cash cautiously lifted the lid expecting some typical Asian fish, seaweed, and rice concoction that always made him gag. Man, he hated fish! Whoa! A double cheeseburger and fries? With what the Japanese called ketchup on the side? Oh wait. What in the hell was that smell? Grey Poupon mixed with turpentine and the foul smelling French stuff the Japanese had adopted as their national cheese? Was this what was making his room stink so bad? Man, the first decent looking burger he had seen since coming to Tokyo, and it was totally inedible? Even the fries smelled really bad! How ironic was that?

Hastily putting the lid down and shoving the tray away, Cash's eyes shifted to the still beeping but now unconnected electronic monitoring equipment mounted on the wall high above the bed's rumpled pillow. Whoa. Daunting looking stuff up there. Heart scanners, blood pressure, blood oxygen, pulse displays.

Damn. One device even looked like a multiple brain wave monitor he had been hooked into the night he had gotten badly beaned by that come back line drive. He must have really come close to kicking the bucket this time to have been under this kind of critical care. Wait. Had he been brain damaged? Again? That would maybe explain his screwed up senses, weakness, dizziness, nausea, and headache as well as everything smelling so nasty. The same stuff had happened when he had gotten beaned two years ago. Or had he been a brain damaged nutcase ever since his Dad had been killed? He had always FELT like an oddball from childhood right on up. Maybe not as nuts as his Ma and Aunties, but still.

Even more worrisome was the nearby metal tree that still had several bags of intravenous feeding and medicinal drip tubes that the silent, grim looking, one-eyed lady doctor had disconnected from his arm after Riko had suddenly left. Those medicine bags implied he had been under some kind of bad ass intensive care, right? The lady doctor had refused to say how long he'd been laid up, and she had only shrugged and shook her head when he'd asked about what Riko had vaguely called a "pitching evaluation". The doctor had also declined to elaborate on what team was sponsoring Riko's supposed event, what scouts would be attending, or even when he'd be able to go to it.

What the hell was a "pitching evaluation" anyway? Was it an actual and legitimate tryout with another Japanese pro team? If it was, why had Riko fled the room so quickly when he had simply asked what pro team she represented? She hadn't even said how soon it would be held! Or where! Something was really fishy about the way she could only briefly meet his eyes when he had asked her for more details too. And how in the hell could he impress any pro scouts the way his body felt now anyway? He could hardly stand up, let alone make his frozen fingers grip a baseball and throw it!

The one eyed doctor hadn't replied when asked if he'd ever play baseball again either. Just a silent lower lip biting frown in return. That expression and moment had been beyond worrisome, past highly distressing, and way into deeply depressing. Neither had she looked or felt too encouraging while taking his vital signs, asking clipped questions of how he felt, and doing a quick medical exam of him before she had curtly told him to take a shower. Then she had left his clinic room abruptly while tapping away on her electronic tablet and absently promising that she would have someone come to cut his hair and give him a shave. Very negative and worrisome vibes from her for sure, even when he had tried to appear and sound friendly, thankful, and just grateful to be alive while answering her clinical questions.

On the other hand, the one eyed lady doctor hadn't SAID that he was washed up as a pro baseball pitcher either, even if he felt like total crap now. Nor had she said that Riko's "pitching evaluation" was some phony stunt the kooky female had dreamed up to make him feel better and ease her own possibly guilty conscience.

Riko had certainly acted and FELT guilty when briefly talking to him, even more so when she had abruptly rushed out of his clinic room as if she wanted to avoid answering his questions. At least the lady doctor had FELT totally honest and sincere in her care of him, maybe even very professionally interested in him as more than just another patient, like he was kinda special somehow. So why the giant emotional and informational stonewall from her as well as Riko's strange behavior?

Just how bad had he been hurt? And how LONG had he been unconscious from that dumb fall? Days? Weeks? Then the cold reality of that thought hit him. Ahhh man. All that intensive care crap looked damned expensive. Especially since he was flat broke, too fricken weak to clean toilets, and pay what had to be overdue rent. Neither did he have any food, a steady job that paid cash, nor any medical insurance to pay what had to be HUGE ambulance, hospital, and doctor bills. The Japanese took a very dim view of gaijin deadbeats mooching around in their country and not paying their debts. He'd be lucky just to avoid jail time before having all of his possessions impounded and sold and then his ass deported in disgrace. Crap.

Cash again silently cursed his panicked stupidity at backing away from that kook Riko without looking behind him for the roof's edge. Even if he could physically recover quickly from that silly fall while here in Japan, he'd still have to go back home like a whipped dog and beg Ma for money to pay his medical and living expense debts. And then work like a slave dog for minimum wages in his uncle's hardware store to pay her back and buy himself another car. Maybe a career killing year or two, depending on how long it would take him to heal up enough to work hard and then hopefully get back in shape to play ball. Then he'd somehow have to escape Ma's financial and emotional clutches, again.

Oh shit! His Mother HAD to be going absolutely NUTS with worry for him right now! He'd have to somehow call her right away! And he'd have to listen to another long "Come Home NOW!" tirade. Man, had he been a total dumb shit for falling off that roof or what?

Cash viciously punched the air with a right cross in angry self disgust which made his warm covers fall off his still shivering shoulders. He scrambled to pull them back up, but could barely make his shaking and weak fingers grasp the fallen blankets. The jerking action also made his head painfully throb anew.

He gripped his temples with both hands full of blankets. Swirling colors of the rainbow exploded in his mind, each one feeling like intense outside emotions pressing in upon his brain and made him feel even more weak and dizzy. Cash groaned as he fought against passing out, and then mentally retreated into a dark blank spot in his mind. The wild colors/feelings slowly faded until they became a glowing, very cold, and cobalt blue ball behind his tightly squeezed eyes. Was that where the feeling he was freezing his ass off was coming from? Wait. What the hell was THIS? Somebody or some THING wanted to kill him? And EAT him? Screw that!

Cash opened his eyes and hastily threw off his blankets to look for his pants, socks, and shoes. Where was his guitar, bat, and baseball mitt? And his wallet, passport, and return ticket? No way was he staying in Tokyo a minute longer than he had to! Let alone trust that weird feeling Riko chick for some vague "pitching evaluation" either! She HAD said she was some kind of alien, right? Didn't need any of that kind of grief if THAT was true. He STILL had his return ticket to fly back to the States, and he was damn well going to use it! Debts and whatever could be settled later! Nor was he going to eat that damnably foul smelling cheeseburger and fries even if he was hungry! He'd eat on the plane!

Except, Cash groaned again as he fell back weakly and grabbed his warming covers. First he had to warm up, get rid of this pounding migraine headache, and get strong enough to walk while carrying his luggage and guitar. Cold. So damn cold! Maybe he could try to crawl back into the bathroom and take another hot shower?

_**"LUNAR ORBIT CONTACT **__**IN **__**11.**__**1**__**5 HOURS!"**_

Another booming audio announcement made Cash cover his ears and miserably moan at the renewed throbbing it caused in his aching head. Writhing weakly in shivering torment, he still had no idea he was in the center of a forming Irony Engine, nor that his spurned cheeseburger meal had just become that potential galactic cataclysm's starting trigger.

***scene break***

** _"LUNAR ORBIT CONTACT __IN __11.__1__5 HOURS"_**

The loud speaker announcement that was making Cash groan in misery also boomed over the half wrecked base mess hall as the system wide Irony Engine continued to form and expand. The air shaking announcements of dwindling time had been Gunny's currently failing idea. He had intended to hopefully spur some greater unity and sense of urgency among his Sekirei allies in order to more effectively confront the Rigelian invasion. It hadn't worked. Yet.

The giant, breakfast ruining, melee among the Sekirei in the mess hall was finally over. Ironically it had been a very wrathful Akitsu, not Kazehana, who had lowered the big cold hammer on all the participants. Unfortunately, Akitsu had no idea of what to do next. Arms folded below her impressively heaving breasts, she tried to formulate her next move. Meanwhile she swiveled her frosty gray/green eyes all around to enforce her unrelenting discipline upon all her now helpless and violently shivering Sisters that had been effectively immobilized in and around the damaged mess hall. Sekirei infighting had come to an instant frosted halt upon Akitsu's arrival for her breakfast.

Dozens of former combatants, including a highly chagrined Kazehana, were encased in blocks of ice up to their shoulders and looking like white Gari Gari Kun popsicles that some unruly toddlers had carelessly dropped on the ground. Oddly, except for Charlyll, the Prime Circle participants in the fighting were suffering Akitsu's cold wrath in silent acquiescence, even Riko.

However, quite a few freezing Sekirei scattered in and out of the half damaged building were shrieking their frustration and despair through chattering teeth. They, along with Charlyll, cursed and struggled to be free from Akitsu's icy grip, but Akitsu ignored them all.

"Sisters PROTECT Sisters! Not FIGHT!" Akitsu announced defiantly to all while giving a baleful and accusing look at nearby Karasuba, Riko, Natalie, Charlyll, and an extremely disheveled Kazehana.

"Okay, okay Aki-chan!" Karasuba called out as Kazehana's head drooped in shamed misery. "We all GET the message! No more fighting each other! Now ease up, will ya? I'm freezing my tits off here! Not to mention everything south of 'em!"

"Prime Circle cares for others FIRST! Not SELVES!" Akitsu declared simply while giving her Circle Sisters another withering frown. She was obviously demanding higher standards of responsibility and leadership from now on, and no more infighting nonsense like what had just occurred.

To emphasize her point Akitsu began one by one to slowly point an ice freeing finger at all the other Sekirei, leaving her own Circle and especially "failing to exercise proper tama discipline" Kazehana for last. Karasuba simply sighed in shivering and nodding acceptance. Charlyll continued screaming dire threats of her retribution being swift and terrible for being handled in such a plebeian and disrespectful fashion. The other three couldn't even meet Akitsu's accusing eyes but silently nodded their assent too.

Having watched the entire chain of events as pure spectators from a very judicious distance, Wilson turned to Buzzard, Gunny, and Staff to mutter his one piece of obvious wisdom.

"That's some scary shit right there. Real scary. Uzume was bad enough, but take a note to never piss off our friendly neighborhood Ice Babe either. Just looking at that is turning my balls blue and making my dick feel frost bit clear over here. Damn!"

"A shriveling sight for shore," Gunny agreed with frowning, contemplative dismay at Kazehana's total failure to maintain even a semblance of disciplinary control over her troops at such a crucial time. "And an unhappy one too. Ah purely don't know how Missy Kazehana is evah gonna get her people in line enough to fight effectively. Especially with time running out on us all heah."

"Funny way to build squad unity," Staff sniffed in disgust while watching the green haired Amazon named Toyotama land beside Akitsu. She must have jumped from somewhere distant considering the height she had dropped from out of the sky. Had she been mentally called by Akitsu? It seemed so.

Both arms of the taller and green haired Sekirei were cradling several checkered tablecloths and a case of duct tape. She then became a literal blur of motion at the same instant Akitsu freed the screaming but too cold to move Charlyll. In less than an eye blink Charlyll was turned into a bound, muffled, and body wrapped mummy with only her nose and angrily bulging eyes not covered.

"Efficient," Buzzard nodded in eyebrow raised and lip pursed approval. "And effective. Pa shoulda thought of something like that mummy wrap for Ma. She went nuts one night and tried to kill him with an iron skillet for always leaving the toilet lid up. From a front on view afterward, his ears and eyeballs always looked kinda lopsided because he wouldn't ever hit a woman, he was too fat to run from her, and too slow to block her whaling away on his noggin. I think Pa's IQ dipped quite a few points after that too."

"How would YOU be able to tell?" Wilson returned dryly after a disgusted double take.

"Leave us return from the Land of the Truly Inane heah. I thought you two slackers were supposed to go get a couple of swords to calm down that revived Sekirei nut job over theah?" Gunny sighed irritably at the always ongoing sniping between these two duty shirking members of his own platoon.

"No need, Sarge," Wilson shook his head while shrugging in long perfected faux innocence. "These Sekirei constantly read our minds, remember? That mind raping Madoka chick took off for Okinawa with Yahan and her Circle of thieves a little bit ago. She said they would be able to easily find the base quartermaster, coerce him to cooperate, and get the two swords while we start right now on your and Karasuba's pitching plan for teaming Missy Riko up with Archer."

"Hey wait a minute! Wait just one damn minute here!" Buzz gave a half shout of wounded disbelief at Wilson's inclusive announcement. "Start? Start NOW? What about chow? Those insane alien babes stole our grub and then ruined everything while fighting! We ain't had anything to eat yet!"

"Forget your gut for once, dummy," Gunny growled menacingly enough to make Buzzard flinch backward and duck his head in long learned self protective mode. "Can't ya see the mess hall's out of commission? And we all got more important fish to fry heah. Time is running out on us all fast. Since Staff and me gotta try to improve this current unhappy situation, Ah surely do hopes you two horn dogs have got your minds and hearts fully engaged to accomplish the pimping mission I gave you. You got a plan?"

"Uhhh, yeah, kinda," Wilson frowned absently in sudden contemplation as the green haired Toyotama nonchalantly picked up a fallen steel I-beam and leaped up onto the mess hall's damaged roof with it. Other Sekirei in various states of now tattered and very revealing clothing gathered around to steady the beam into position as two scantily clad twins began electric arc welding it back into place without using any visible machinery. The sights and results of all that being eye dazzling to the constantly sex obsessed Wilson.

"I'm gonna coach Missy Riko in the finer points of getting her next meeting with Archer off on the right foot," Wilson continued in a somewhat distracted voice. "Buzz is gonna get Archer's pitching ass over to the tryout on the helipad. But first, I think I'm gonna do a little recon background chat with that there big muscle bound gal with the green hair up there."

"You'll just get YOUR skull knocked lopsided like Pa did," Buzz gave a snort of derision before adding, "again."

"Go do your part over at the clinic like we agreed, asswipe. I'll handle my end." Wilson peevishly tossed over his shoulder as he headed off to get Toyotama's attention.

"Prick," Buzzard muttered in return as he too turned to walk away.

"Gunny," Staff stared after the two departing Marines, "are you SURE counting on those two deadbeats to help Archer and his Sekirei is such a good idea?"

Gunny rubbed his chin in contemplation for a few seconds as he thought it all over again. Their current mission objectives still hadn't changed, only the stakes had been raised.

Objective one: getting brain damaged Archer to agree to and attend Mrs. Karasuba's pitching tryout.

Objective two: Archer then being put in a mood for allowing himself to be healed in order to react favorably to a Missy Riko who had severe confidence problems of her own.

Objective three: the Sekirei then being put on identically matching mental wavelengths to form their invasion fighting battle group and activate their Lunar Defense Ring, whatever it was.

Depending on Wilson and Buzzard might seem to be a screwy and highly ironic way to save the planet, and it was, but Gunny knew of no better and experienced bald face liars, sexually obsessed players, and manipulating screwballs available worldwide than those two money and nookie motivated Moe Rons. Also, not being psychic at all, both should hopefully be very hard for Archer to read or see through while they scammed him.

Besides, Gunny exchanged glances with an equally grim looking Staff, what did he and Staff know about baseball tryouts as well as advising psychic alien females and a screwed up civilian jock in ways of getting it on in mentally integrated harem style? Nope. Best option was to go with his gut instincts and use Wilson and Buzzard. On this island, those two goldbricking and hard for Archer to "read" con artists had the only possibly "planetary saving right stuff" for their assigned missions. Hopefully.

"Ah know it seems counter-intuitive, Staff," Gunny smiled as reassuringly as he could despite his own apprehensions. "And we both know those two talk and act like total Moe Rons when they ain't fighting, but when there's cold cash, shirking work, and possible sex on the line, they is the two best con men Ah ever did see. Buzz tends to fly by the seat of his pants and improvise as he goes. His methods usually ain't what normal folks might use either, and makes a body like me nervous as all get out, but Ah'm pretty sure he'll get Archer over to Mrs. Karasuba's pitching tryout somehow, one way or another. And probably bitchin' about it every step of the way to boot.

"And although healing Archer's brain will be up to his Prime Circle, don't low rate Wilson's ability to get Missy Riko and Archer together on a lovey dovey basis afterward either. Even though it seems he's chock full of the worst hokey crap a body ever did hear, and had a total fail with Miss Uzume, we also know Wilson has the prettiest and nicest gal on Okinawa head over heels in love with him, right? And she ain't the first. I'm starting to believe Wilson is kinda like a Sun Tsu in the war between the sexes. He'll get Missy Riko ready to meet Archer if anyone can."

"Okay, Sun Tsu Wilson it is. Along with Sweet Baby Screw Off," Staff sighed in still unconvinced disbelief while rolling his eyes heavenward. "Look. Gunny, I did some yak yakking with that super brainy Ashikabi cat they call Kouji a while ago. Trying to get some intel into just what we might have available IF these Prime Circle gals and Archer can get their act together. Wanna hear what I learned, or go over there and try to get Mrs. Kazehana's ass out of that block of ice first?"

"Ummm, let's heah what you all got, Staff," Gunny eyed Akitsu's still unhappy features while she continued to shake a menacing fist and shout at her Sisters. Who wanted in the middle of that? Not him.

Gunny couldn't quite catch it all, but Akitsu was obviously laying down some Circle Law/Discipline to them and especially to Riko. No more endangering Cash and her Circle's lifeline connection to Cash. No more lone wolf actions, temper tantrums, and fights between Sisters. They would all honor their Circle vows, follow orders, and get things patched up with Uzume soonest, or ELSE. Her "or else" fate looked down right Arctic in nature from where Gunny stood.

"Ah don't feature us interrupting that over theah without getting our butts frosted shut. Do you? And Ah feel a huge crap coming on. What ya got?"

Gunny Sledge shook his head at the total irony of their current situation as he listened to Staff's discourse on the possible varied and incredibly powerful weaponry that could be wielded by meshed Sekirei Circles fighting in concert. Especially what could be wielded against that incoming, monster sized, Rigelian mother ship, up to and including the potential additional firepower of the Sekirei Lunar Defense Ring. Kouji had described it as some possible kind of ultra powerful Third Van Allen Radiation Belt consisting of a currently unknown type of "whipped out" ultra-relativistic electrons forming a standing plasma wave. All of that also being coordinated with the world's and their own recently built and launched orbital firepower.

Which actually sounded pretty bad ass promising if they could get that damn Ring thing activated, Gunny sighed. However, the big problem was that such potential Sekirei spatial firepower would not be available until Archer's wounded brain was healed and IF he then CHOSE to accept his total life and career changing status as the Prime Ashikabi as well as the Prime Leader. A choice which for some unknown reason was mostly centered on Archer's lack of any kind of close bonded relationship with Riko. And apparently according to Kouji, thanks to Murphy's Law the unknown "why" of that problem had ironically come completely full circle to be faced again while time was close to running out on the entire planet.

"It sounds weird, Gunny," Staff finished in a puzzled tone. "I don't understand it all, but it seems their concerted Sekirei powers are gathered and concentrated through their Ashikabi somehow, channeled up through the Prime Circle operating in concert, and then released by the Prime Pillar. That's why Archer is so damn crucial. Only he can get them all operating in total concert with Kazehana."

"Wait. So those Ashikabi fellas ain't just for reproduction? You're saying that they're really the mental focal means the Sekirei need to effectively combine their psychic powers on a massive scale?" Non psychic Gunny tried to wrap his head around that alien concept as well as Archer's inexplicable aversion to sweet little ol' Missy Riko. "And Archer as their Prime Leader is also the focal power core for eight Circles, or Nest, not just the Sekirei he's personally winged?"

"Yeah, only not just eight Circles of sixty four Sekirei which is like a battle group," Staff nodded, "but eight GROUPS of eight Circles which is like a whole damned division of five hundred and twelve Sekirei. If we had 'em that is. Kouji says that octet of octets formation is what the Ancient Sekirei called a Prime Battle Flower in the ship's record archives. Only a Prime Leader can form one. He showed me an old video of one in orbit around some weird colored planet. It looked like smaller revolving fractals of different colored octets that formed one giant multi colored octet slowly rotating around a golden glowing center. It really did kinda look like a giant, eight petaled flower, one called a Dryas octopetala."

"An orbital Prime Battle Flower? That NEEDS Archer to form? Damn. Why?"

"From what Kouji said," Staff continued patiently. "Ashikabi give each Circle a shared emotional commonality needed to come together and mesh their separate powers and abilities in concert. The Sekirei use their instinctive needs to be loved, to feel safe and secure, and to protect their Ashikabi and children to do that. However as Prime Ashikabi, Cash is like, ummm, the most beloved and loving big brother to all the other seven Circles that will focus and form their battle group. Which I gather is a damn powerful planet protector and ruler on its own. AND, Archer is also the Prime Leader who would be the focal conduit for seven other planet ruling battle groups into his own if they had them. THAT eight Circle group would form their Prime Battle Flower that basically protects an entire Solar System, maybe even this whole galactic arm."

"All that huh? Hmmm. Bad ass interesting for shore. And if Ah understands the situation correctly, our Sekirei are already way too emotionally invested in Archer to reorganize effectively around another, right? Not in so short time as we all have. Then this current thing with him is WAY more serious than Ah heretofore believed. Getting his messed up mind healed and Missy Riko's relationship with him and Miss Uzume as well as his Prime Circle completely integrated is our most critical priority heah, perhaps even our real battle for Earth?"

"That's right, and even the entire Solar System," Staff nodded curtly again. "And you just gave Wilson and Buzz that mission. Wanna reconsider? Or you got a Plan B?"

"No, no Plan B," Gunny returned slowly after a long pause. "We gotta live with the cold reality that those two Moe Rons are much more socially persuasive than any of us. And it looks like Missy Akitsu is too in her own way. Besides, Mrs. Karasuba alluded to her own Plan B before the fight. We all gotta just relax, help Mrs. Kazehana anyway we can, wait and see what happens, and have a little faith in our troops, Staff."

"Well, okay, we relax," Staff finally shrugged in acceptance after a significant and distrusting pause. "Wouldn't be the first time we pulled a victory out of our ass at the last damn minute. C'mon. Those five Prime gals look like they're all nodding their heads in agreement over there, and Ice Babe seems happier, maybe. Looks like the cold war is over now, and those other gals are gonna have the mess hall fixed back up super power quick. I could use some hot chow and coffee if we can scrounge up some. No need to fight on an empty stomach no matter what that screwball Archer and his Sekirei do or don't do. Uhhh, but let's still circle wide around that Akitsu gal, okay?"

_**"LUNAR ORBIT CONTACT **__**IN **__**11 HOURS"**_

Neither noncom Marine had any clue they had just boosted the power of a forming Irony Engine. Nor that Riko and Akitsu had finally sensed a very unhappy Cash's decision to immediately return to the United States.

***scene break***

Sahashi Takami knew she was and had been missing some vital and perhaps very ironically obvious fact about the abysmally failing Prime Circle and their relationship to Archer, but just what was it? There was more than enough physical, mental, and psychic firepower among them all to far outstrip the other Circles in fighting potential. None were cowards, nor even timid, but individually proven warriors all. Despite their flaws they had also gained a measure of grudging respect, although Number 15 Himeko was the only one totally beloved as much as their Ashikabi Cash Archer. So WHY hadn't those crazy Prime bitches fully integrated around him as they HAD to do? What was she missing, dammit!

_**"LUNAR ORBIT CONTACT **__**IN **__**11 HOURS"**_

The window rattling and base wide loudspeaker warning made Takami sigh heavily and lean back in her worn, executive style, leather chair. Take a little break and THINK, she admonished herself. After a few totally blank moments, she lit up, took a nervous puff on her cigarette, and blew the smoke towards the ceiling of her old clinic office. The morning sun streaming through the room's slatted window blinds fell upon and warmed the right side of her long doctor's smock. The sunlight also highlighted the swirling smoke around and above her. She was tired, very tired from a long and stressful night in caring for her two badly hurt and comatose Ashikabi, although Archer had finally fought himself awake with Riko's help.

Number 67 Riko. Another total and never adjusted puzzle, Takami griped to herself. How in the name of any scientific principal had she missed that kid's incredible mental gifts and extent of her unique powers? More like totally outsmarted and duped like a comparative idiot for years, Takami silently admitted while rolling her eye at the ceiling in self disgust. Still being completely schooled by her since too, as well as so many of her higher number sisters. Their talents were explosively blooming in their new Circle bonding, but those octets and their greater potential had never even been hinted at in MBI's long years of testing. However, even Riko and her Circle's integration were being totally stymied by their flawed relationships to an even bigger enigma, Cash Joseph Archer. Why? Better yet and maybe more ironic since he was supposedly a weaker hybrid, HOW?

Takami sighed heavily again in frustration at not having the elusive answers to those two questions so very critically needed NOW. She then rubbed her aching temples and her tired eye from the hours long, constant pouring over her years of testing results as well as the copious notes and suppositions on everything Sekirei kept by Madoka's former Ashikabi. Included in all that data and speculation were topics about their ancient origins, galactic enemies and allies, intended purposes on Earth, known technologies, natural instincts, psychological profiles, their wide ranging, differing, and multiple psychic and physical powers, individual and shared weaknesses, mating instincts, personality types, "normal" talents, adaptability, and projected combined powers and weapons potential when fighting in concert.

Her combined notes on the Sekirei/human hybrid Ashikabi were considerably thinner, Takami grimaced in self castigation; much too thin except for what had been done by Madoka's former Ashikabi and his blessed analytical and thorough brain. At least she had SOME data, even if the poor older guy was insane and comatose now, and likely to more or less stay that way IF he lived and came awake someday.

Still, in the few short previous months, he had far outstripped everything she had personally done or even thought to question for years as far as things Ashikabi were concerned, and her own two children were now included in that hybrid puzzle too! How ironically half blind was that for a veteran scientist as well as a mother? Then to discover that Archer had probably become the most powerful psychic male on the whole damn planet in such a short time? And unknowingly right under her one good eye to become even strong enough to so thankfully re-wing that bitch Kazehana away from her son Minato?

Takami exhaled a puff of smoke in an ironic mix of cynical self congratulation and self castigation at that last thought. There would be no grandchildren of HERS from Kazehana, but dammit, she had completely missed out on Archer's astonishing psychic growth and potential for more. Hell, Archer's projecting empathic powers had almost floored HER during her examination of him a little earlier! The warmth, trust, and longing for good answers that he had sent out of his deep blue eyes when asking about his physical condition and potential recovery had almost broken her heart! The impact had rendered her totally speechless from the intense power of his emotions almost flooding her thinking processes.

It had taken every ounce of her natural stoic reserve to maintain a clinical calm and just stay silent as she had examined him. Instead of trying to comfort him as an older sister and caressing those big shoulders and … Takami shook herself irritably. Focus, you old fool! But at least she now knew why Archer had in one way or another claimed the hearts of every female Sekirei on the island.

It was no wonder that after bonding to him Archer's insane Prime bitches had schemed, clawed, and climbed over each other for his conjugation attention and favors. The man was a projecting powerhouse that could push every emotional hot button even a nominally psychic female ever had as well as share his own in return. Naturally, he had become totally addictive catnip for their high powered, female Sekirei mating instincts. Yet it had been their own combined bonding powers that had since unlocked his off the charts psychic potential and was now keeping them all at a stiff and so frustrating mental arm's length.

That was damned ironic now that she thought about it. Their situation was almost satisfyingly funny too since pieces of crap Miya, Karasuba, and especially that home wrecking bitch Kazehana had been entangled by Archer's empathic powers and was now driving the three of them nuts. And who knew the extent of his other rapidly growing/unlocked mental talents? His psychic power leeching and projection? The incredible mind shielding that could withstand even Madoka and Amebane's considerable coercion talents as well as Mutsu's trance inducing shots. Probably all at the same time too. How could Archer DO that? He was the only Ashikabi that could, but she greatly lacked relevant hard data on his abilities.

In a perfect world she would have been taking multiple scans and MRI charts of Archer's enigmatic brain from the day he had landed in Japan and after each subsequent Sekirei bonding since. She would have had sequential metaphysical testing in a controlled lab environment as well. Then she could have tracked his development and had some accurate raw measurements to correlate and extrapolate instead of rehashing second and third hand anecdotes of how rapidly he had been growing as an Ashikabi and then Prime Leader. Unless, Takami grimaced silently, he also was like that little scamp Riko and able to creatively repress and manipulate results enough to hide his potential in plain damn sight like Riko had since babyhood.

Except, Takami reasoned, Archer wasn't a Riko type genius. On the other hand he was no dummy according to Natalie/Yume. The young man had very nimble, highly intuitive wits and good instinctive common sense as well as being a VERY rapid learner too. Therefore, he HAD to have known he had permanent bonds with his Sekirei; bonds that had been life necessary for them BEFORE he had gotten hurt defending Kamakura Island. So why hadn't he just integrated his Circle before the battle like Seo, Sanada, and others had done with such ease? Which brought her right back to her original question she had been asking herself for days. What was so badly hindering the Prime Circle's integration with each other and their Ashikabi?

Takami took another nervous puff on her cigarette. Crap. She was going around the problem in circles again here, and nothing was forthcoming. It wasn't new to her though. How many other lonely and fruitless contemplative moments had she sat smoking like this through the years while mulling over the total puzzle of the Sekirei existence and history on Earth? Asking so many wrong questions, testing inaccurate theories, skewing premises with such total flawed results from all? While battling Minaka's growing and distracting madness to harm her, her children, and her Sekirei as well as the whole damn world? The answer was way too many.

She shook her head slowly. There had also been too many stupid and off focus moments with obviously too little results, then and since. That would be especially true if she couldn't do something now to enable the Prime Circle to fulfill their Earth protective roles. And keep her shaky, investigative scientist ass from soon being eaten by some big damn Rigelian newt too, Takami added darkly to herself.

She let out her last smoky puff in tired exasperation while almost angrily stubbing out her cigarette in the overflowing gourd shell ash tray on her desk. That dried organic tray had been a gift from her sweet little Kusano; one who was also going to die in some Rigelian's teeth if the damned Prime Circle didn't soon function like they should. Growling to herself like an old, one eyed, mama bear and leaning forward in her chair, Takami began again to page through the extensive and fascinating notes, conjectures, and even pictures originated by Madoka's former Ashikabi.

Archer. Get back to Archer. He was the obvious key. So what was she missing about him? Her good eye shifted to quickly review her own medical notes also. Had she missed anything physical that was blatantly harming/blocking his relationship with his Sekirei? Some small ironic and obvious something that should be smacking her right between her good and bad eyes?

**Cash Joseph Archer**

_Age 23.8 yrs, _

_Brown hair, blue eyes, height 193.6 cm, weight 99.2 kg _

_Scar left shin from bicycle fall age 6, an 8 petal red flower tattoo behind left ear, circumcised in infancy_

_Resting heart rate 48 bpm _

_Blood pressure 116/71 mm Hg _

_EKG normal _

_EEG has persistent neuron abnormalities (see attached readouts)_

_9% body fat, muscular build of a highly conditioned and trained professional athlete, no hernias_

_No signs and test results for past/recent STDs, parasitical infestations, d__ermatological __disorders_

_X-ray and MRI body scans of skeletal bones, lymphatic system, internal organs normal _

_MRI brain scan shows small hippocampal lesion/searing (see attached images)_

**Comprehensive Metabolic Panel**:

_Glucose, Sodium, Potassium, Chloride, Carbon dioxide BUN, Blood Urea Nitrogen, Creatinine BUN/creatinine ratio, Calcium, Protein, Albumin, Bilirubin, Alkaline phosphatase (ALP), Alanine aminotransferase (ALT), Aspartate aminotransferase level:_

_Results/levels all within normal ranges_

**Complete Blood Count**:

_White blood cell count (WBC), Red blood cell count (RBC), Hemoglobin, Hematocrit, Mean Corpuscular Volume (MCV), Mean Corpuscular Hemoglobin (MCH), Platelet Count_

_Results/levels all within normal ranges_

**Physical and Oral Exam:**

**Positives:**

_Mentally alert, iris response normal, hearing normal, 20/10 vision both eyes, tongue and throat appearance normal, gum and dental health appear excellent, no visible tooth cavities or oral sores, muscular reflexive tests normal, muscle tone excellent, lymph glands normal, heartbeat strong with no murmurs, lungs clear and passing air normally, personal identity intact, long term memory and family identification intact. Overall appearance of attractive, sexually desirable, and capable male._

**Negatives:**

_Dexterity poor, uncontrolled shaking in extremities, complaints of dizziness, nausea, and extreme coldness over entire body, also suffering olfactory, parageusia**,** and gustatory hallucinations, short term memory loss of all events since 4/28/20 to current date, past medical history unavailable, patient advised childhood bout of chicken pox age 5, broken left forearm falling from tree age ten, two past incidents of severe concussions in last seven years. One from a severe beating by peers in high school. One from a high speed cranial strike by baseball two years ago. Possible long term post-concussive damage from either or both._

**Summation: **

_Patient currently recovering from near fatal event of TEA (transient epileptic amnesia) due to a closed head injury/lesion, primarily locus is hippocampal in origin with some involvement of limbic and adjacent temporal lobe neocortical structures, medicated with anticonvulsants, barbiturate-induced coma, and electrolytic replacements._

_Recovery recommended daily oral ingestion 200 mg carbamazepine to mitigate future convulsive events. (2) 400 mg liquid gel-caps ibuprofen for migraine pain not to exceed 6 capsules in 24 hours._

**Prognosis:**

_Without metaphysical healing intervention, Archer's short and long term physical and mental recovery to professionally athletic competence highly uncertain. Probability of permanent recent memory loss and future but not fatal epileptic events also very high. Effects of recent injury on psychic abilities totally unknown at this time._

Nuts. That was it? Take two painkillers and call me in the morning? Takami petulantly paused to light another cigarette. Nothing dammit. Nothing she hadn't wracked her brains over to make sure she hadn't overlooked a dozen times now. Neither was there anything Himeko could do unless somehow Archer could be convinced to let her incredible healing talents get in behind his damnable mind shields.

And wasn't that highly ironic too? Archer's cure was actually panting in frustration to help her Ashikabi, and he didn't even remember ever meeting her. Nor did he have any interest at all in doing so now. Takami shook her head. Okay. Put physiological aside and try the psychological. Again. She began to reread the synopsis of her current psychological assessment notes that had been combined with those Madoka's Ashikabi had made on Archer and his Prime Circle Sekirei.

_**C.J. Archer -Prime Leader**_

_traits: _

_**Good**: honest, deeply loving, intensely loyal, artistic, goal oriented, modest, blunt, pacifist, strong willed, charitable, hard working, quick learner, self sacrificing, very strong ability to focus, laid back, tolerant yet almost puritanical sense of self morality _

_**B****ad**: naïve, low social/leadership skills, guarded, hag ridden, self absorbed, highly judgmental, repressed, long term and ongoing emotional trauma at early age from father's war death _

_Before current brain injury, Archer had gone from stubborn, fate rejecting denial and selfishness with minimal involvement to much more accommodating participation and acceptance as his Circles' Prime Leader. However, probably due to his ongoing reticence towards Builder Riko, he had a too shallow commitment in being THE pinnacle psychic male of the solar system, and had not completely overcome his deeply puritanical resistance to being a female harem's one "satisfyingly capable" male center. _

_Archer was also struggling with reconciling his macho, stud athlete self image to the stark reality that he is just a puny human in physical comparisons to his much stronger Sekirei. Also, his cultural background reflects that of a freedom loving Midwest American male long used to his individual independence and strong preference for an equality type of a non-polygamous mating partnership._

_Despite learning quickly and showing great strides in getting his boosted metaphysical powers optimized, Archer is still largely untrained, undisciplined, and highly vulnerable to concerted attack by stronger psychics. Retrogressed due to psychic over extension damage, he has retreated within himself, withheld all psychic access except some inexplicable thin line to Riko, and minimized any hopes of his Prime Circle meshing with and around him. _

_It is also possible that Archer, having total confidence in Himeko and not weighing possible consequences, intentionally but foolishly allowed himself to be damaged to where he could retreat and possibly reset his totally failed relationship with Riko as he had previously done with Karasuba and Miya. _

_In either case, Archer still needs to make a mature decision to finally be fair with Riko now, and himself as well. He MUST allow himself to get healed, accept his life changing fate as Prime Leader, and give his Sekirei the same total and equal access to his mind, heart, and possible Ashikabi tama that he already has to theirs. This will have one way consequences that he would have to knowingly accept. Those choices will irrevocably bind him and his life to them like they are already bound to him; a very tight and permanent two way street as Mutsu reportedly alluded to in the MBI bath per Seo. _

_**03 Kazehana – Prime Pillar, One Who Leads**_

_traits:_

_**G****ood**: laid back, romantic, playful, warm, caring, approachable, forgiving, world wise, smart, loyal, experienced fighter, honest, down to earth, understanding_

_**B**_**ad**: _unreliable, moody, vain, self centered, quick tempered, undisciplined, self doubting, flighty_

_Although a former flighty, vain, unreliable drunk, and basically back stabbing Minato in a drunken, selfish desire to be much more deeply bonded with the more powerful and manly Archer, Kazehana was/is still well liked by most Sekirei. This by virtue of her being the only caring and interactive "big sister" figure from the original Disciplinary Squad. As such, she is also now the experienced "best option" for overall leadership role even though she is still very highly flawed. She has shown flashes of personality improvement overall due to bonding, but still a weak disaster to date as Prime Pillar due to her ongoing arrogant, self doubting, selfish approach to her position. It has eroded her Circles' respect, confidence, and obedience as well as her ability to coordinate and rely upon her subordinates. She needs to imprint Archer's self sacrificial depths to truly learn giving of herself and to empower others on a much more stable, mature, and humble basis._

**04 Karasuba – One Who Kills **

traits_:_

_**Good**: self confident, leader, flexible, humorous, smart, aggressive, blunt, honest, artistic_

_**Bad**: cynical, jealous, conceited, short tempered, abrasive, cold, calculating, highly unstable, amoral _

_A former psychotic, cynical killer bent on destruction, revenge, and world domination, Karasuba has already been largely healed in most respects due to her Ashikabi bonding and subsequent struggles she overcame to retain her life and Ashikabi's love. Seemingly a totally odd couple, nevertheless she and Archer have always resonated on the very deep mutual levels of pure physical attraction, artistic spirits, bluntly honest natures, and somewhat weirdly with his relief pitcher's assassin like and aggressive mindset in getting hitters out. That mutual resonance and sexual compatibility ultimately saved her life, healed her tama, and healed her long psychotic rage and cynicism._

_Now she is learning how to fit into her Circle and has largely put her murderous hatreds and insane flashes of uncontrolled fury behind her. She still suffers from a gratingly superior and snarky attitude as well too blunt and combative speech which her pair bonds with Akitsu will eventually smooth out. However to be the truly effective 2nd in command Kazehana and for complete meshing happiness, Karasuba has to imprint a meshed Archer's ongoing pacifistic love and humility to get better self control and more appreciation of her Sisters' value._

_**07 Akitsu – One Who Senses**_

_traits:_

_**Good**: obedient, polite, dutiful, honest, sensitive, fearless, staunchly loyal, fair, even tempered, steadfast_

_**Bad**: emotionally stunted, melancholy, forgetful, unimaginative, slow witted, pessimistic, _

_poor self image, fearful of rejection, dependent, inferiority complex_

_Utterly faithful and happily submissive since "fixed" and bonded to Archer, paired with strong Karasuba, and mostly mentally healed, Akitsu still suffers bouts of inferiority and fears of ultimate rejection due to her ongoing inferiority complex. While becoming her Circle's disciplinary glue with her even tempered and honest fairness, she of all her Sisters still needs to imprint the steady self confidence that only a deeply committed, meshed, and inclusive minded Archer can give her._

_**10 Uzume – One Who Defends**_

_traits:_

_**G****ood**: cheerful, creative, sacrificially loving, aggressive, humorous, deeply loyal_

_**B****ad**: merciless, sneaky, two faced, self loathing, guilt ridden, self centered, killing addicted, temperamental, rebellious, natural lone wolf_

_Since the hurried re-winging by Archer to save her own life, Uzume has suffered deep survivor's guilt scars from what she unconsciously still feels was her too hasty and cowardly choosing to have her loving psychic bonds with dying Chiho cut. In addition, while protecting her former Ashikabi, she also found a very unsettling dark side of her that enjoyed combat, blood, and killing that has greatly distressed the good sides of her self image. Nor has she gotten over the fact that she had tried to sneak up and kill her friend Kazehana. _

_Having never going through rejection fires with Archer that might have helped as they did Karasuba, these emotional scars have been exacerbated by not having a proper, sympathetic, and supportive bond mate in Riko as well as Archer and Kazehana's immature ignorance of how badly the sudden broken love bonds can affect a Sekirei. Further, as a dominant former lesbian, Uzume is still having ongoing struggles in how to successfully and happily relate to her dominant male Ashikabi as well as the more dominant and powerful females in her Circle. _

_Although now deeply in love with her new Ashikabi, mostly generated and carried by ancient Sekirei imprinting, all these ongoing deep psyche problems have left Uzume still very emotionally damaged, alienated, out of sync, highly temperamental, and actually loathing how and what she has become. She needs a healed Archer and sympathetic Kazehana's true understanding of her problems along with the healing, meshed, and stabilizing bonds of her Circle and bond mate Riko. These would allow her to move on from past scars, as well as then being allowed to fill her guilt free, dominant, intended, and personal Defender's role with her Ashikabi, as well as her once again feeling worthy of still being alive. _

_However, Uzume will still have to imprint much more of Archer's heterosexual preferences to relate better to him as well as a like minded Riko on a very low stress and mutually satisfying basis._

_**15 Himeko – One Who Heal**__**s**_

_traits:_

_**Good**__: compassionate, intelligent, sympathetic, humble, loving, softhearted, down to Earth, protective_

_**B****ad**: too possessive, self-important, smothering, too shy, self conscious, insecure_

_Himeko knows __full well that__ she is the big "Plain Jane" of her Circle and therefore constantly worried she will never ultimately "measure up" __to her sexier Sisters__ in terms of attractiveness __and desirability__. __However, she had become easily "best friend" and sex companion comfortable with her Ashikabi as an almost female personality mirror of __Archer__. Their mutual, equally sharing ease of loving companionship has caused dissension, jealousy, and resentment in her Circle which Himeko feels, but her insecurity and natural fear of losing __Archer__'s interest over time makes it difficult for her to share what she receives from him, even with bond mate Miya. _

_Also, Archer's two recent near death experiences has left her smothering paranoid and overly protective which she can sense tends to greatly annoy him, but she can't overcome her natural instincts. She needs to imprint Archer's self confidence in order to ease up and back away a little, completely trust her Sisters to help protect Archer's life and health with her, and then share her already natural loving closeness to Archer in return._

_**16 Toyotama – One Who Scouts**_

_traits:_

_**Good**: sensitive, introspective, fiercely protective, bluntly honest, fearless, malleable, loyal, obedient, adaptable_

_**Bad**: violently savage, highly unstable, sadistic, self hating, needy, bipolar, insecure, amoral_

_Having been winged by the human/Rigelian __hybrid__ Higa __that absolutely hated her__, Toyotama fought the coldly sadistic, __murderous, blood addicting, __and amoral amphibian traits that he imprinted onto her bonds. However, his imprinting personality actually resonated in dark depths with her inherent savage, dominant, and violent Sekirei Scout nature. That all clashed mightily with her more powerful ancient instincts to have natural Sekirei mating bonds of love and being loved forever and ever. She succeeded in fighting her Higa enhanced internal darkness well enough to get re-winged by __Archer__, but much like Uzume, Toyotama still suffers from the ongoing deep scars that Higa's former broken bonds have left upon her inner soul. _

_Even though originally only very lightly bonded like Karasuba, Himeko, and to some extent Kazehana, those broken bond scars are still causing ongoing personality and mental instability which she has managed to repress by having a loving and understanding Ashikabi become her new controlling "Master". Archer has and still is highly uncomfortable with this arrangement due to his pacifist loving nature and his own ingrained and instinctual desires for mutual partnership. Nevertheless, Toyotama knows down deep she has been irrevocably damaged by Higa and will be at best a functional emotional cripple like Akitsu the rest of her life. _

_Thus, Toyotama currently fears her soul's damage will lead to eventual rejection or at the very least being shunned by the much more easy going, live and let live Archer as well as her Prime Sisters. Those fears could be mostly eased to manageability by Archer as her fully committed and healed Ashikabi. _

_However, like Uzume, Toyotama not only needs to imprint more of Archer's heterosexual preference, but also his sense of freedom loving independence to truly relate to him in the partnership as he will always want her to do. Sadly, she will never be able to completely forgo the deeply soul healing comfort and control that she receives in being submissive to her Master, bond mate Kazehana, and her Sisters._

_**67 Riko – One Who Builds**_

_traits:_

_**Good**: eidetic genius, hard working, tenacious, highly romantic, innovative, virgin/bond pure_

_**Bad**: paranoiac introvert, loner, volatile temper, controlling, narcissistic, awkward social clod_

_The real problem between Riko and Archer from the beginning has been that he immediately and unconsciously sensed something really out of balance and "wrong" within Riko's tama. He thus instinctively rejected getting involved with her. _

_Also, she met him as a micro managing, detailed, too possessive, closed off, temperamental yet "fairy tale romantic" dreaming loner; one still full of fear at having her inner being shared with anyone other than her "dream prince". This immediately clashed with Archer's natural independent streak and deep resistance in letting anyone "take over" his life. Further, she caught him at a very low, emotionally closed off place career and romance wise. All this was too much for her innate building/bonding powers to overcome._

_From toddler days Riko had long practiced hiding the true depths of herself and her abilities, trusting few very much and none completely. These traits went completely against her inherent and inclusive "One Who Builds" nature, warped her tama out of shape, and led to her greatly increasing instability of temper, jealousy, and even animosity. Coupled with low social skills and abortive attempts to right herself without Archer's whole hearted bonding and her Sisters and bond mate's understanding or support, her internal woes have left her a rejected and very pitiful failure. _

_Yet, all the while as a primary Builder in Natalie's brood, Riko has been psychically powerful and grown enough to unconsciously "call and build" her Circle as well the other seven circles in their battle group. A very reasonable assumption is that Riko should have bonded and meshed with Archer first when very young, called and built her Circles, and then all grown to trained adulthood together as what Miya and Natalie have both said normally happens on Kouten. _

_Therefore Riko's current Circle building processes have been totally ass backwards and still disjointed. All she has personally suffered has finally gotten her tama untwisted and in line with her inherent building and romantic nature, but she needs to finally be able imprint upon Archer as she instinctively has to do. He in turn will have to completely accept her as a life partner/lover to finally put her into her natural true place as the bonding and meshing glue of her Prime Circle and her battle groups. Archer will then need to let her build around him to protect Earth as the ancient Sekirei intended._

_**01 Miya – One Who Serves**_

_traits:_

_**G****ood**: generous, accommodating, muted sly humor, experienced leader, aggressive, smart, thoughtful, highly and multi talented, mentally powerful, skilled fighter_

_**B****ad**: aloof, merciless, quick tempered, prudish, sneaky, rigid, vindictive, arrogant, overbearing, outcast, over jealous, reclusive failure, low social skills, panics under pressure, false pride_

_**Additional Factors**: Miya is a surgically modified, ancient Kouten native, educated and trained, yet somehow a ruling class outcast and never bonded into a Circle until now. Former Pillar, but self admitted multiple failure as same._

_Bonding with Archer and heavily chastised by Natalie, Miya's bonds with him were then rejected but restored since. Subsequent events have also stripped much of the enormous emotional dross that has plagued Miya and her relationship to her Circle. This has left her humbled yet still the most powerful female on Earth, but one that is also still hated, mistrusted, and feared by most of the other younger Sekirei she had failed to protect and teach through their growing years. _

_In addition and although partially meshed, she is still highly intimidated by more beautiful and built Sekirei, especially Kazehana and Karasuba, former subordinates whom she still resents deeply. She also has not tried much to strengthen her bonds with the much more kind, younger, compassionate, and loving Himeko of whom she is also physically jealous. _

_All this has left Miya still very emotionally insecure, still weakly committed in her Circle relationships, guilty over her failed past, feeling inadequate to generate more of Archer's interest and love, and definitely not generating the shared power she is cable of giving. _

_The very independent, abrasive, and somewhat still outcast minded Miya needs to imprint much more of Archer's easy going, self accepting, and live and let live approach to life. Once fully meshed, life entwined, and with a healed Archer's loving commitment to her, Miya would then finally generate and share her incredible powers with her bond mate and Circle._

_**Natalie/Ashanna/08 ****Yum****e – One Who ****Kills?**_

_traits:_

_**Good**: smart, loving, loyal, self sacrificing, dedicated, caring, extremely protective,_

_**Bad**: sneaky, passive aggressive, manipulative, uncompromising, hidebound, split psyches_

_Ashanna/Natalie/Yume has become as would be expected a mixed triumvirate personality of her "One Who Kills" Kouten youth and training, what she became as a damaged womb ship's living AI, and now as a re-awakened entity occupying idealistic Yume's "missing tama" body. Natalie is also suffering greatly from her new bond mate Charlyll's suicidal tendencies over both of them becoming ancient Kouten cultural "abominations" as well as injured Archer's withdrawal from all his Sekirei. However, Natalie and her bond mate are both wondrously alive in real bodies again, and Natalie's prior bonding to Archer as a mother ship's AI has provided enough stability needed to maintain a grip on their remaining sanity. _

_Still, Natalie desperately needs to imprint upon Archer's loving acceptance and deeper meshed bonding/melding of her in Yume's body to coalesce her mixed psyches into one cohesive and ancient Kouten/modern Earth acceptable whole._

_**Charlyll/43 Yomi – One Who **__**Senses?**_

_traits:_

_**Good**: highly aggressive and protective, extremely loyal, dedicated, fierce warrior, honorable_

_**Bad**: inflexible, suicidal, very narrow minded, extremely over bearing, insensitive, split psyche_

_Charlyll/Yomi is a throwback to an almost pure product of Ancient Kouten's Royal Sekirei breeding, rearing, and training. Bonded and Circled when a young royal princess, rigidly warrior trained, family honor and duty infused, and highly battle experienced until mortally wounded, her psyche is rigidly hidebound and highly predatory. She is exactly what and why the Ancient Kouten were forced into softening their predatory society with human interbreeding in order to ultimately join their still vulnerable Empire with the peace demanding Galactic Federation. _

_Now melded into similarly fierce Yomi's tama free body, she is highly torn between suicidal rejection of her mixed psyche's "abomination" status, and yet instinctively drawn to and desiring bonding to Natalie's "lover" Ashikabi. Charlyll greatly fears rejection as she has no sense of being mutually attractive to Archer. This has left her highly unstable. Charlyll MUST have Archer's bonding to regain her full will to live, fuse her split depths, and provide a true Sekirei warrior's purpose to her life that can be acceptable to herself and to her Ancient Halls of Royal Ancestors._

_**Additional Factors**: After the psychic recovery of Riko with Uzume and Archer, Madoka advised that within Archer's powerful mental shielding there was a definite and impenetrable blocking of Archer's highest mental bandwidths that Madoka sensed but could not read at all. Whether this was intended, inherently natural, or the result of some past brain damage Madoka could not advise. _

_Homura advises that his plasticity changing from male to female is from his directly imprinting upon Minato's highest psychic bandwidths. His/hers is the extreme imprinting change case amongst all Sekirei, yet each share this instinctive plasticity trait to "conform" to the innermost desires of their Ashikabi. Actual reasons and/or necessity for this Sekirei plasticity of personality and physicality is unknown at this time, however effects appear to be a particularly loathsome form of emotional slavery to their Ashikabi that begs reversal in future generations of their hybrid offspring._

_**Questions**: Can need for plasticity be reversed/minimized? How and where would an Ashikabi tama manifest itself? What would damage/heal same? Possibilities of Archer developing/leeching operant self healing powers? Upper limits of his psychic talents? Manifestations of more latent talents not yet seen? Why would Archer so readily trust a loser like Kazehana, but not Riko? Why would he almost die to save Karasuba, fix Akitsu, wing hostile Uzume, psycho killer Toyotama, and insane Miya, but do so little for Riko? What was the original purposes in ancient Sekirei for conforming to Ashikabi? How does a Circle function with less or more than eight members? _

_**Cross ****Reference**: Sekirei Plasticity Theory. Highest Mental Bands. Crystal "jinki" and Rod Chakra Enhancement. Sekirei Tama. Regeneration. Mitochondrial Rejuvenation. Master and Grand Master Class Healing Capabilities in Concert. Five Buddhist Meditation Hindrances. Effects of Doubt, Ill-Will on Sekirei Bonding/Concert/Meshing Action. Variant, Non Traditional, and Adaptive Sekirei Circle Formations. Ashikabi Bond Regeneration and Replacement.  
><em>

Takami leaned back in her chair again. Only two items really stood out. Again. None of the Prime Sekirei had fully imprinted on/conformed to their Ashikabi. And Archer possibly was, or had been, too brain and/or psychologically damaged in his youth to let them. Or too young and undeveloped to handle their combined firepower. Such that he was either unwilling or unable to let his Sekirei conform to his freedom loving personality and mesh with each other naturally. Or there were limits on which the insane yet powerful Prime Sekirei would allow themselves to conform to Archer. And each other. Or some or all possibilities combined. Or none.

Great information and insights yet no conclusive answers, Takami thought in renewed disgust. And yet she was sure the answer to the Prime Circle's meshing dilemma pointed back to Archer; a hybrid who still remained a huge, elusive, and damaged enigma. She knew of no other real way to "fix" him without him consciously unblocking Himeko's powers. Dammit.

"He's leaving."

Miya's voice behind and above badly startled Takami and made the one eyed scientist jerk violently sideways. She almost fall out of her leather chair. As it was, Takami's knees banged into her desk hard enough to dump and scatter the crushed cigarette butts and ashes in her overflowing gourd ash tray. They landed all over her notes and desktop.

After righting herself, Takami turned a peeved eyeball towards the unwelcome sneak behind her. There was no telling how long Miya had been hovering and reading behind her. Miya's kinetic powers had obviously dampened all noises of her entrance into the outer vestibule, and she had then noiselessly floated high over and behind a concentrating Takami bent over her notes.

"You can't knock? And if it weren't so damned important for the world, my people, and myself, then I'd pay to see him leave without you." Takami's tone was dripping with mocking pettiness. "It'd be worth it to see Numbers 1, 3, and 4 eating their own livers in rejection pain and finally get the bad karma effects you three actually deserve for all the grief you've sown on this planet."

"Still in dogged denial about your own massive role in all that? Since we are a product of your ignorance AND your aid in Minaka's insane ambition and secretiveness, that seems a little ironic, doesn't it?" Miya returned with an eyebrow raised in half contempt before tossing another dart. "Nice notes by the way. A little brutal and unfair here and there perhaps, but pithy, asking good questions, and as fairly accurate as your bitchy ignorance can make them."

Dressed in her best purple silk kimono and carrying her sheathed katana, Miya calmly circled the messy desk to confront the now warily sitting Takami. Her kimono's silk whispered rhythmically as Miya moved, and there was an odd, cold air of menace that was conveyed by the sound. Hackles raised in the hair on the back of Takami's neck. They had NEVER liked each other. Ever. However, both older females' facial expressions settled into a more stoic and serious neutrality in light of the cold realities they were both currently immersed.

"All that happened in the past between us can't be changed, and is now basically irrelevant," Miya began neutrally, but her eyes were very hard and VERY cold. "We need each other now, whether we like it or not. I can feel Cash has a very strong and innate sense of trust for doctors, perhaps badly misplaced in you, but it's there, and can be useful.

"The six of us want you to distract him while Himeko and I shave him and cut his hair. During our casual touching of his skull, we will subtly try to ascertain the extent of his brain injury and attempt to physically heal what we can. We need to at least restore his vitality enough to make it possible for him to pitch. While we work on him, we want you to give him an "energy" drink to conceal our efforts. You will also verbally convince him to attend Karasuba's pitching tryout and delay his departure back to his country. We will make your efforts on our behalf very worthwhile for you."

Instantly intrigued yet showing nothing, Takami leaned forward. Six Prime Sekirei acting in psychic concert to mask their intentions? That was some real mental firepower there. And ironically, that MIGHT work since they weren't fully imprinted upon their Ashikabi. But it would be very delicate work given Archer's extreme sensitivity and shielding talent. Takami thought it over for a few seconds then voiced her doubts.

"Aside from what he is blocking and might sense of Himeko's sneaky healing attempts, Archer's empathic powers will read any deviousness around him in a heartbeat, especially mine. You six might mask a light probing, but you well know that my mental defenses are rudimentary in comparison to his and yours." Takami slowly shook her head. "And I'm afraid he'll pretty much read my emotions like an open book. He's immune to any coercion too. It won't work on my end."

"We will blanket your mind and help you maintain a concerned, helpful, and friendly front. Cash will be asking you questions, and you will sincerely answer them with total honesty and truth. Engage him in conversation about his future plans, past history, and love for baseball while doing so. Make him concentrate most of his attention on you. You can do that. And you will not be the only distraction we'll be using during our intervention either."

"And making it worth my efforts? How so?" Takami leaned back while cocking her head sideways and casually tenting the fingers of both hands in speculation before her mouth. She was rich beyond Croesus thanks to her MBI stock and decades of investing their very lucrative dividends, so what could they offer her that she didn't already have?

"We will aid the psychological recovery efforts of Madoka's former Ashikabi in which you have shown more than a clinical interest." Miya's lavender eyes took on a slightly colder look. "Both his and your bodies will undergo mitochondrial rejuvenation for enhanced longevity. Your menopause will be pushed back for decades in case you might desire additional future children. Your fat cells will be rearranged to give you the more womanly curves you've always needed. Your eye will be healed and lungs cleared. Arterial plaque removed. Your thigh and butt cellulite will disappear as well.

"Both of you will also be rid of aging spots, skin wrinkles, all fungal, bacterial, and viral infections, interior and exterior growths, and all other blemishes. Muscle tone, vitality, and strength will be improved to natural upper limits and joints tightened. In addition, you two will never have to fear heart attacks, strokes, cancer, or any debilitating condition or disease, ever."

"A dip in the Fountain of Youth for two, eh?"

"Your ages will stay the same as it is now. It cannot be reversed, but your bodies can be tuned to maximum continuing health and have future aging greatly delayed." Miya half frowned in impatience. "Well?"

"Sounds boring," Takami sniffed dismissively while thinking quickly. Here was the professional chance of a dozen lifetimes if she could pull it off. "Unless …"

"Unless what," Miya returned flatly.

"IF it works, AND Earth is somehow saved, then I want this island as a protected sanctuary, school, AND testing laboratory for future hybrid offspring. I also want yearly testing of all current Ashikabi and Sekirei, including Archer and the Prime Circle, WITH Kazehana's FULL cooperation. And one other thing."

"Which is?"

"Two things actually. An in depth and TRUTHFUL interview of everything you, Natalie, and Charlyll can tell me about Kouten and its Empire before you left, as well as total access to all historical files retrieved from the ship."

A long silence ensued as Miya simply stared at Takami without blinking.

"Kazehana consents except you will be placed directly under her personal authority for all that. You will NOT be allowed to publish nor transfer from Kamakura Island any data, material, technical readouts, nor results you will get. Agreed?"

"I accept." Takami formally nodded once in mild disappointment. Not exactly what she wanted but good enough to satisfy her need to KNOW. And also give a proper legacy of knowledge to all future Sekirei offspring as well as her own hybrid grandchildren.

"Then prepare yourself to help us. Take a shower, change into clean clothes, eat, brush your teeth, and relax your mind until we are ready. Himeko will refresh your physical energy before we meet Cash. We fear there will only be once chance to gain his cooperation to pitch."

"Fine," Takami answered as she stood up, but decided to slip once last thin cut into the female alien monster in front of her. As well as get an immediate answer to something that had always bugged her. "Why were you cast out?"

"The partial answer is in your notes," Miya replied tonelessly while ignoring Takami's pettiness. "Sometimes a young Sekirei will view their enforced Ashikabi conformity, or plasticity as you call it, as little more than emotional slavery. The Ashikabi chosen for me by my family was …. personally unacceptable …. and my rejecting of his bonding was … dishonorable and unforgivable. The penalty was banishment, but elegantly done to save the family honor."

"Why choose Archer then?" Takami pressed although the cold vibes coming from Miya immediately turned downright frosty.

"He is … much more than acceptable," Miya tossed over her shoulder as she began striding towards the outer vestibule. She halted to give Takami an absolutely glacial look much like a High Arctic Gyrfalcon eying a doomed little shrew before speaking very softly again.

"And he is the best choice for my lifelong happiness on this planet. Especially since going home will never be an option for a bonded monster like me, or any banned Sekirei colonizing another galaxy. And don't ever push your luck with me again. I am under no compulsion to keep you alive if we survive this invasion."

Takami stared after Miya's stiffly departing figure in contemplative and even mildly shocked silence. That last was chilling as hell. Also a glimpse of a future cold reality. Their mutual dislike would never abate much. And what was that about banned Sekirei colonizing? Were they conditioned to bond and conform themselves to alien Ashikabi to forestall any "dishonorable" and/or unwelcome return to Kouten? Potential rebellion containment maybe? Empire home galaxy population control? Who knew? And what had made hybrid Archer much more acceptable to Miya than a native Sekirei male of Kouten, and yet she STILL couldn't fully conform to her Ashikabi? Was it always going to be thus? Get a question answered only to generate many more?

Takami impatiently but carefully brushed the ashes and butt debris off her precious notes and back into her gourd ash tray. Who would have ever thought that her own personal future and even life itself would rest in the heads of her three greatest and hated enemies? Talk about irony. This mutual alliance was the very best illustration of the word.

_**"Lunar Orbit Contact in 10.5 Hours!"**_

Takami had no inkling that a growing Irony Engine had doubled in size by the time she left her office and headed for her quarters to take a hot shower. But she did know she was STILL missing some crucial fact about Archer and his failing Prime Circle that needed to be identified and dealt with before they could finally became a fully functional unit.

***scene break***

During the same time Takami started perusing her notes, Corporal Jack Wilson, having only a still vaguely and hazy forming idea of what kind of information he was after, approached Number 16 Toyotama almost as if he was going to question a possible hostile urban terrorist in some unsecured battleground city.

Ironically, his wary approach and defensive posture holding onto the M16 rifle strapped across his chest actually worked in gaining her somewhat bemused yet markedly uncordial attention. Other Sekirei literally raced around them both while clearing the debris, repairing the damage, and cleaning the mess hall floor. However, both Wilson and Toyotama silently ignored the building's restoration action and eyed one another in a fairly unfriendly fashion for several long moments.

Toyotama was patiently balancing a smaller steel I-beam on one shoulder and waiting for the Lightning Twins to get ready to weld it into place as a structural cross brace above. As Wilson just stood silently and gave her the complete, up and down, appreciative male appraisal, she arched her dark green right eyebrow in a somewhat dismissive expression of his unwelcome ogling before speaking. It made his hazy idea of what he wanted to ask her become very clear; even more so when she spoke.

"Well? What do you want? And you can take your trigger finger off your weapon, Little Man. I can break your neck a hundred times before you can even blink, let alone try to get off an aimed shot. Make this quick. I'm busy. Kazehana wants this building ready to serve the noon meal."

"I got a question about Archer." Wilson reacted in frowning blunt surprise while totally ignoring the taller and obviously stronger Sekirei's dismissive and definitely condescending attitude. He cocked his head sideways and squinted slightly to look into her weird colored blue eyes. Or were they light green with light purple tints? Or vice versa? He couldn't tell. The dark blue Cubs baseball cap she was wearing shaded her upper face and also doubled as breeze control for her very thick and long green hair. Then another thought hit him.

"Say, can't you just read my mind for what I want to ask?"

"That would assume I'd even care to, which I don't," Toyotama sniffed derisively while casually tossing the heavy steel beam to three Sekirei about six meters above her. "And besides, I'm not as good at that as others. It takes effort, and like I said, I'm busy here. How long is this question gonna take?"

"Just need a minute. I'm trying to help Karasuba's plan," Wilson flinched in anticipation the thrown beam might be dropped, but it was neatly caught and handled as if it were a hollow bamboo pole. "And, uhhh, what I want to know is a little personal."

Noting his discomfort this close to the ongoing work above as well his request for a little quick privacy, Toyotama sighed and jerked her thumb for him to follow her. They walked a hundred paces or so across the grassy lawn between the base buildings and away from the mess hall. As they made two sets of pressure bent tracks in the green grass, Wilson tried to formulate the best way to ask what he wanted to know. The fact that this green haired and hard muscled Amazon was only wearing a baseball cap, white low cut tennis shoes, a brief, dark blue pair of flowered silk exercise shorts, and a low cut, light blue sports bra was making his concentration difficult.

Man, Wilson noticed appreciatively, this gal had calf, thigh, butt, back, and arm muscles rippling in places most women wouldn't even know they had, let alone taut torso abs looking like a twelve pack. However, the overall effect was decidedly very attractive and feminine even if there was very little curvaceous body fat on her. Really nice ass though. Big firm tits and long shapely legs too.

Actually, this Sekirei looked like a much sexier version of Marvel comics' She Hulk without the green tinted skin, except that Toyotama's facial features were definitely a cut below classical perfection in beauty. Exotically attractive, Wilson decided as Toyotama stopped and turned to face him, but not really alluringly so. Still, babelicious as all get out even with her weird green hair getting shagged about in the morning breezes. He liked her baseball cap too, but up close, her man hating eyes looked pretty damn creepy.

"So?" Toyotama gave a small impatient sigh.

"Uhhh, yeah," Wilson waved an irritated right hand at a breeze battling cloud of gnats that suddenly hovered in front of his face. He also felt a little uncertain of how to proceed for a few seconds before simply tossing caution and his normally miniscule tact to the winds. "Gunny and Kazehana want me to help your Archer guy get lovey dovey interested in Missy Riko. I noticed you earlier, and the thought crossed my mind of why would Archer ever go for a gal like you?"

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN GO FOR A GAL LIKE ME?" Toyotama instantly bristled as both green eyebrows came down to frame her weird colored and now blazing eyes. Such an outraged hot glare and accompanying menacing stance might have made lesser men quail and piss themselves before melting down into a puddle of suet, but apparently Corporal Jack "Sun Tsu of Sex" Wilson was made of much sterner stuff. However, the more prudent cloud of gnats fled.

"Hey, chill out, Greenie. I'm just trying to understand something here, see?" Wilson frowned in calm speculation before blithely plunging on. "It's nothing personal, but I just can't see why Archer would get interested in YOU right off and not a give a more normal looking Missy Riko a chance from day one until now."

"NOW I'M NOT NORMAL LOOKING!" It looked like steam might appear from an instantly red faced Toyotama's ears at any second. Now even a small flock of nearby squawking seagulls wheeling in the breeze above buildings a short distance away also decided to wheel and squawk elsewhere. They could certainly feel the expanding bad vibes from her even if Wilson couldn't.

"Well, maybe to some fapping young Tokyo geeks heavy into really wild anime and stuff, but no, not to older guys like me from the States, and especially conservative Bible Belt fellas like Archer." Wilson shook his head while impatiently holding up both palms in another appeal for calm rationality. "I take one look at your guy, and he shapes up to be the type of laid back dude that normally marries the safe, sweet, Plain Jane girl from next door. Never an exotic cosplay looking twist like you. And we both know you're no petite princess type either. Let alone straight.

"Look. You're taller than most men, got green hair and weird colored hard eyes, and super muscles and all too, but it's not just you. That man hating Uzume chick is just as cold eyed as you are too. Those Miya and Karasuba gals are even worse, like they don't look quite sane most of the time. Akitsu's kinda slow on the uptake, Kazehana's a barely reformed and still shaky drunk, and that gray haired Himeko is built good, but she's no classic beauty. None of ya are like Missy Riko who for my money is the most normal, girl next door, and straight looking of all of you Prime babes, right? So why did Archer take to you all right off and not her?"

Wilson stared at her in such guileless frowning curiosity that it made Toyotama blink back at him in nonplussed shock as the import of his obtuse opinions hit her. If she looked hard, man hating, and cold eyed to this clown, what would Master see when he soon met her at Karasuba's pitching tryout? Let alone her less than sexually appealing and too muscular looking body? Instant fear of rejection gripped her and turned her heart to ice.

"We, we don't know," Toyotama strangely deflated almost as fast as her defensive hot anger had been kindled. Riko's petite beauty had ALWAYS been very intimidating to her, and Toyotama was no self deluding fool to deny Wilson's dead on target observations about her sexually dichotomous persona and exotic looks. Besides, her minor mind reading talents had finally focused enough to see that Wilson was genuinely puzzled, trying to look for a helpful answer, and not being intentionally insulting at all.

"And, and … Master didn't really bond with me all that readily either. He asked a lot of questions and was real unhappy at first. Himeko and I had to team up to help each other bond with him because we were both desperate and out of options to live if he didn't possess us."

"Huh, out of options and desperate," Wilson half grunted to himself in speculation until another thought struck him. "Was Missy Riko like that when they first met?"

"No, I don't think so, just a little too pushy maybe. He backed away from her."

Wilson nodded as he mulled this over; his eyes focused on nothing in the seagull empty but partially clouded blue sky above Toyotama's head. He stayed that way for perhaps a minute or two. He also tuned out the continuing construction racket behind him as he examined his thoughts.

For her part, Toyotama finally eyed Wilson with interest. After all, he was supplying fresh eyes to solve a thorny and now highly critical problem that had plagued them all for far too long. Maybe this slut dog of an always horny Marine might ironically see something no one else could, or at least had seen to date. Then his next question surprised her.

"So what ONE thing or quality about YOU do you think helped turn the trick to gain Archer's initially favorable bonding interest? When you first met him I mean. Other than your super sexy looks, what made him happy?"

"Ummm, he wasn't, and the only thing I can think of was me being totally up front and honest in my answers to his questions. We, I mean Mekko and I, tried very hard not to make him more unhappy too. But, ummm, I don't think Master saw me as very super sexy at all. Not at first."

"You're kidding? Honesty? Truth and honesty? That was it?" Wilson's eyes dropped to look at her in total surprise. "For a total babe like you? He didn't try to grope your sweet looking tits or ass or nothing? Not even make one teeny tiny pass at ya? What the hell. He some kind of eunuch?"

"NO! No! Not at all!" Toyotama protested vehemently while shaking her head hard enough to knock her cap askew and look like some exotic, green haired hip hop groupie and/or hard time prison bitch albeit without the usual overdone tats and body piercings. "Master is a very kind and gentle lover! And he's almost died three times in caring for us!"

"Yeah? Izzat so. Hmmm, I wonder," Wilson absently gazed back at the feverish and loud repair activity on and around the mess hall as another idea took root and grew.

"Wonder what?" Toyotama asked suspiciously.

"I wonder if maybe we're dealing with some kind of broken wing fixer type of guy in Archer here, a borderline personality disorder that wants to care for and heal wounded birds. All you Prime babes got some real issues and had 'em from the first time you met Archer, right?"

"Master doesn't have any disorders!" Toyotama again went on the immediate defensive.

"Had a buddy like that once," Wilson totally ignored her outburst as if he was talking to himself. "Sumbitch went after every vulnerable, messed up, broken, and even downright insane broad he met. Tried to rescue or repair them. White knight syndrome. Or broken wing fixer complex. Whatever. He'd screw around with 'em and pamper the hell out of 'em until they started showing some signs of normalcy. Then he'd dump 'em, move on, and pork the brains out of another nut case. Never really loved any of 'em though. Kinda kept 'em at arms length while stringing them along, ya know?"

"What's that got to do with Master and Riko?"

"Missy Riko didn't seem broken enough to Archer when they first met, see?" Wilson sighed in exasperation. Was this one as slow as Ice Babe Akitsu? "Try to keep up, will ya? She wasn't a desperate or broken winged bird like the rest of ya, and seemed way too competent, had other options, and then she was too pushy to boot. White knights are the rescuing pursuers, never the pursued, get it?"

"Yeah, kinda, I guess," Toyotama blinked uncertainly while mulling over Wilson's theory, applying it to Riko, and then inevitably to her own current "at arms length" psychic situation with her amnesic Master. Should she present herself as a "broken bird" during their coming "first" meeting at the pitching tryout? Especially if he rejected Riko yet again? Toyotama certainly didn't want to be seen as some hard eyed, man hating exotic if that happened. Wait. Hadn't this Wilson also said she was super sexy with a sweet ass and a nice set of tits? She then asked the Irony Engine boosting question.

"Do you … do you think Master would still be attracted to me if Reeker fails?"

"Archer? To you? Oh hell no," Wilson grunted thoughtlessly. "I mean you might be a neat one night sack job for a sexist and non discriminating asshole like me, but not a Goody Two Shoes like him. Be lucky he even gives you the time of day, let alone look at ya. Even if he does, he'll read your Little Man hating eyes right away. Huge ass turn off for macho straight guys like him."

"But I can change! I, I WANT to change!"

"What for?" Wilson looked at her quizzically as if she'd just said something totally outrageous and even stupid. "You're fine the way you are. You may not be Archer or my particular preference, but hell, there's all kinds of less discriminating types of guys and gals out there that would cut their left ears off to get a chance to be your one and only."

"You don't understand! I'm bonded!" Toyotama gaped in rapidly growing, heart and lung squeezed, almost panting desperation. "Master HAS to want me again! He HAS to!"

"Ummm, doubtful at best, but yeah, well sure, good luck with all that," Wilson shrugged negligently while having no idea that in trying to find some angle to boost Riko's miniscule self confidence, he had just totally and ironically shattered Toyotama's which was much more brittle and unstable. Nor did he have any real understanding what Sekirei bonding and conformity actually meant, or even cared.

"Hey, thanks for chatting me up. I gotta go think about all this." With that, Wilson, the Sun Tsu of Sex, did a military about face and began walking back across the lawn towards the mess hall. There he would await his chance to buck up Missy Riko's confidence in herself.

_**"**__**Lunar Orbit Contact in 10.5 Hours!"**_

Toyotama, tears of frustration, desperation, and sheer terror now streaming down her cheeks, sank to her knees in the grass between buildings as the loud speaker's announcement echoed over the island base. Her hands clenched into fists as she tried hard to gain back some measure of self control over her rising black panic, but she had no idea how to do it, and failed miserably. Akitsu jumped to her side and tried to offer cradling comfort, but Toyotama's growing emotional crisis ironically engulfed Akitsu's more powerfully psychic and normally calm center also. Then their combined panic spread and joined into the swirling and rapidly expanding Irony Engine now almost the size of Kamakura Island.

***scene break***

** _"__Lunar Orbit Contact in 10.5 Hours!"_**

** "**Nobody really gives a shit!" Corporal Buzzard half shouted in irritation towards the heavens as he finally resumed his walk towards the Kamakura Island base clinic. He would have been there already except he had paused along the way to chase after a small swirling cloud of $1K Yen notes from their previously stolen loot that was still wafting about on the breezes around the base's buildings. Which ironically proved for a brief time in Buzzard's small world that yes, money was more important than his empty stomach. That hadn't lasted much more than the thirty minutes it took to gather what cash he could that didn't (1) Require a climb onto some roof, and (2) Take him anywhere Gunny would be able to see him screwing off again.

It just wasn't fair, Buzz crabbed peevishly to himself as he resumed his briefly interrupted mission. Gunny should have at least let him try to find SOMETHING to eat before ordering him to head out. After all, him convincing a jock nutcase to throw a damn baseball couldn't be all that important since the task had been given to him. He was still hungry, dammit, and now screwed out of chow call on account of those insane Sekirei chicks had half destroyed the mess hall as well as ruined every lousy morsel of available breakfast food inside. Man that was dumb! And how stupid could they be? Especially if they couldn't turn on their own crummy moon defense ring doohickey.

Actually, Buzz's stomach was grumbling from hunger more than he was cursing to himself for being assigned to nursemaid and escort that jock moron Archer over to his phony pitching tryout. Let's see, Buzz reviewed his mission objectives to find the minimum effort he needed to expend and yet avoid another skull thumping from Gunny. First, he had to find a way to get the dumb shit civilian into actually believing there was even going to BE a pro audition for him as well as get him to go to it. Sumbitch would have to be pretty damn desperate to ever believe a heliport landing pad would be used by legit baseball scouts to watch a fella throw.

On the other hand, Buzz reasoned, why tell him? All he had to do was get Archer there. That was it. End of mission for Corporal Buzzard, Recon Marine. Whatever happened afterward was a headache for somebody else, not him. And maybe the base medical clinic had its own kitchen where he could rustle up some grub for his empty stomach, or at least a snack vending machine or two.

At least he was $28K Yen richer for his retrieval efforts along the way to the clinic. If there were snack machines at the clinic, that should at least buy him something to keep him from starving to death. Although, he reflected sourly, a lousy can of Ippodo tea had been 900y on Okinawa last month, and a dinky box of those chocolate crème filled Shiroi Koibito butter biscuits had been 4200y**.** If they had inflated prices like that here, then he only had enough cash to keep him in grub until about the time those incoming alien shitheads hit the moon's orbit. Man, it just wasn't right to steal, ruin, and then deny a fighting fella's chow, Buzzard irritably griped to himself as his stomach growled loudly again. Not before a big battle anyway. Morons.

Walking along and continually grousing to himself, Corporal Buzzard still had no glimmer that his nominally sympathetic Cash Archer baby sitting/escort mission could be world saving critical. Nor did Buzz know he would also ironically put at extreme risk the most crucial aspect of the soon upcoming orbital and global conflict, to wit: the Kamakura Sekirei's do or die final battle for the once again very wary heart and mind of their stubbornly independent, socially crippled, fuzzy brained, and now partial amnesiac Prime Leader.

All a hungry Buzzard would really focus upon soon was that a mitt rubbing and spacey looking Archer obviously wasn't eating the cooling cheeseburger and fries contained in his bedside warming dish. And the big question for Buzz would then be: how to get them for himself even if they weren't hot and fresh? This Archer babysitting mission from Gunny would then actually become nothing more than a pure Recon meal scrounging opportunity. Naturally, Buzz had no clue that his base alimentary greed could possibly trigger the start of an Irony Engine of epic mystical proportions, since there was nothing mystical or even ironical about good ol' Buzz's gut filling appetites.

Actually, Buzzard couldn't even relate to a mooched sandwich becoming an irony engine trigger. Irony as a situational concept in any circumstance was intellectually beyond Buzz; events like a pine tree planted in California as a memorial for The Beatles guitarist George Harrison, and then the tree being killed years later by actual beetles_. _Or music genius Beethoven losing his hearing. And the brain damaged Archer's victory as the untrained, pacifist, and civilian battle commander during the island's latest invasion attempt. These kinds of things were simply SNAFU and FUBAR outcomes always experienced by a veteran recon marine every time he went into battle.

However, Cash, even as fuzz brained as he was now, actually could somewhat relate if the Irony Engine was described to him in baseball terms. It would be like the Chicago Cubs finally making it into the World Series and yet had already been beaten badly in the first three games. The fourth game now had the Cubs behind 4 to 2 in the bottom of the ninth inning with two out. Cash would be ecstatic that the Cubs had made the Series, but they were once more ironically on the verge of breaking every fans' hearts by losing a fatally important game like they always had. Yet those darn Cub fans still deny reality and had hopes of winning the entire Series? Now that would be REALLY mystical if it happened. And cosmically ironic.

The only things that could stop the final Series loss and even reverse the outcome would be if the other club suddenly and inexplicably forfeited the entire Series. Or perhaps a tie could be declared since aliens were invading from outer space. Maybe the opposing pitchers would become total traitors and start throwing soft cripples for the Cubs' batters to hit. Pretty thin hopes to hang onto, but hey, any of it could happen, right?

Such would be an Irony Engine's power if any of those options did come true. At any rate, understood by the two Americans or not, right now this particular irony engine's ignition button was soon to become just one lousy cheeseburger. And the fate of Earth and even the entire Solar System would ironically soon hang in the balance because of it.

***scene break***

Cash was again sitting up on the edge of clinic bed in his underwear. He was without any additional covers since the bone chilling cold that had been torturing him earlier had suddenly went away, but he didn't know how or why it had. Although one helluva lot warmer, he still had a migraine however, but to some minor extent a little less overall physically miserable. However he could still feel that cold, cobalt blue ball sitting in the back of his mind. What was it? Why was it there?

Squinting, he directed his attention inward to examine whatever was glowing in the back of his skull. What the hell? That light blue green orb sitting in his mind had thin lines of different colors attached to it that all led … where? Outward? Also, something in or around that glowing blue ball felt like, like … that self proclaimed alien female named Riko? And there were, were, what? Cash squeezed his eyes shut to concentrate on counting the attached colored lines.

What was this? Those thin lines felt like nine more weird feeling females that now seemed to be wanting his attention? And a few maybe even demanding? Even trying to mentally TOUCH him? Who were they? He didn't know any of them. Man, this was just nuts! What in hell had happened to him after falling off his apartment roof? Where had these new and unwelcome female intruders in his mind come from? How had they attached those different colored lines into his head, and WHY in THE hell were dogging him around back there now?

_** "**__**Lunar Orbit Contact in 10.5 Hours!"**_

The loudspeaker warning didn't register this time because just then a wave of sheer terror, despair, and desperation swept over Cash like an emotional tsunami and literally overwhelmed his physical senses as well as his unconscious mental shielding. He gripped his aching head with both hands and groaned loudly in sheer misery while trying to get a firmer grip on his suddenly addled thoughts. He couldn't even make his eyes focus as lights and colors exploded in his mind like the New Year fireworks display over Times Square, New York. Naturally, Cash had no idea that this emotional disaster was courtesy of "Sun Tsu" Wilson's tactless and blunder filled questioning resulting in Toyotama's current total emotional melt down.

Damn! What had happened to him THIS time? Along with all the deep love and career disappointments Cash had suffered, now there was this veritable cacophony of wide ranging and intense emotions with their matching swirling colors constantly assaulting his mind. He desperately wanted to make it all stop, but he didn't know how. It was like he had just been chained down and his head hot wired into some commercial free, non stop, twenty four hour movie marathon that was showing the sappiest, weepiest chick flicks from some cheesy soap opera hell. Then that too emotional and low budget crap was being broadcast on a worldwide basis in 3D MAX surround sound by using his brain as the only satellite feed.

There were blue funk depressions and disappointments of all sizes. Vivid green jealousies, resentments, and bitch slapping envies. Blazing red angers and ice cold hatreds. Sappy bright pinks of Hello Kitty and My Little Pony types of juvenile love crushes. Deep and dark purples of overwhelming terrors and anxieties. Sunshine yellows of happy optimism and serenity. Sterile grays of total loneliness, hopelessness, and weeping despair. White feral heat of desires and animal lusts. Palpable black feelings of hunger to maim, torture, and murder. But most of all sheer FEAR, cloying, unreasoning fear and total panic in all colors and intensities.

All these emotions and colors assaulting Cash's mind were coupled with fainter overwhelming feelings of flight or fight danger, sacrificial warm love, and suicidal hopelessness. The entire gamut of emotions made no sense at all, and, with concentration, he NOW could see the mental assault was originating from far more people than cobalt blue Riko and her nine female cohorts trying very hard to make VERY possessive demands for his attention. Damn! It was like the whole frigging planet was yelling at him with ten females trying to drown the rest of the world out! But why? Why him too? And what could he do? This was driving him totally nuts!

Hey! Cash stiffened upright as a thought hit him. Maybe he could do what he always did as a kid whenever his Mother, aunts, and their friends tried to do those stupid mind tests on him! He could just mentally run away and shout loudly and angrily at them to drown out THEIR minds as he went! Yes! That might work! His Mother and aunties had backed off quick when he had! Those weird friends of theirs had always left him alone for years afterward too! Hell yeah! He would try it!

As Cash consciously began retreating and angrily yelling in his mind, each one of the Prime Sekirei instantly felt his mind's quickly fading withdrawal. They instantly and unconsciously followed after him like Desperate Daters from Dating Sim Hell now fiercely chasing after "Benny Hill" Cash on some Survivor Island. Their psychic chase was accompanied by very nasty and reciprocating migraine headaches. These hot stabbing pains Cash naturally but unwittingly shared on all the upper psychic bandwidths around the entire planet with widely varying results.

_In the Tokyo Dome and nearby hotels, the __various groups of__ gathered Petals of Dryas Octopetala all __sighed as that old __and well known,__ Cash Joseph Archer blasting __migraine__ headache slammed into them. In well practiced familiarity, they simultaneously __reached to join hands with their various Sisters and raise__d__ their mental shielding power as high as they possibly __could__. This didn't make their instant __migrain__es go away, but __it__ did dull their head pain to where they could __again __functionally __go about their business of confirming a new world Pillar by following the Ancient Decrees of Anu._

_Standing on the pitching mound __of the Tokyo Dome __and waiting for __huge __groups of __Dryas Octopetala__ Petals to slowly get organized __in the stands__ as he had ordered__, Mutsu hissed in aggrieved irritation __while strengthening his mind shield__. Archer again, the big Sekirei growled to himself. And now __howling __worse than those damnable wolf mating broadcasts with Akitsu. _

_ On the other hand at least their "to be greatly pitied" Prime Leader must be awake __again__ and working on his Prime Circle mes__h__ing problem. Hopefully. Mutsu shook his head and heaved __a sigh of aggravation. As if any of those insane females were EVER going to be "hopefully" anything useful. Better Archer than him though. As their new god, these __equally irritating and__ damnably independent Petals were bad enough to deal with, and they simply did not take __his__ orders well at all._

_In her small cottage nestled in the Wicklow Mountains __overlooking__ the Irish Sea, young Fedelma Finn gasped and fell to __her __kitchen__ floor while clutching at her temples. The red headed druidess and direct descendent of __Ollamh Fodhla, __ancient__ Solon of Ireland, __then writhed and moaned in severe head pain while trying desperately to ward off her psychic attacker__'s emotional resentment of the planet's entire female species__. __Or at least ten __lovesick but determined__ gals that seemed to be endlessly chasing __a very powerful, __wealthy, __and__ yet marriage shy druid__ around a mulberry bush __forest like __he was__ escaping a__n unhappy__ bunch of jilted fiances. _

_Sixteen students were eating at a local pizzeria after the weekly___ library _ meeting for their___ Remillard Psychic Study Group_ at Dartmouth College in Hanover, New Hampshire, USA. Three females and one male clutched their heads and then limply fell out of their chairs unconscious as if something had ___simultaneously_ struck the four of them down. The other twelve members of the group simply exchanged blinking looks of totally amazed puzzlement. _

_And so it went worldwide, the more sensitive and powerful psychics suffering badly, becoming amused, and/or at least being irritated while lesser paranormal talents felt little or sensed nothing at all. ___However, a playful little girl and an old hermit thousands of miles apart actually did something to aid Cash's psychic crisis._.  
><em>

_ Awa Fatou, the five year old daughter of a Serer high priestess, was happily playing on the shore beside a small waterfall located on an upper tributary of the Senegal River in West Africa. Awa's mother, a saltigue or diviner, was bathing in the waterfall's pool to prepare for___ a Xoy ceremony bringing together the past, present, and future of her people. Her priestess mother had nearly finished_ when Awa gave a sharp cry of delight and stood up. _

_ Little Awa raised her hands high in a happily gurgling and fascinated awe while turning her shining eyes eastward. She had just discovered the most wonderful, interesting, and funniest playmate any little girl could ever watch! And this clownish type fella was playing hide and seek in a magical forest he had invented in his mind! AND, he was playing Awa's favorite game even better than her old man friend from down under! OH! The funny running fella needed their help to hide from the silly women trying to find him! This going to be such fun! Looking all around, Awa's mother frowned in concerned puzzlement as she could feel something was up with her daughter, but sensed nothing unusual in her mind at all, near or far._

_ In the Northern Territory of Australia, an old aborigine shaman was peacefully roasting some wichetty grubs, cattail flat-cakes, and a couple of saltwater crocodile eggs for his breakfast. He suddenly paused in waving a fan made of emu tail feathers over the coals of his small cooking fire. He closed his eyes and pinched the top of his nose in mild concentration to block the incoming loud and very irritating mental noise coming from somewhere farther north of him._

_ "Crikey, seppo, do ya have to be such a cranky cobber while I'm fixin' me brekkie?" The tribal shaman muttered to himself in peeved irritation. He then grimaced in continuing mild annoyance at failing to immediately dismiss his distant psychic tormenter's soap opera type of unhappiness. ___This interruption was even stronger than those of the little girl to the west that ALWAYS loved to play hide and seek._ Then the old shaman sighed in sympathetic understanding. The young psychic Yank north of here was having woman trouble, BIG and multiple woman trouble. Poor bastard. _

_ The elderly man continued to irritably murmur into his fire's thin tendrils of smoke since he couldn't set his mind to simply ignore the unwelcome and way too powerful emotional intrusion upon his meal. The mentally yelling lad up north obviously needed a little help to regain domestic happiness and would likely never shut up until he got some. The old shaman was very loathe to interfere in such dicey female troubles, as from long experience, such miseries could very well boomerang their karma grief back upon his own hoary head. Still, if he wanted to eat his breakfast in peace, something was obviously gonna have to do done to quiet the silly sod's situation. _

_The shaman squinted his closed eyes tighter as he concentrated. Crikey! The young Yank had managed to make every bloody female in his harem unhappy at the same time by trying to take a powder on all of 'em!_

_ "Ahhh, so that's it. Trying to run from a bloody nasty blue with all yer cooks up there, eh? Hey. Seppo. Just stop, stay put, have a few coldies, and then have a fair dinkum naughty or two with all yer unhappy sheilas. They'll calm down quick enough with that, and then this old bushie can eat in peace! Here now. Throw a lid on all that yelling too, mate."_

Back in the clinic room on Kamakura Island, Cash stopped mentally running and shouting when it felt like a warm soothing blanket had somehow just been lightly wound around his head. The new covering greatly muffled the emotional battering his mind was still taking, but now his own natural defenses seemed to be able to keep all that crap at bay. Now how had that happened? And why did he suddenly feel like he needed to drink a few cold beers before having sex? Weird. He didn't even LIKE beer. Tentatively, Cash examined the relative silence behind his still closed eyes and the new supporting barrier that resided there.

Hmmm. He got the distinct impression that some laughing young girl had helped him play a hide and seek game. What was up with that? And then an elderly, irritated, yet very knowing type of fella simply wanting his own personal privacy had joined her efforts. As a result, there was this stronger mental barrier and its new power connection attached to the murkier depths of his own mind. Cash could tell that those two mismatched strangers had somehow combined to help stabilize whatever was happening to him, but how had they done it?

Actually, the more Cash studied his new emotional barrier, it seemed tightly woven from his own calmer thoughts and desires. These were seated around some internal bird/yin and yang symbol taken from the depths of his subconscious mind. He mentally pushed against the inside of his new mental shielding. It expanded, but snapped back when he let up. It was not a blank, totally opaque, and dense sheet, but more like a very finely meshed and elastic filter. He could still feel emotions coming at him from all over and in varying strengths, but now they were drastically muted.

Cash had another strange impression that the two people helping him had done little more than given him the subconscious knowledge of how to effectively connect his tortured mind to eight glowing balls of different colored light he could now see clearly aligned along the center of his body. From head to groin these went from white, purple, dark blue, cobalt blue, green, yellow, orange, and red. Matter of fact, they resembled some kind of body energy or chakra chart he had seen in the high school library while trying to research ways to perfect his concentration when throwing his forkball. The chakra chart also had the same colors of the panicked alien females' still connected to his mind. However, their connections had been rendered blessedly much quieter.

Say. Hadn't he also read somewhere about how the body's chakra alignment could be used to focus and unleash the inner gates of some inner life force called chi? He couldn't remember, and he wasn't sure it wasn't the other way around. Or neither. All he knew was, thanks to his two new helpers from who knew where on the planet, he now could use and focus that inner bird/yin and yang symbol and those eight glowing colored balls inside himself to keep from going totally nuts in a cheesy soap opera hell. And it had cured his damned migraine too.

Not only that, but his new mind shield/filter had stopped that weird Riko and her nine female companions from dogging his mental ass all around his skull too. Oh sure. They were still with him, especially Riko's interior ball, but not as squawking desperate as they had been a few minutes ago. He could feel the other nine now kinda patiently sitting just outside his new mind barrier like a bunch of very hungry, neighborhood stray cats watching him; hoping he was a giant tuna sandwich about to be tossed out and pounced on as table scraps. That was okay as long as they kept their damn distance, stop their demanding caterwauling, and didn't try pushing him around again. He could live and let live with that since their pressure was now no worse than all the background emotional noise that he could sense coming at him from all around the planet.

Wait. There was still a much larger and far away exterior push against his new emotional shielding. Dammit! Who wanted to bite his head off? Some one really wanted to kill him? Why? Who and where were they? Near? No, much farther away. Cash jerked his eyes towards the ceiling of his room in alarm. Someone way, way up there absolutely HATED him with an indescribable depth of murderous intensity and was coming to kill him.

Or some THING was coming? Now how could he KNOW that? But he did with absolute certainty. Again WHY? And why did he feel like there was still mass panic and fear coming at him from all around the planet? As well as … mass killing intent? Cash squeezed his eyes shut again as he searched his mind for wherever these weird feelings were coming from, then expanded his search to however far he could reach. There. He could sense some very distant old woman feeling like she was being forced into killing something. Who was she?

_The old Cajun woman, long known as a powerful witch and more greatly feared voodoo psychic, stopped rocking in her even older and squeaking cane rocking chair. From the porch of her Louisiana bayou shack she angrily squinted her eyes in the twilight's gloom when her laying hens began cackling loudly in alarm. She squinted her blurry eyes again. Dere dey was! A pair of alligators were crawling slowly out of the darkening swamp's edge and moving towards her nearby chicken coops. She pumped a shell of double ought buckshot into her old Ithaca twelve gauge shotgun as she slowly stood up._

"_Oo ye yi! Mamere sees you gators bag daer! Stop being ___coo-yon___! Or I gots five shells of big gun gree gree for you boths! Stop you cooyon gators, or watch the slap now!"_

_ The unimpressed and unheeding alligators, obviously unaware of her anger, voice, and very powerful psychic commands, kept moving towards the chickens. Without one witchy chant or further warning, the old Cajun woman summarily pumped two shots in between the eyes of the bigger crawling reptile and a third into the brain of the other. Since she shot so fast in her growing resentful anger, the shotgun blasts echoed across the swamp and back as three close waves of rolling thunder._

_ "G___ator grillades and grits fo' suppa tomorrow nights, den! ___Pic kee toi, cooyons!_

Huh. Cash blinked while pulling his mental probing back and thinking about what he had just felt. Pic kee toi meant screw you? Cooyons were fools? There had also been some kind of mental, blazing hot, balled lightning unleashed each time he had felt the woman pull her gun's trigger. That old psychic gal could really throw some mental high heat when she was pissed, gathering force from within AND from other people Cash had sensed around her. Then she had focused and unleashed three pulses of that force at her enemies as she shot. Impressive, and a damned good thing she hadn't aimed and thrown those hot shots at his skull too. Not sure his new mind covering could have deflected them.

The funny thing was the two reptiles she had blasted felt a LOT like whatever the approaching creature was that he had sensed earlier; the one still wanting to kill him. Actually, the dark and murderous emotion still pressuring Cash from somewhere way above him was decidedly not human or earthy reptilian at all, but truly alien, implacable, unwavering, pitiless, voracious, and slowly coming closer.

But why him? What had he ever done to warrant such a totally evil enemy? He was just one lousy, down on his luck baseball player in Tokyo for Pete's sakes! Not some Juji Godoh Space Hero type out to thwart some interstellar monster and/or demon of the water planet's war plans! But whoever or whatever was coming and pressuring him now had just better leave him alone, or, or, or else, he'd just bean the reptile feeling sonofabitch with a couple of hot mental fastballs just like Mamere had just done! Maybe even three! Not stopping, eh? Well, screw YOU, cooyon!

Gathering power from the odd bird symbol and glowing balls within himself and more from other people as far as he could sense, Cash angrily sent three warning psychic fastballs skyward. He mentally felt immediate and total surprise coming from Riko and her nine companions, however their ironic reaction surprised him more. Instead of trying to get inside his defenses, they all combined to protectively throw an even thicker weaved mind barrier over his. They were also mentally spreading themselves in an equidistant circle around his new mental barrier's outer surface and reinforcing it as best they could, but their efforts felt oddly disjointed for some reason. Kinda comforting though.

On the other hand, those alien females' combined defensive concern made Cash feel sheepishly foolish for losing his temper so easily, and especially unleashing some random shots "to whom might shoot back" for Pete's sakes! He had never even thought about taking some kind of return fire/bad attention either. How dumb could a guy be? He had acted just like an over confidant, know nothing rookie! Man, now more than ever he had to get his dumb ass OUT of Tokyo and back to the States!

Except he still didn't feel so very good physically other than that damned migraine was under better control, and he wasn't freezing his balls off like earlier either. Maybe with a little more time sitting here the strength would come back to his limbs, his stomach wouldn't be so upset, and those funky smells would go away. Then he could get dressed and get out of here; hopefully fleeing the country while any Japanese authorities tracking debt owing, gaijin deadbeats would be distracted by following their astronaut's moon landing.

_**"**__**Lunar Orbit Contact in 10.**__**2**__**5 Hours!"**_

Glancing at his room's rattling windows, Cash had no idea how ironically wrong his current flight plan could go in light of the cold reality of his and the Earth's situation, nor the hot zone power of the Irony Engine that had him squarely in its cross-hair center.


End file.
